Latest / Beyond our Stories / Can We Trust What We See and Experience? | Beyond Our Stories with Lauren Grimson
Transcript
- speaker-0: What is this person trying to say? What's the story being told? Why should I be the person to bring this story to life? Acting is a little bit embarrassing, right? you're being quite vulnerable and you're trying this thing. It's totally new. you're wearing someone's skin anew. And I think when you're doing that repeatedly and you're remembering that it's less about you and more about the story that we're telling and creating together, then it gives you a level of bravery. How far would you go? For someone you love. And it makes us question that, would I do what Diane did? Would you go that far? And I think for me, the answer is yes. And it I don't think that I necessarily had to be the person to tell her story, but I wanted to be the person to tell her story. speaker-1: Every person has a story. Some stories make us laugh, some challenge us. speaker-2: Some stay with us long after they're over. speaker-1: Sometimes the most meaningful part of a story isn't the ending. speaker-2: But it's the conversation that begins afterwards. speaker-1: Welcome to Beyond Our Stories. I'm Ali. speaker-2: I'm Stephanie. speaker-1: And today our special guest is Lauren Grimson, the lead actress of the movie Waterhorse. speaker-2: When people mysteriously vanish after wading into a remote lake, a paranormal investigator and an actor set out to document the disappearances. As the investigator begins to suspect the cases are connected to her mother's disappearance years earlier, their search for answers lead them to an ancient, unspeakable evil lurking beneath the lake's surface. And we would like to know more about the story and how Lauren actually connected to the story, connected to the project and just know more about Lauren in general. So Lauren, we're super happy to have you here today. speaker-0: Thank you so much for having me. It's really nice to meet you, Ali and Stephanie. I I have to admit I listened to your episode with Jen, who was the director of Waterhorse, and it was really interesting. I thought, I should really listen to that to remind me of some of the stuff because we filmed it quite a while ago now. And then I went down a rabbit hole of listening to your other episodes. And it's funny, just before we jumped on, I was in the middle of listening to one speaker-2: Listening on and I was like, I don't want to go because I want to finish listening to the interview, which is so fun. But yeah. speaker-0: Thank thank you for having me. It's always fun to talk about film and cinema and making it and yeah, all of speaker-1: That's very nice. That's very nice. But before we start talking about the movie and about you and your story, before Lauren is an actress, who is Lauren? speaker-2: Yeah. speaker-0: good question. And I think one that like struggle with too because to your identity speaker-2: A lot of actors struggle because you like web it into T speaker-0: so much as you would know Stephanie being an actor as well. I guess I'll go into the things that I'm interested in. I love art and literature. That's actually what I studied at university. So my degree is in literature and visual art. I love cinema, obviously. speaker-2: Thank you. speaker-0: I love anything kind of like spooky and gothic. So October is my favorite month, of course. What else? I like rock climbing. I like running. yeah, weird like adventure activities that take way too much energy and effort and are too risky for any sane person to normally like. I usually like those things. So that's me in a nutshell, I think. Yeah. speaker-1: Interesting, interesting. speaker-2: I would also like to know how you got interested in acting. speaker-0: Yeah. yeah. good question. It's like one of those things that like I know I just said I like kind of spooky things, but I'm not like a particularly spiritual person, but my journey with acting has been kind of this almost like weird cosmic thing. So it's been a part of my life my whole life. And I've tried to move away from it and it's always found a way to kind of reel me back in. So when I was very young, I did my first ever TV commercial with my dad when I was like six. And I hated it. I was like crying, absolutely hated it. And then at school I did drama class because it was like the bludgy subject. And I got to hang out with my friends and we'd like just be silly and it was great. And then on the weekends I started forcing my friends to make movies with me because I got a camcorder for at home. I don't even know where it came from. But only now looking back, I was like, I really forced my fri speaker-2: into making movies with me, like none of whom were interested in doing it. speaker-0: guys, come over, we're gonna hang rope them into making some weirdo thing. And then went to uni, did the normal thing, 'cause I was like, well, I I never saw acting as like a a c valid career path. I was like, that's not something I