Coffee with Q: Dawn Ford on Her Breakthrough in Bury the Devil

Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Renee Perron, legal news reporter at Coffee with Q. Usually we host our subject matter masterclass show with a legal professional, but today we'll be switching things around and airing an edition of the Elite Acting Professional. I'm here in Montreal, Canada with my good friend Don Ford, actor and voice performer, stand-up comic, and star of the critically acclaimed movie Bury the Devil, which made its world premiere at the Fright Fest last month in Glasgow, Scotland. Dare I say that Dawn is a late bloomer, but she's always impressed me with her laissez-faire attitude while having a focus on her craft and creativity that has always impressed the hell out of me, no pun intended. Dawn's persistence has again put her in the spotlight with the TV series Plan B, which is up for 3 Canadian Screen Awards. Hello Dawn, welcome and great to have you on Coffee with Q.

Thank you for having me. It's so great to be here.

It's great to have you. Yeah, so we've known each other for a long time. I've been to many of your shows as a stand-up artist, but I'm really excited for you in this breakthrough, breakthrough for Bury the Devil. Can you tell us about the work in this horror fright fest or fright flick?

Fright flick, definitely frightening. It's directed by Adam O'Brien, the wonderful Adam O'Brien, and produced by Philippe Calin-Hadju and Benoît Beaulieu, who is also the cameraman who did an extraordinary job. Everybody, you You know, it takes a village, right, to, to make something really happen. And it was just a beautiful connection, a beautiful community of people that came together— the actors, the crew, everybody. We all worked together really, really well.

Amazing.

Yeah.

Um, there's been a lot of discussion about the movie being shot in a one-take. Yeah. What What were the biggest challenges of filming Bury the Devil as a one-shot production?

I think the biggest challenge was, well, the rehearsal process was, was very helpful, very positive. We had to rehearse time after time after time after time to make sure that when we were actually shooting, it was flawless from beginning to end, that there were no, there were no glitches, no hiccups. So I think that's the biggest challenge of all, was Making sure everybody, everybody was in their place. And we all— and that took a lot of rehearsal, not only for the acting but for the sound, for the camera, the camera work, the lighting. Everything had to be just so from beginning to end. So that kind of planning, it's, it's astounding, the plan, the planning that goes in that. And I mean, Adam at the helm as a director, he just had such a clear vision of what he wanted to do, and it was easy to follow him because, because of his, his leadership as a director. I just trusted him, and we all did.

I think there was something like 2 years of preparation. Yeah, getting all the camera angles figured out beforehand. Yeah, that's crazy.

I know, yeah, I know. And it was all shot in a house, one house, one location, just this huge house on Lac Sainte-Claire in Quebec near La Chute. And beautiful home that— I guess that helped a lot that we were in one location to be able to do that one take as well, that we went from room to room to room to room. To basement and back up again. So that, that, that really helped a lot doing the one take. And that's where a lot of the rehearsal process happened before we actually started shooting. Over 2 years they were there in the house working it all through. Yeah.

I haven't seen the movie. I saw the trailer. You scared the hell out of me.

I'm sorry.

Okay, but—

I mean, I'm glad.

How did you prepare the role? How did you prepare for the role?

How did I prepare? Well, preparation, as you said, I'm a late bloomer, but I've actually been acting my whole life. It's just come to this point where I'm a character actor, so I do— I play smaller roles quite a bit of the time in films or TV series. And it was just, it was just timing that this film came along and that I was able to, to, to fit the part. Timing, just real perfect timing. And I guess my preparation is my whole, my whole career led me up to that point where that I've had the experience, because it's a lot to carry a movie. And that's what they say about lead roles, is you carry the movie. And not that I'm strong, but I've worked it and worked it and worked it and worked it for so many years. And that entails vocal work, movement, physical training, mental training. I have a very strict Buddhist practice so that I stay very centered when I'm working. It helps me to start my shoot day and at the end of the day. So there's so many things that, that go into being an actor that a lot of people don't know, just like I don't know what goes into being a lawyer. It's the same, it's the same kind of deal.

What were the advantages of hiring an actor like you?

I think you'd have to ask the producer and the director, but I think just, just all that experience.

Probably.

And the fact that I'm a bit cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

You are a little zany.

And horror movies demand to be a little daring, shall I say, you know, to play those, those parts.

I have an image of you on roller skates.

Oh yes, I have done that too.

Yeah. Um, is this what you thought it would be like to star in your first feature role?

Well, I guess— I don't know, that's a really good question, if that's what I thought it would be like. I had no idea that the film would be as successful as it is so far, and it's just launching, so who knows where it's going to go. But we've had such great reviews. I'm so happy for the team, for everyone. So that's kind of a delight, you know, like an unexpected delight. We always hope that there'll be great success with the work we do, but we never know. There's so many variables. Pictures get buried for— well, not the devil, but pictures get sunk for different reasons, you know. We never know what's going to happen. So I guess, I guess there's a lot of Hard work and good luck that has supported the film. Yeah.

So what's next on the horizon for you?

On the horizon?

And maybe you can tell us a little bit about Plan B.

Plan B. Oh, yeah, the series Plan B. It's a wonderful series that is on CBC Gem, a Canadian network. It was first shot in French, 5 seasons. Each season is a different storyline. Different cast. And so it's like its own little segment within itself. And the season that I shot, it's, it's a pretty heavy-duty season, actually. And what happens with all the seasons is the, the main character goes through a traumatic experience in the beginning, and They wish they could do their life over, and somehow they randomly get in touch with this phone number from someone, and they call the number, and they say, would you like to go back? What time would you like to go back? And you say, oh, 2 weeks ago, or 2 years ago, and you're picked up in a van, thrown into a van, and taken back to that time so you can restart your story. But we don't know if that's actually going to be better. Or worse. Sometimes going back in time is interesting.

Interesting.

It's a powerful show.

And how about, how about any new movies?

Or yeah, yeah, I have a new movie coming out too this year called Walter: Earth Day Adventure, which is a very special film. I'm so lucky to work with all these wonderful people on films that actually Make a Difference. It's a— it's an environmental drama comedy. And I also have another animated feature that won't be out till next year, probably, because it takes a long time to animate. We just recorded all the voices in Quebec City in February.

So, well, Dawn, thanks for, for coming on the show today. Thanks for sharing your time and valuable experience.

Thank you.

About the wonderful world of horror. Maybe we'll do it again.

Maybe we'll do it again.