What was your day-to-day [routine] like as the star and the writer and an executive producer of “Reindeer Games Homecoming”?
This is the first time that I’ve been with a production from the very, very, very beginning. I’ve produced before, but on the movie I produced before [“Indivisible”], I came in later in the process. This is the one where I had my hands in every single aspect of every creative decision that was being made in every single conversation.
It was a huge education for me. I learned some incredible things about myself, one of which is the greatest lesson I learned, [which is] that I have a really good knack for pivoting without getting too emotional about stuff, which was a lovely thing to discover.
When you’re working [with] the budget that we work [with] on these movies, sometimes something in the script has to move [in] another direction because we don’t have the budget for this or that. There is a constant … Even if it’s not a budget thing, when you’re in the creative leadership process of a project, you are required to constantly be problem-solving. On top of doing the acting job that I’m there to do, I’m also problem-solving, and I’m also coming up with new solutions, and I’m also doing a little rewrite here, a little rewrite there if I need to.
The day-to-day [routine] is that I was activated on all cylinders all the time. There was very little [time to] chill out, rest, relax. I basically slept all weekend for all the times that I was there. I was like, “I’m not going and doing anything, except maybe going out to dinner one night.” It’s very activating, and I felt very alive.
From a writer’s perspective, you can get so attached. That story is your baby. To be able to pivot is an amazing skill to have in this business.
That was the biggest thing I learned. The other thing, [which] I’ve always known I’m good at, is collaboration. My ego doesn’t get in the way often, because I’ve witnessed enough times when I see ego getting in the way, and then the work suffers, that I’m like, “I’m not going to do that. That’s not interesting.”
I want the project to be the best it can be. I’m a very big believer in “best idea wins.” If someone’s offering something or someone’s giving a note, my wheels are immediately turning: “How does this make this work better?” “Do we still need that?” “Actually, I love that idea. Let’s do that.” But also, “What we need to preserve is this other thing, because of A, B, and C.” I’m like, “But yes, what you just said makes it better, so let’s do that.”
I had moments of little heartbreak here and there for sure, but all in all, it was a very exciting process, learning how to go, “Okay, we can’t do that. What are we going to do instead? And how do we make it sing still?”