could make money from. And so I kind of dismissed it a bit, I guess, and then went to uni, studied a whole other thing, as I said, literature and then I worked as a journalist and kind of went down that path. And then a friend, sorry, my ex partner at the time, who I was living with, he was auditioning for a local play. And he said, Will you come with me? It's a cold read. I'm really nervous. And I like, Yeah, of course I'll go with you. And went along with him and they approached me and they were like, are you here to audition? And I was like, absolutely not. No, no, no. I'm just here for my friend. And they said, Well, there aren't enough females to audition. Do you wanna give it a try? It'll be fun. It's a col Cold read, so you've got the script there. And he was like, just do it. imagine if we both booked it and it'd be so fun and funny. And I was like, Yeah, right. And it was really awkward because I hadn't read the play before and you could watch everyone auditioning. And the woman who got up before me, I hadn't seen any of the others because we'd just arrived. She got up before me and performed the scene in her like a very thick German accent. And so I was like, I have to do a German accent. I don't know if I can do that on the spot. I'll try, but I it's not gonna be good. So I was about to go up and I thought, I'll just watch one more person. And they got up and did it in their natural accent. And was like, that is just to thank God. speaker-2: I didn't get up and do it in the accent because they would have been like, What are speaker-0: What do speaker-2: you doing? Sorry speaker-0: Anyway, funnily enough ended up booking the play and then so did my partner and we did it and it was just like the most fun and I was like, I have to I've been doing this my whole life and I love it. I I think I have to continue doing this and so I just kinda gave in in the end and now we're here. speaker-1: How did you come to Waterhorse? Did you know Jennifer before or how did it happen? speaker-0: So with Waterhorse, I actually didn't know Jen at all. a friend of mine, Dean, actually, who's in the film, he was already attached as Oz, I believe. And they were looking for someone to play Diane. And Jen has since told me she was looking at Jess Tovey, who's like a an incredible Australian actor who I just think is the best. And she was considering Jess. And Dean had said, you should meet my friend Lauren, blah, blah, blah. And I was pretty new to acting. And I met with Jen and I was a bit young and a bit green. And I think Jen initially had some hesitations, which was understandable because it's a pretty big role. And then just over time we got talking about it and we became friends. And she was like, If you wanna do it, I trust that you can do it. And so I did it and we did it together. And it was this really cool weird, wonderful learning opportunity for all of us, I think. speaker-1: You mentioned that you like spooky things and you and October is your favorite month I think because of because of the Halloween maybe. speaker-2: Yeah, sorry it should have speaker-0: Specified, yeah, yeah. speaker-1: So how was it you during the during the movie? Because because you you shot the movie also in spooky places. Real spooky places, right? Because Jen also told us that you that you shot in a real mine and and in a in a small cabin of a mine or so. So yeah how how how how spooky was that? speaker-0: Well, this there's an interesting thing. So because it was just a skeleton crew for a lot of it, it was Jen, myself, Dean and our sound person, who's Jen's twin sister Janine. So often in those really like tight or small spaces, it was just the four of us. And so it could get pretty spooky. Like normally if there were thirty or forty, fifty people there, how spooky can it get? But the mining hut in particular was had actually been an original miners hut from the eighteen hundreds or something. And there was a scene that we shot which was I was on one side of the room and so were Jen and Janine. And Dean was on the other side. And I'm just filming him with the camcorder. So there's no one else behind him. You shoot it, Jen's like, I want to watch playback just to to check. And you can see another face very clearly appear behind Dean and disappear. And we watched it again and again and again and it's like it's there. So yeah. speaker-2: That was that was pretty spooky. speaker-0: said, you guys can stay here tonight if you want and we will write a dog. speaker-2: You want to be like, it's scary. But but no, I do like all of that. Jennifer talked about this too very briefly, and I just wonder how the rest of the day then progressed. Like, did you continue shooting or speaker-0: Or we did. speaker-2: yeah, which now like saying it out loud sounds insane. But I think maybe just because the four of us speaker-0: all scary things and were like it's cool and interesting rather than having a level of self preservation and being like, Maybe we should leave. but yeah speaker-2: No, we