What Up Yo.
A new Voice will be heard.
It belongs to Bree Donavan, and I would like to say to her:
Bree,
Thank you for being so generous….
Welcome to Voices!
Troops, Bree is submitting her first piece to us, a recent interview she had with actor Zachary Fall, recently from the series Guilt.
Guilt (Freeform) | Trailer:
Guilt : Episode One:
Guilt : Key-Art
And now fellow cinephiles and TV Addicts…
Zachary Fall Interview
By Bree Donavan
October, 2016
Zachary Fall is a Franco-American actor who came to the viewing public’s attention playing the part of a mercurial artist and murder suspect, Luc Pascal in Freeform’s summer hit show, Guilt. But Fall has packed his resume with a good deal of stage experience as well. He can sing, dance and has shown the ability to dig deep into the psyche of the character he is playing.
I contacted Fall’s agent, Jane Lehrer on the off-chance I might gain an interview, as I was working on a University Film journal at the time. To my great surprise, Ms. Lehrer was quick to respond asking me to send the questions which she would forward to Mr. Fall. I was quite honored that he took the time to answer my questions with such thoughtfulness. My conclusion; look out for this guy, he’s going places!
BD : Bonjour Zachary!
First let me take this opportunity to congratulate you on being a part of the super talented cast of, Guilt and for your stellar performance as Luc Pascal. Second, thank you so very much for taking the time to answer some questions for devotedly curious readers and passionate supporters of television and film.
I bet coming off the final episode of Guilt (for this season anyway!) is a bit like breaking down the set of a play. You must be going through a mishmash of emotions. Can you put into words some of the feelings?
ZF: It is a very strange melancholic feeling. In a stage production, the whole team goes through that process together, we are all in the theatre on the same day going through it at the same time, it’s more palpable. But filming, nearly everyone finishes on a different day, and schedules can always change until the last minute to the point that I wasn’t even sure my last day on set was in fact my last day. In addition to that, there is still more work to be done during post-production and until the final episode is aired.
Thankfully though, we have did have a wrap party for everyone to get together and celebrate the event!
BD: Has the experience of Guilt and playing Luc taught you anything that classes or other acting gigs have not?
ZF: Most of my training and previous work was for stage. Playing a series regular like Luc was something I had never experienced before. It is such a different process to theatre. You don’t get weeks of rehearsals, techs, etc. It’s all a lot more immediate. I had to learn very early on to trust and embrace the choices I and the rest of the team made. Portraying Luc also pushed me to start exploring and learning to access emotions I hadn’t dared approach before. You really can’t hide or fake such things in front of a camera.
BD: I imagine the trajectory of your career being one that can most certainly take on BIG “Hollywood”, get their arses into the theatre type productions, and also more in depth roles such as those of the more scaled back Independent films. What kind of path do you envision for yourself as an actor?
ZF: Coming from a theatre background and growing up in France, I am very fond of character driven works, pieces that will challenge you, make you take a new perspectives on its themes, and are very rewarding, sometimes even therapeutic, and I would love to keep exploring such works no matter the scale. However, I am also big fan of sci-fi, fantasy and adventure, so I do hope I will get to take part in such projects and get close to all those incredibly fun things you dream of as a kid like getting chased by giant creatures in some distant land, discovering magical relics of the past or developing incredible new skills or powers.
BD: As a Franco-American, what do you see as some of the differences and similarities between European productions versus American?
ZF: Well, I don’t really have enough experience in both industries to say. Obviously, both have strong appeals. My feeling is that French productions tend to be very character driven, while American ones tend to be plot or story driven. But, especially in recent years, the different industries have been influencing each other more and more, and we are seeing a lot of co-productions between the different markets which lead to some incredibly interesting and innovative works.
BD: One of the actors I most admire is Ewan McGregor, (whose lovely wife, Eve is French!). He has defied being pigeonholed into a few, choice character types. Ewan has made a name for himself by always giving the unexpected performance and holding nothing back when he does. Is there an actor/artist you admire?
ZF: Oh gosh, there are so many! Like you say, actors like Ewan McGregor who have had the opportunity to explore such a wide range of characters. Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy who give such daring, transformative and embodied performances. Cillian Murphy, Andrew Scott, Jake Gyllenhall and their dangerous, edgy, gripping charm. Romain Duris and his beautiful, genuine and heartfelt honesty. Kate Blanchett who grips all your attention with a single look, and seems to transform entirely with a simple shift. Richard Ayoade, Guillaume Gallienne, Pierre Niney, Oscar Isaac, Vincent Cassel, Bryan Cranston, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell, Maggie Gyllenhaal… I could honestly go on forever.
BD: I gotta ask; I’ve read you dance ballet! Do you see yourself taking on roles that would allow you to include dancing?
ZF: Well, both my mother and sister are dancers, and we were taught basic ballet and other forms of dance at drama school so it is something I’ve been around in for a long time, and I have often been encouraged by friends and teachers to keep exploring this venue. I do enjoy learning and performing choreographies, so why not! I also have done a lot of singing, and hope to take on a role someday which would involve that as well.
BD: My all-time favorite piece of literature; Stendhal’s epic; Le Rouge et le Noir. Don’t get me started on how I believe that Julien Sorel is one of the most misunderstood heroes in the entirety of literature! Is there a character that you feel such passion for? Any ‘dream role’ for you at this stage of your very exciting career?
ZF: There are so many characters I admire throughout all entertainment mediums. Generally, I really enjoy giving in to characters with a darkness to them like Jake Gyllenhaal’s Donnie Darko or L/Ryuzaki in the manga Death Note, or plain deranged ones such as Roberto Zucco in Bernard-Marie Koltès’ play of the same name, or Heath Ledger’s Joker. But the flip coin of that is I am also a hopeless romantic and totally relate to characters like Tom Hansen (portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in 500 Days of Summer, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) in Her or even Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd) in Bridesmaids. And of course the classics I hope to get the opportunity to portray like Marc Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Molière’s Tartuffe or one of his many Valère, or Hippolytus in Racine’s Phaedra.
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Thanks again Bree, great interview!
Follow Zachary on Twitter & Facebook…links below:
Reach out to Zach on Twitter & Facebook, links below:
Twitter:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/zachary.fall/about/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/zacharyfall/