MARTIN-GREEN: It meant a great deal.
I have to big up Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, our writer and director he wrote it along with A.J.
He wanted women to bring his story to life.
Image via Briarcliff Entertainment
And so while I am essentially Kyle in this film, he still opened up, right?
He says that he was taught to leave the windows open, and that’s what he did.
I’m curious how you went about developing that chemistry because it feels so lived-in and natural.
Image via Briarcliff Entertainment
MARTIN-GREEN: Oh, thank you so much.
That’s such a great thing to hear.
Honestly, it was organic.
Image via Briarcliff Entertainment
The script was so well written that, even as youre reading it, it jumps off the page.
So to bring it to life, we just dove in and created a safe space for each other.
We just jumped together and dove in, and it was so fun and fulfilling at the same time.
Image via Briarcliff Entertainment
Is there one moment that stands out as being the most difficult to keep a straight face during?
MARTIN-GREEN: Oh my goodness.
Well, she’s so funny.
Engaged in a mysterious relationship with her dead best friend from the Army, a female Afghanistan veteran comes head to head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family’s ancestral lake house.
There were probably a couple of spit takes in that one in that sequence.
I love a good car karaoke car dancing scene.
I think those are always so fun.
Do you have a song that you love to sing in the car?
I have to ask.
MARTIN-GREEN: Oh my gosh, do I have a song I like to sing in the car?
That’s a good question.
I’m also always listening to songs with the kids.
Most of the time when I’m in the car, I’m with my kids.
So youre pumping Wheels on the Bus?
We listen to those a lot, too.
You got to spice it up a little bit.
MARTIN-GREEN: You do!
I wanted to do the right thing, and I wanted to uplift Kyle.
I wanted to uplift all vets.
I wanted to uplift even those who have not served who have dealt with this kind of pain.
Well, I think you did a beautiful job.
MARTIN-GREEN: Oh, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Its such a meaningful and deep connection.
Can you talk a little bit about developing that with Ed Harris?
Because I feel like the grandpa relationship will hit home for a lot of people me especially.
MARTIN-GREEN: Oh, that’s wonderful.
I know Kyle would be really happy to hear you say that.
I found it to be a very cozy place, being in those moments with him.
I was physically shaking.
I could feel it so deep in my chest and in my stomach and in my heart.
It hit me so hard.
It was such a joy to be able to do life with him and tell that story with him.
It was just such a joy and a blessing.
It was a beautiful, challenging blessing.
MARTIN-GREEN: Oh, that’s wonderful to hear.
It really shines through I think as well.
You mentioned the trash scene, which also kind of shook me up.
MARTIN-GREEN: The music in the park?
This was the reason why he joined why he wanted to be a soldier was because of his grandfather.
It’s very much what you hear Merit saying, My grandfather seemed 100-feet-tall to me.
And goodness, it was.
Even to hear Kyle say that moment gets to him still to this day.
Oh gosh, it was a moment.
If you hear Kyle, he’ll say, My grandfather and I actually neverdidquite talk about it.
So there’s a little bit of the hope of healing in the story too.
At least, I hope it does.
MARTIN-GREEN: Oh, thank you for asking about that.
It’s like, this ismylife, right?
But the fact that he wanted us to come into it and add to it is huge.
That’s saying a lot about who he is.
It’s saying a lot about the kind of kindness that he leads with.
So we contributed a lot, and we brought a lot to it.
But here,I had a front-row seat, and I was involved.
And there were also things throughout the shoot that we were doing.
That was a big moment for me, to be able to have my dad in there.
Honestly, it was really beautiful.
The stakes are high.
My Dead Friend Zoeis now playing in theaters.