we thought it was spooky but speaker-0: Yeah, we just kept on going. speaker-1: In the movie Diane starts investigating the mystery and the then the disappearances and everything and at the same time she realizes that it happened also to her mother. How was it for you to put yourself into Diane's character? Is there any similarity between you and Diane? speaker-0: Yeah, that's a good question. I think there are some similarities in that she's very determined and she's very ambitious in her own way and she doesn't give up. I think that's like a thread that I can relate to. But we're also quite quite different. I think I just dug into the parts of myself that, you know, maybe are at a two percent and turned the volume up to seventy percent for Diane and likewise with some other traits that in me are at seventy percent turn them down. But no, she is quite different. She's quite intense. She's very serious. She's become obsessed with finding answers. Her whole life has kind of been reduced to something very, very, very small because she's just laser focused on trying to figure out what happened to her mum. So Yeah, we're similar but we're different. But I have a lot of empathy for her, for sure. speaker-2: Can you tell us more about that? what were the first things that stood out to you in her character that you felt like, I can identify with that easily? speaker-0: Hm. I think the determination to find her mum, like thank God, touch wood. you know, that hasn't happened to to my mum or anyone that I love, but you know, I I would be driven by the same thing, by that love and by that need to find answers. So yeah, that determination and that I guess she has like a a strength as well, that's very enduring. She just doesn't give up. And I think we have that in common in different ways. speaker-2: And what was a challenge for you in her character? What is what was something that you needed more time to find? speaker-0: A challenge I think is probably like her mannerisms and things like that. I tried to really think about like she moves quite differently to me. Eve the way she speaks is quite different to how I speak. even the way that she blinks, like just down to little things. I think her whole being is like she's so disembodied from herself because she's she's all up here in her mind trying to figure it out. Yeah, I think f the the physicality was a big difference and something that really helped me tap into her, but is a very different thing for me. As you can see, I'm like naturally I'm very fidgety, whereas she's very rigid and very still and stiff and my voice is a bit more like sing songing and I ramble and I blah blah blah. Whereas she's very to the point down the line. So yeah, the physicality was probably the the biggest challenge at the beginning, think. speaker-2: And for everybody that has already watched the movie or that's going to watch the movie, they're gonna see it immediately. Because Jennifer already told us in our in our speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-2: podcast episode that you're very different from Diane. So we're speaker-0: And I'm speaker-2: like, hmm, that's gonna be interesting. speaker-0: Okay. speaker-2: And right away, yeah, it's very different. It'd be kind of freaky if I was like exactly like Diane. Like I'm just trying to imagine her on this podcast. But speaker-0: Yeah, it's funny, like my mum when my mum saw the movie, she was like, it was cool hearing her say it but she was like when I was watching it I was like that's not you And I was like, Great. speaker-2: Like she is, but she speaker-0: is not, So that was a big compliment coming from from mom. speaker-1: In the movie, Diane is looking for the truth about her mother and her past, and she doesn't give up. She wants to find out what happened for sure, 100%. How is that for you? is it hard for you to give up when you want the truth? Or or you say, yeah, I will figure it out somehow also I leave it as it is. How are you in such cases? speaker-0: no, we're very similar in that way. I I'm very stubborn with myself. Like if I set myself a goal, I will focus on it until I achieve it. So any sorry about that. there is a blue speaker-2: Bad speaker-0: faced wind chime right here, which I should really move. yeah, I think anything I've kind of wanted to do with my life, I've just kind of done it and I get that from my mum and dad. They're very they've never approached the world with fear. They've always approached it with if you set your sights on something within reason, you can achieve it if you take the necessary steps to get there and you try your best and you which, you know, is not true in all cases, but in a lot of cases it it can be. And so I get that from them, I think. But like I was saying before, when I was at school, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I was like, well, my mum went to this particular university. So I'll go to that university. And I got into that university and I was like, I want to study literature. So I did that. And then I was like, I want to be a journalist. So I did that. And and I wanted to be a sub editor. So I did that. And then I wanted to act. And yeah, I think I've got that determination. But it's not from a place of like Competitiveness, it's more from a place of like life is a bit like a game. how far can we push it? How far can we take it? How much fun can we have with it? Is this within the realm of possibility? speaker-2: And how much of that mindset would you say you got from acting, from literature and from journalism? 