Beginning this week, we're featuring interviews with the cast and crew of Rooks. This week's spotlight is on a few of the actors: Ryan Anastasi, Adrianna Angeline, and Kaden Kirton.
Ryan Anastasi portrays Anders Shane, Adrianna Angeline portrays Valerie, Kaden Kirton portrays Griffin
Ryan's the only member of this trio that had acting experience prior to Rooks, but they all brought their A-Game to set. Adrianna talked a bit about why she was interested: "I had never acted before, but knowing my sister (Michela Lamparelli) felt comfortable acting for the first time too made me want to give it a shot. Stereotypical little sister wanting to do whatever their older sibling is doing!" Ryan, meanwhile, onboarded this film a bit differently. A longtime friend of director Robert Maynard, he simply knew he had to be involved from the moment he learned about the project. Ryan approached developing his character Anders Shane as he does with all his characters, by developing a back story to understand the motivation and intent behind their actions. "For Anders, I thought about how he worked diligently to become a successful CEO of his company and thought about challenges he may have faced along the way and how he overcame those obstacles." Adri found her character Valerie to be less of a step outside the box, offering "I was attracted to Valerie’s character because I could see a lot of myself in her, so my process to get into character was to really just be myself." Kaden, meanwhile, practiced his lines daily so he would be prepared on set to portray his character Griffin. Kaden has the distinction of being the youngest cast member in the film. Twelve now, though eleven when he shot his scenes back in April, Kaden found it both challenging and rewarding to be on the set. "When we were at the diner and I got to meet other cast members, I think that was my favorite moment from set. Everyone was really friendly. Getting to see the cabin was a lot of fun, too!" He's referencing the cabin in Sutton where a number of shoot days took place. Although Kaden never filmed any scenes there, he came to visit set and learn a bit about the process. Ryan also got to see the cabin, and counts it among his favorite locations for filming. His favorite moment, though, was something he shot on his second day: "We were shooting a scene at a hotel, and I got to use a one-time-use prop that was really fun and looked great live and on camera." Adri didn't shoot any scenes at the cabin or the hotel, but she was a huge help in securing one filming location: her workplace (because who doesn't want to go in to work on their days off, right?). Adri helped in getting the production access to film in Paul College on UNH Campus for a weekend, which functions in the film as an office building... not a big stretch. "We got to use so many different places within the building, it was my favorite place to film!" Asked about what it was like working with the cast and crew, all three had very positive things to say. Said Adri, "It can be easy to stress out over forgetting lines or not getting the scene just right, but everyone is so lighthearted and the sense of humor on set is second to none. It helped that many people on set were also alumni of UNH, so even if it was my first time meeting them, we already had things in common to talk about." Wrapping things up, we asked each of them their favorite movie. Ryan's is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Adri's is Taken, and Kaden's is The Conjuring 2... yikes, I'm not even old enough to watch that one yet. We also asked their favorite actor... Ryan said, "Tom Hanks, a great actor and a wonderful role model," while Adri said, "I secretly love Woody Harrelson, we share a birthday!" Kaden said that his favorite actor is Justin Gatcomb, with whom he shares all of his scenes. We agree... Justin is a pretty great actor!
See Ryan as Anders Shane, Adri as Valerie, and Kaden as Griffin in Rooks, premiering at The Strand in Dover, NH, on December 17. On Amazon Instant Video December 23.
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