Stephen Moyer’s film The Caller, directed by Matthew Parkhill and is set to be released in select theaters tomorrow, August 26, 2011. So far all the interviews we’ve seen with Stephen about the film have been in Spanish. However, Stephen granted an interview to Karen Benardello of Shockya.com.news and it’s in English. In the interview, Stephen discusses, among other things, what attracted him to the role of John, and what his working relationship with Lefevre was like.
Shockya (SY): You were originally interested in playing Mary’s ex-husband Steven in ‘The Caller,’ but you ultimately decided that the role of her new boyfriend, John, would be a better fit for you. Given that the characters are completely different, as Steven is abusive towards Mary and John is protective of her, what ultimately attracted you to the role of John?
Stephen Moyer (SM): I felt like the ex-husband was a little dark. I had just come out of a season (of ‘True Blood’) with Bill being dark, and I felt I should to do something a little bit more nice, a little bit more ordinary. I really liked the fact he’s the one central figure in Mary’s life in the movie that’s a warm one. It takes her awhile for her to trust him, but ultimately, she does trust him. I really liked the kind of dynamic of that.
SY: How did you prepare for the role of John?
SM: Well, I sat down with Matthew (the director), and we talked about what John would have done, where he was from, what his life was like, and possibly that there had been some heartache for him, that he probably split up from a relationship, and that he was single. He was hurting from that relationship. This is all off-screen, of course, we don’t see any of this. You kind of prep, with a thought in mind that you try to make the character as real as possible. Sometimes you’ll sit down and write down who those relationships were, and what happened in them. I think what Matthew had managed to do very well is convey (that) Rachelle’s character Mary is in a very difficult place, a very dark spot in her life, with her divorce and what’s going on in the new apartment. So it’s important to sort of put somebody in there who isn’t malevolent or trying to take something from her, and I think that relationship grows very nicely.
SY: When Mary first tells John that Rose is claiming to be calling from the past, why do you think it’s important that he doesn’t believe her?
SM: Well, if somebody I had just met turned around and said to me that she’s having a phone conversation with somebody from 25 years ago, I think I’d find that quite hard to believe. I think for us to make the audience feel the same way, we just can’t burden them with a crazy truth without questioning it first. As the story unfolds before him, he starts to realize there is something in it, and then he starts talking to her. He can see for himself that this person is real. So in a way, what the audience is going through, is they’re viewing (the movie) through John’s eyes. He represents that character that the audience is watching this story unfold through.
SY: Why do you think John ultimately stays with Mary throughout the movie, during Rose’s continued harassment and phone calls?
SM: She’s fascinating. I think she is damaged and beautiful. One of the things that you asked me at the beginning, about how do you work out what your character is. I think the fact that she probably has some damage is something John can see. Maybe (there’s) something in his past, and that’s why we talked about why John is damaged, and whether we can see something in her that he’s experienced himself. Again, it’s all off the page, it’s all off the screen. I think we try to make it real and plausible, make it authentic. Mary’s believability lies in the truth with her, and she feels authentic, so he’s fascinated with her.
Read the entire inteview by going to: shockya.com/news