'Cause I think that's a pretty kind of a unique perspective to have all these things combined. speaker-0: Yeah, I think that's a really good point. They do all there's a lot of crossover there. the I do like hear about or meet a lot of other actors who have either working in other areas of the arts is a given, but a lot who have crossed over from media or have gone to media and journalism. But I guess that's also a part of storytelling really as well. So I think that's storytelling in a very linear factual fashion. but then studying literature, you know, that can be any kind of magical thing. It can be poetry, it can be narrative, fiction, nonfiction, and acting is the same. So I guess the common thread from all of those is storytelling and each particular discipline lends itself to a different kind of storytelling. I would say that that's probably the common theme. And I think like as human beings, like that's kind of what we're grounded in since the dawn of time, we would gather around a fire pit and share stories. That's how we've always passed on information and knowledge and law and yeah. I think it's it's very important to me. speaker-1: Interested to know how far would you go for someone you love? speaker-0: Yeah. I would do the sam I would be the same as Diane. I would I would really do anything for someone that I love, like my family or my partner or my friends. And I think like a lot of people can relate to that. I was reading a story the other day actually about a man who I don't know all of the details, but his wife went missing in like a scuba diving incident or a snorkeling incident. And he's been diving every day for thirty seven years to find her. And I was like, Wow, like I wonder if, you know, w would someone do that for me? Would I do that for someone? And I was like, Yeah, I would. Like if that was my mum or my dad or my partner or a friend. and like, thank God, touch wood. That hasn't been my story, but that is the story for for some people. And like, I just can't even I can't even imagine just your life being driven on needing that closure and needing to find answers. speaker-1: Okay, that's interesting because it brings it to to to to my question. because you said also and we see clearly that you are a very different person does Diane. So I'd like to know if Diane is looking for her mother actually or for a part of herself. How how how did you see the character while you were playing it? speaker-0: No, I that's a really good question. I did see her as looking for her mother that whole time. and I think she really speaker-2: Is real. speaker-0: lost herself in that process, as I imagine you would, like when you become driven mad by obsession and grief trying to find answers for someone you love. speaker-2: And I also like what you said earlier about her physicality 'cause it translates for her so clearly into her physicality that she's lost herself 'cause she's so rigid. So that's so interesting. speaker-0: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I I just tried to watch like a lot and listen to a lot of stories from people who had been through s well, not similar but adjacent kind of things in terms of like, you know, losing a loved one but not having closure for where they went or what happened to them and what that does to a person's psyche and what that does to them. mentally, spiritually, physically, to their relationships, to like everything about their existence. It just changes forever. speaker-1: And what do you think? What is Diane's biggest fear? Finding its ruse or never finding it, or even something else? speaker-0: I think never finding the truth is her biggest fear for sure. And I think I don't wanna give any spoilers, but I think that's why she does what she does as the film goes on, 'cause she's she's not scared of she wants the answer. speaker-2: And do you think part of her wanting the answer is also that she is considering whether her mom left her on purpose? speaker-0: Yeah, definitely. I think she's yeah, she just has no idea because as, you know, people find out from the synopsis or the beginning of the film, so it's not giving anything away. She's like with her mum one day and she walks into the lake and she's gone. And so as a child, like, what would you think? would you think my mum's left me? Would you think maybe she did get out and I didn't see it happen? Like you just you wouldn't really know. And I think that would be part of the obsession with needing