Johanna Braddy Q&A

August 14, 2014

Q and A with Johanna Braddy

We’re highlighting a different character each week on Facebook and Twitter leading up to the September 26 release of Believe Me. This week is all about Johanna Braddy and her character, Callie, the tour manager for Cross Country and Sam’s love interest. We caught up with Johanna to talk about her Believe Me experience one year later.

Q: What have you been up to since we shot Believe Me last summer?

A: Gosh it’s been a busy year. A couple of films, and guest stars. I’m just now relocating to Canada for a series regular role on Lifetime’s new show, “UN-Real.”

Q: Tell me a little bit about that.

A: Without revealing too much, it’s a dark comedy about the makings of a dating style reality show. A behind the scenes look, if you will. My character is a Lawyer, which I could not be more excited to play. One of my favorite shows is The Good Wife, so I’m hoping to channel a little Alicia Florrick.

Q: One of the reasons I’m so happy that you’re a part of this movie, and why I think you shine throughout the film, is that you just have an authenticity about you. I think that’s also one of the reasons why you have so many fans on Facebook and Twitter who get geeked about everything you work on. What are your fans saying about Believe Me?

A: A bunch of people have viewed the trailer and have been responding that they can’t wait to see it. I’ve personally pre-ordered the DVD. Everyone seems curious about the subject matter. I’ve had people reach out to me who are openly atheist, saying they are interested. It doesn’t seem like we’re being boxed in as a “Christian Movie,” thank goodness!

Q: Is the work that you did on Believe Me pretty consistent with other projects you’ve done? Or was it different because we had such a short shoot and you were working crazy hours?

A: I’ve done a whole bunch of night shoots on indies and other jobs.  In my experience, it was pretty normal. It was passionate, you know. Everyone’s there because they love it and they love this script. I don’t know. Not to sound super hippie, but the vibe and spirit was really good.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about VGHS (Video Game High School)? Can you drop me any little nuggets?

A: Yes, the nugget I’m allowed to mention is that someone dies this season.

Q: For your sake, I hope it’s not you.

A: Well, it is our last season, so it could be anyone at this point.

Q: Can you give us a little bit of an insight as to something new that Jenny learns this season about herself?

A: Yeah. This season, she really has a lot of clarity when it comes to relationships and career and the balance of both of those. It’s an extreme challenge for her.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to say about VGHS?

A: Oh sure! The style of the season is a little bit different. Each episode kind of has its own theme. Like, we have a film noir styled episode, then more of a sitcom style episode. So it’s really interesting; it’s different from the past seasons.

Q: Was that more fun for you shooting it that way or did you not really notice a difference as the actress?

A: I don’t know. I mean VGHS is just fun in general, but this was exciting because it was new and so different. It was challenging because we didn’t shoot episodes in order. We just mixed it all up kind of like a film. So we’d shoot part of episode one, three, and five all in one day. The switching mindsets to what scene we were in was a challenge, but it was really, really fun. Also, they told me I could mention that they are looking at a fall release.

Q: What are some of your favorite memories from being here last summer? The production, both on screen and off, hanging out, and stuff like that.

A: Oh my gosh, everything. Like, everything. I was with Alex [Russell] the other day and we both agreed that last summer was honestly one of the best times of our lives, and definitely the most fun we’ve ever had on a project. I think just the tone and vibe of everything. It was neat because pretty much all the filmmakers know the Lord and most the actors don’t.

Some of them had never even read a Bible verse until the script and I don’t know, it just started so many great conversations. You usually try not to talk about religion or politics in the workplace, but that is what this entire movie is about so we just went for it and had some really deep, heated conversations. I think that brought us all closer and gave us a more authentic connection than a lot of jobs do. I think my favorite days though were the night shoots, for sure.

To learn more about Johanna, you can follow her on Twitter, @JohannaEBraddy, and to see all the news about his role in Believe Me, follow @believemefilm.

Note: this conversation was recorded and transcribed by Wil Matthews.

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