ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to Matthew Morrison and Kayla Bohan about starring in the new drama movie From Embers. Morrison and Bohan discussed playing a believable father-daughter duo, the film’s use of music, and more.
“From Embers follows the life of a recently widowed mother (Kara Wang) as she grapples with the loss of her husband Ron (London Kim) while caring for their seven-year-old autistic son, Kevin (Alexander J. Lee), and forming a bond with their new neighbor, Marty Baker (Matthew Morrison), an alcoholic whose passion for music is only surpassed by his love for his daughter Chloe (Kayla Bohan),” the synopsis reads. “Tackling grief, loss, and resilience, Lily’s life takes a turn when her and Kevin’s relationship becomes strained as secrets become revealed surrounding her husband’s sudden death.”
Following a limited theatrical release in Los Angeles, From Embers will be shown in San Francisco, California’s Cineloung from November 8-14, 2024, and in New York City’s Cinema Village from November 22-28.
Brandon Schreur: Matthew, can you tell me a little bit about how you got involved with this project? I know you were on Glee for years and years and years — my girlfriend would kill me if I didn’t mention that she’s a huge fan of the show and loves you. Here, you’re playing a character who has seen some stuff and, at the same time, is still going through some stuff. What about this role stood out to you? What was it like playing a character who has this kind of darkness hidden within him?
Matthew Morrison: Oh, this is my favorite. I love this. Glee and a lot of those kinds of parts for me are just like a walk in the park. It’s so nice to have something you can just dig your teeth into and really just be an actor for and flex some muscles. For me, I read the script and I really connected with it. I thought it was a story that wasn’t being told very often. I think a lot of it is about finding new connections after loss, but realizing that sometimes the connections we think will heal us is based on shared trauma and that’s not always a healthy foundation.
Yeah, dealing with the darker side of coping and how easy it is to fall into numbing and to reach for alcohol instead of facing shame and guilt head-on. There are a lot of themes in this. I think at the core of it, for me, a big part of it was the father-daughter bond. It kind of kept him grounded. That sentiment that there’s always someone in your life — whether they’re a close family member, a friend, a therapist, or someone you can reach out to when you feel like your world is crumbling around you. I loved that powerful sentiment that we should always reach out and that we don’t have to carry all those burdens by ourselves.
Totally. I think that comes across really strong in the movie, too. You touched on the father-daughter aspect of it all and that’s what I wanted to ask both of you about next. There are a lot of scenes that you guys share and there’s this whole montage, about halfway through the movie, where it’s the two of you hanging out and bonding. I thought that was really cool and the kind of moment you don’t always see in a movie — yeah, Matthew, your character is going through some stuff, but here’s a moment where you can just really connect. I’m curious how you guys went about building that relationship up to make it feel so believable. Were you hanging on set a lot when the cameras were off, trying to work that out?
Kayla Bohan: Yes, that too, spending a lot of time on set. But, really, what brought us together was the making of Panorama. We worked on it together, we added some more music to it, and we finally recorded it in a studio. The experience, for me, was wonderful. He taught me so many things, so many singing techniques. Honestly, that just made our bond grow. I felt like, ‘Wow, it will be an amazing experience to work with this guy, for sure.’ And it was! It was one of the best summers of my life.
I love that. I was going to ask about the music, too, because I didn’t know that was going to be an element of the movie going into it, but then, Matthew, your character is a musician, and I thought that was really cool. There’s one moment, specifically, when he’s on a park bench playing a song the character wrote for his daughter. I’m curious how that came together. Did you write that yourself?
Morrison: Yeah, that’s the song she’s talking about. Before we started filming, she had done a version of this song that was lovely and a great foundation for it. I was like, ‘I would love to add my thing to it and I think it’d be a fun process to create this together.’ But I also didn’t want to take away too much from what she had already created. We just went in, and dove a little deeper into lyrics and different melodies to play with.
Then, also, putting it together with two voices. In the movie, it’s just me singing it, but we did a little music video of us doing it. In the movie, I think there is some underscoring where it’s our version we’re both singing, right?
Bohan: Yeah.
Morrison: But, yeah, that was a song that we kind of created together, and it was fun. Because it was the song that I wrote for my daughter, that’s why I felt like it was really important for me to kind of put my own take on it because I really wanted to personally connect to it a little more than from what was there from this lovely, talented teenage girl.
Definitely. And you obviously were in Glee for so long and did all kinds of singing there. Is there, at this point, any kind of intimidation that comes when you have to sing on-screen like that or are you just so used it to that you can just go for it?
Morrison: Yeah, I’ve never had a problem with that, that’s kind of my bread and butter. But that was a part of this script when I first saw it where I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ I’m kind of trying to get away from that, a little bit, because it is such a brand for me and I like kind of being out there. It was cool to put it in the tapestry of this character, in particular, that is darker, that is going through some stuff, and that has some things to say. Also, music is something that he never really made his career doing, he never really had success. But it’s something that he holds onto, it’s such a love for him and, obviously, a great connection point to his daughter.
Yeah, totally. I think that scene was my favorite moment of the movie, I think you guys totally nailed it. It was a really beautiful moment. Kayla, there are a bunch of scenes between your character and Kevin, played by Alexander Lee. As much as I liked the relationship that you and Matthew have here together, I really liked the dynamic you guys have going on, too. What was it like working with? How did you guys build that bond together?
Bohan: We didn’t have a ton of scenes but, while we were at it, he is such a cute kid. He’s so kind. I feel like he played his character so well. I’d say it’d be pretty difficult to play someone who is autistic, but he did so well. It’s really great to see younger children acting, but he did a great job. It was so fun working with him. I felt like our bond was pretty tight, too, mostly because I just thought he was really easy to talk to.
Morrison: He was the most professional cast member there was, not going to lie.
I thought he was great and, like I said, I love the dynamic that builds between the two of you. Matthew, there’s a scene I want to talk to you about kind of more towards the end of the movie. Your character is an alcoholic who is trying to better himself, but there’s a part where he relapses a little and gets mad at Kara Wang over something he overhears. You totally change your demeanor, there, and go to a darker place. What was it like filming that? Did you have to go to a darker place to film that scene?
Morrison: I think the hardest part about that scene was I love Kara so much. It was hard yelling at her, at this character. You go into this place of, ‘She’s not Kara. And I’m not Matty.’ To go there and really dive into that was, I don’t think it was challenging. It was fun. You get to take the gloves off, you go into this sandbox, and you’re just this kid playing make-believe. I get into these moments where I’m just in the place where I’m so lost in something. In particular, that scene, was really fun for me to go there. Not necessarily challenging, but you have to add the element of, ‘Yeah, I’m supposed to be intoxicated in this moment.’
I’m sure that’s hard to do, too, to not be intoxicated but to act like it.
Yeah, because what’s too far? I kind of had this moment where she didn’t know I was going to grab her and I kind of just grabbed her, which kind of took her by surprise. We didn’t really have it choreographed or anything; that’s the blessing and the curse of shooting a film in 22 days. You don’t have much time to rehearse. You just get on set, hopefully everyone knows their lines, and you just go. They start rolling and you just see what happens. I thought that was really vulnerable, raw, and a lot of fun for me.
Thanks to Matthew Morrison and Kayla Bohan for discussing From Embers.