to know as well, did she leave or did something nefarious happen to her? speaker-2: And Diane has been searching for a long time for the truth and then Dean shows up and gets involved. speaker-0: yeah. speaker-2: How would you say that changes Diane's journey? speaker-0: It changes her journey significantly because she's just she's for so long been used to doing it on her own. And she's also like a shut-in as well. Like apart from, you know, when she goes out to investigate things. Like that's her very insular life is like, you know, trying to solve these cases and things like that. But she's gotten very used to functioning completely alone. So that kind of upends everything. And I think Initially when he comes in and saying I might have some information for you, she sees it as purely it's a transactional thing. she's not, I want to bring you on board as part of my team. She's like, Okay, well, I've had a lot of people say this to me over the years. Is he telling the truth or isn't he? show me what you've got. And what he shows her sh is something she hasn't seen before. And so I think that opens her up a little bit more to being like, okay, maybe there is something to this guy, even though she's like immediately don't like him as a person, fully judges him because they're from totally different worlds. And I think s you know, the story goes to show as well that like you can't really judge a book by its cover because they both kind of have that with one another as well. So speaker-1: The movie is supernatural horror thriller and there are very there there are a lot of unexplainable events happening in the movie. How is that with you? do you believe in supernatural events that we can't simply explain? Or you say, I don't know, it can be, it can't be or or how how how is that with you? speaker-0: Yeah. I think I sit firmly in the agnostic camp. So I think that there's like more to the the universe than our senses will allow us to experience or understand. And I think as human beings naturally we have like a very human-centric view of the universe. Like, well, everything I can see and touch and feel and hear. That's everything. And, physics and science proves to us, no, that's not it. bats can echolocate. They have a sense that we have never had. And all all kinds of things like that go to show that there are so many things beyond the scope of our human understanding that exist in the natural world that I don't want to close myself off to anything. But at the same time, I don't know what those things are. I I'm not super prescriptive with them to be like, this is a ghost or this is a spirit or I know that's a little bit vague, but I hope that makes sense. But I've had a a number of weird things happen to me over the years, like many, many things that defy explanation. For example, just like one of many spooky things. One night I was laying in bed pitch black by myself at my parents' house. There's one else there. And their bedrooms are at the opposite end of the house and it's very quiet. And I heard a voice, and I don't know if I was asleep or not, but it doesn't really matter. But I heard a voice say to me, There is a spider under your pillow. Like I heard it loud and clear. And I was like, I should check that because that's a real speaker-2: Really weird thing to hear. speaker-0: So I turned the light on. I I moved the pillow and there's a live spider under my pillow. And I was like, wow, and it's not because, you know, I felt it crawl on me or something, nothing like that. It was just whether I was asleep, whether I was awake, I don't know, but something warned me that it was there. So that was one of a few spooky things that I've had happen to me. But yeah, I don't know if that's maybe that's our intuition. That's another sense that we have, I think. Maybe there's some kind of inbuilt self preservation mechanism that tells us when there's like hey, there's a spider here or there's a snake here or you know, but speaker-2: Yeah, especially in Australia. speaker-1: Yeah, because I I can imagine the the Australian spiders are also different than the spiders that we know in Germany. I believe that. speaker-0: yeah, there's there's a lot of them and they're all trying to bite you or kill you here basically. So No, I'm joking. speaker-2: Set up. speaker-0: but yeah, I was just gonna say I was trying to think of another spooky thing because there really have been so many. there was a funny one that happened to me the other day. I was home alone watching a horror movie and I heard a noise coming from downstairs and I was like, I should check that out. And I went down and it was like a banging noise and it was getting louder and louder and I was like, it's coming from the laundry. It's weird because the dryer's not on, the washing machine is not on. It's getting louder and louder. And I turned the corner into the laundry and I can see the washing machine and it's like banging like it's on, but even when it's on, it doesn't do that. But it's not on and the door is open and it's just moving. And I look I'm just like, I I don't have to speaker-2: at it time to deal with this so I just walk speaker-0: That's what speaker-2: away. I was like, I can't be bothered with this. I just want to relax. So I just walk away. I go back upstairs and watch my movie and I I I go to Google like speaker-0: Can a washing machine move on its own? I don't know, maybe something's happening with it. And Google said, there can be instances of the water pump doing something. I was like, good enough for me. That's fine. speaker-2: So I don't know if there was like a spirit that was trying to haunt me and I was just like, I'm too I can't be bothered for this right now and they gave up. Like I don't know, better. speaker-1: That's very interesting that he didn't scare. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-2: Yeah. speaker-1: I I would freak out in such a situation. speaker-2: I think cause I many spooky things happen speaker-0: I have had just so many happen and I've had this joke with friends before that I speaker-2: just I'm a little bit desensitized. So like maybe it just came was like, I'm not gonna speaker-0: To save up and get my scares here. I gotta move on next door or something. Okay. speaker-1: Yeah, before we continue, I'd like to tell the viewers and the listeners about the movie Water Horse and where the especially where they can watch it. The movie Waterhorse is available on Aleph Cine Stream in the US and Canada right now. You can simply go to www dot acstream dot com. And there you are able to find the movie you if you are based in the US or Canada and watch the movie. It's very beautifully made, it's very interesting. And Alef Cine Stream is an independent stream platform where we create every movie and select every movie before we put on the platform because the quality and our audiences are very important to us. speaker-2: And if you like the conversation that we had with Lauren, then it's definitely worth it to check out Waterhurst and see her in an entirely different character. speaker-1: You mentioned at the beginning that the acting wasn't actually something you really wanted and you weren't sure that if it's the right decision or no or so and your friends and other people just let's say inspired you and motivated you to do that. And sometimes we need to give up something to achieve something else. Mm, how was that for you? Did you give up something to get this acting career or or how was that? speaker-2: For you. speaker-0: Yeah, definitely. So when I went to acting school on the first day of acting school, we had like a really great head teacher who owned the the school and he came in to talk to all of us and he was like, Look, I'm gonna be really honest with you all and tell you if you can fathom, handle, be okay with doing anything else, do that because this will speaker-2: Take speaker-0: your time, your money, it will take everything from you, but if you give it everything, it will give back to you in spades. And I was really grateful for that advice because I was like, wow, that's pretty full on. But that's in my case, I've found that's the truth. I have sacrificed a lot for it, a having a stable job and a regular income. And there've been a lot of times where, I've had to say no to to going to events 'cause I might be on a shoot or have to do an audition or so I've missed out on a lot of things for that reason. But I just come back to that, you know, this is like something that I've decided to dedicate my life to. And that will ebb and flow and change over time, whether that's in full or in part. But I think that being a part of filmmaking, whether it's making the film or being in the film, and telling stories and being a part of cinema is just like it it's just so meaningful to me and gives my life purpose that it yeah, it'll always be a part of it. speaker-1: As an actress you portray different characters, different realities, different lives, in different movies. Did doing this change something that you believe that you used to believe in in yourself? You understand what I mean? speaker-0: In do you mean in acting in general or this role? speaker-1: personally because because you you portray di mult different characters that are very different than you because clear example Diane is a very different character than you. So did it change something that you used to believe about yourself? speaker-0: Yeah, I really like that. No one's ever asked me that before. I think at at the risk of sounding like a little bit contrived or whatever, I do think that acting is an exercise in empathy because you are learning about someone maybe who's completely different to you, like Diane, and then you're reading about their life and why is this person the way they are and Where does it come from and what's happened to them and what's made them like that? So I think and playing so many different people takes you just a a little into their lives a little bit and you get like a little glimpse of, you know, like what someone's life was like in eighteen sixty four Australia, living with bush rangers, what someone's life is like who, you know, maybe has had a loved one go missing and they're trying to search for answers or what whatever the case may be. and I think it has taught me that it has mm see, I don't know if it's that it has taught me or that it has revealed to me that I'm maybe braver than I thought that I was or that I could be. Because it is quite inherently acting is a little bit embarrassing, right? Like you're being quite vulnerable and you're trying this thing and you're doing this thing and you don't you know, you you it's totally new. Like you're wearing someone's skin anew and you've never been that person before. And I think when you're doing that repeatedly and you're remembering that it's less about you and more about the story that we're telling and creating together, then it gives you like a level of bravery within yourself to continue to do that. And then that ripples out into all other facets of your life as well, you know. I thought an example is I took my mum on to to hike the Tourmont Blanc. Do you guys know Tourmont Blanc? So we did the eleven day hike and through the French, Swiss and Italian Alps, and I like solo navigated us through that hike. And initially I was like, that's really confronting. I can't do that. What if I get us lost? I've never hiked in the Alps before. And I was like, no, if other people can do it, I can do it. And I think that's what it's given me in a very indirect way. It's it's given me a sense of bravery and and confidence in myself that, you know, the penalty for for trying different things. the penalty for failure is not life or death. It's just sometimes you might get a little bit embarrassed or you might get a little bit lost on the trail for a couple of hours, but you'll be okay. speaker-2: Mm-hmm. I love that. speaker-0: Yeah, it's good. speaker-1: What do you wish people to understand better from you? speaker-0: I think maybe that I'm a values-based person. And so I try my best to make all of my decisions from that place. And even if it's like doing a horror film, which on the surface is like, it's like it's just a horror film. I'm like, I've come to that choice by filtering it through that system. So being like, what is this person trying to say? What's the story being told? why is this important? Why why should I be the person to to bring this story to life? So yeah, I don't know if that answers your question very speaker-2: Very well. Yeah. So I think it does. How would you answer these questions for Water Horse? Why is the story important and why were you the person or were part of the team that brought it to light? speaker-0: Yeah, I think Jen I love Jen's scripts and she knows this because she always has something to say. And I don't think that like every film needs to have something to say in order for it to be important. I think like comedy has a place, I think. Or all there's space and importance to all pieces of art. But I think Jen always has something quite profound to say, whether she'll admit it or not. but I think it naturally comes through in the themes and the characters that she writes anyway. But with Waterhorse, I think Diane's voice is a voice that is often suppressed. Like we don't I don't think we give a lot of space for people who've been through things like that to talk about like what it what it does to them and how it impacts them and how we can rally around them. And I think also Another through line is how far would you go for someone you love? And it makes us question that, like, would I do what Diane did? You would hope that you would, but like, would you go that far? And I think for me, like the answer is yes. And it I don't think that I necessarily had to be the person to tell her story, but I wanted to be the person to tell her story. speaker-1: Interesting. And acting is a very interesting career, but it's also at the same time a very tough career because to get a proper role, to get paid for it, so it's it's very tough. Have you ever had to give up or start over? speaker-2: were you considering it? speaker-1: Well you you were considering it, yeah. speaker-0: yeah, I consider it probably once a day. speaker-2: But I know that I won't do it. So there's definitely like speaker-0: another path for me that I I have already forged with my degree and everything that is very comfortable, that's regular income. And I do when it acting is quiet dip in and out of that from time to time. But I think I love to entertain the thought of I'm just gonna quit, that's enough, which is very dramatic. That's a very actor thing to I'll speaker-2: Right. speaker-0: never I'll never fully quit. I I hope that even well if I'm lucky enough to to grow old that I'll still be acting in some capacity even when I'm ninety. Yeah. But it is a little treat every day to be like, That's it, I quit. speaker-1: And and what makes you satisfied? speaker-0: satisfied with acting or in speaker-1: With acting and in your life, speaker-2: Yeah, what brings you joy? speaker-0: Yeah. What brings me joy, so this is not acting related, but my doggie, she brings me joy. speaker-2: She brings me a lot of joy. speaker-0: my family, my friends and yes, cinema definitely, like cinema is one of the great loves of my life for sure. Having that like immersive experience with other people and knowing like you're all sitting in the cinema together, having like there's no distractions. You are literally having the same experience, like a look into someone's life is so magical. So yeah, all of those things bring me joy and I think satisfaction. It's always very satisfying booking a role or completing a project or having a project come out. Cause I think, you get so many no's and so many rejections or projects that get stuck in posts. So when you finally get a yes or when it's completed, that's that's very satisfying. Especially when the team is happy with it, speaker-1: Yeah, we are slowly moving towards the ending of this episode. Lauren, is there something you're still learning to accept about yourself? speaker-0: Something I'm learning to accept about myself is that speaker-2: I need speaker-0: Time to rest and recuperate and I'm learning that rest can be productive, which is very, very difficult for speaker-2: For me to accept. speaker-0: But I I'm I'm trying to to incorporate that and and learn that at the moment. Yeah. speaker-1: If you met your younger self, what would you say to her? speaker-0: I w if I met my younger self, I would say I would say like you're gonna have so much fun. Like don't worry, just go for it full throttle. You are you're gonna love it. Okay, really. speaker-1: Yeah, and we have we have and and we have also a signature question that we ask every single one of our guests. and we get very interesting answers every time. We are very curious to see how what you say. what is the one a story or a movie or a personal experience that changed how you see people? speaker-0: yes, I should have known about this because I heard this thing I didn't speaker-2: question and I didn't I didn't plan for it, but that's okay. speaker-0: love to jump in the defense, so it's fine. There have been I'm not a spring chicken anymore, so there have been a couple things now. But The Belgiar by Sylvia Plath, that book really profoundly impacted me when I read that because I'd never read a woman writing so candidly about her experiences with mental health before. And that that just like blew me away. Like I just couldn't believe the the level of honesty and authenticity and that really impacted me. And in terms of films, something a little bit more fun. When I was younger, watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Nightmare Before Christmas, I don't know if you guys have have seen it, man, that impacted me. I was obsessed with that film. I don't know why if it if it hit me at like a particular developmental stage where that becomes like an ingrained part of your psyche. But after that I just was like, I I love horror, I love Halloween, I love spooky things. So on two very different Both of speaker-2: But speaker-0: those things really impacted me. not necessarily how how I how I see people, maybe not so much nightmare before Christmas. And then I think like there was an experience that I had speaker-2: B. speaker-0: of being with my grandmother when she passed away, that was probably or is definitely the most profound experience that I've had in my life and that sort of changed my perspective on life and death and the importance of grace as well. So three are very different but all are very impactful for me in their own different kinds of ways. Yeah. I don't know speaker-1: Amazing. speaker-0: if that really answers speaker-2: It's speaker-0: your question so simply. speaker-1: It it it was it was it was good. Thank you so much Lauren for being part of this podcast. It was a pleasure to meet you in person after watching the movie Water Horse and very surprisingly meeting a very different person. speaker-2: Good, good, as long as it's not in a bad speaker-0: It's speaker-1: Would they let's say speaker-2: way. speaker-0: thank you guys so much. speaker-2: For everybody that enjoyed this episode and wants to watch Water Horse, you can do so in the US and Canada and watch it on Olive Sinistream. It's at AC minus stream dot com. And to everyone who was listening and watching, we're so happy to have you join Beyond Our Stories, where movies open the door, but the conversation is always about something larger as we explore today. speaker-1: If you enjoyed today's episode, we'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, let us know your thoughts in the comments, and share this conversation with someone who might need to watch this. And someone share with someone who appreciates meaningful storytelling. Every story begins on the screen, but it continues within us. Thank you for joining us, and we'll see you next time on Beyond Our Stories.