Interview conducted by Nia Edwards-Behi
In case you missed it before, read Nia’s interview with Midnight Son director Scott Leberecht.
Midnight Son is a film about a young man who may – or may not – be a vampire, played with wonderful restraint by Zak Kilberg. Kilberg’s angular features make him a perfect fit for the sickly, sun-shy Jacob, who increasingly believes his illness to be less than regular. When bodies start showing up and a nascent relationship proves complicated, Jacob’s problems only deepen.
Kilberg is no stranger to the horror film – you may recognise him from Zombie Strippers, no less – and he kindly agreed to chat with me about Midnight Son.
BAH: Tell us a little about getting involved in the film – did you have to audition for the part, or were you involved at an earlier stage?
ZK: An experienced San Francisco actor I know, David Fine, sent me the link to director Scott Leberecht’s website for the film – I was living in LA at the time. On the site Scott had a synopsis and incredible story boards from the film he had drawn. From exploring the site, I felt an immediate connection to Scott and his vision. I also happened to have an uncanny resemblance to the drawings of the main character, Jacob. I immediately emailed Scott a link to a short film I had just directed and starred in. He sent me the script right away and requested an audition tape which I sent. A month or two later I was in San Francisco for a film festival and came to Scott’s house for a call back. It was perfect timing and he offered me the role the next day.
BAH: What attracted you to the film and to the role of Jacob?
ZK: I was most attracted to the story/script. I felt the role was authentic and realistic. I liked that Jacob was a human being first (vampire second). By adding the vampire layer to everything it felt more real and also like a unique perspective. Also, living in the sometimes emotionally isolating world of Los Angeles myself, I connected with the character emotionally as well in some capacity.
BAH: In approaching the role and then bringing it to life, were you consciously playing Jacob as ‘a vampire’, or just a regular guy who might be suffering from an illness?
ZK: My filmmaking influences are definitely more based in docu-drama and indie realism. I am a huge fan of Cassavetes – specifically the performances in A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE. Fleck’s HALF NELSON and Akin’s HEAD ON are two other films that inspire me deeply as a filmmaker and actor. My primary intention was to paint a picture of Jacob that felt real. I knew that realness was what separated this story from so many other vampire stories out there. If I could make the character real and relatable (and the million other filmmaking pieces came together as well) then the film would work.
BAH: Were you wary of taking part in a film that might be (unfairly!) grouped together with Twilight, putting you in the ‘romantic lead’ role?
ZK: It’s funny you mention Twilight. I actually had an audition for the lead role of Edward in Twilight several months before I auditioned for Jacob in Midnight Son. When we initially started filming MS, Twilight had not even been released yet, so there was not much consideration for the film at the time. Looking back I feel that MS stands well enough alone as not to be negatively compared to Twilight!
BAH: You and Maya Parish share a wonderful chemistry in the film. Was this something you both worked on or did it just happen naturally?
ZK: Thank you, Nia! Maya did an incredible job as Mary. All of our chemistry evolved very naturally. Maya is an extremely professional and dedicated actress. She was cast as the actress first then later became a producer on the film because she brought so much to the movie.
BAH: What’s it like to act out the more intimate scenes between the two of you, particularly the more awkward ones? Do you ever get self-conscious?
ZK: I did get a bit nervous immediately before we started filming the sex scene. Ultimately I think Maya and I were both just so thrilled to be working on the film that we would have done anything to make it great. We also both had a deep trust and love for Scott. It was an extremely supportive and positive working environment and Scott was great about keeping the set closed for the sexy stuff!
BAH: You’ve acted in a fair few horror films – does the genre appeal to you in particular? If so, what is it that’s appealing about it for you?
ZK: It’s funny, I actually get pretty frightened watching horror films. I always enjoy great scripts of any genre. However, because of their international popularity and marketability, there have always been more opportunities to get involved with genre films as both actor and producer. I’m definitely interested in focusing more on socially relevant content, however I’ll never turn down a good horror project!
BAH: Finally, what are your upcoming projects, and can you tell us a little about them?
ZK: Over the past few years I have taken a step back from auditions and been focused on building my production company SOCIAL CONSTRUCT FILMS. I am definitely still interested in acting and have taken some smaller roles in things I am producing, but my main focus now is in developing content and stories I love and building them from the ground up. We just completed production on our 3rd feature film in 2 1/2 years. We also had a short film at Sundance this year called L TRAIN that was exec produced by Alexander Payne (THE DESCENDANTS) and has qualified for this year’s Academy Award consideration. Two genre features I produced will be released this year, Jay Lee’s ALYCE (Lionsgate UK) w/Tamara Feldman (HATCHET) and James Duval (Donnie Darko), and David Guy Levy’s WOULD YOU RATHER (IFC) w/ Brittany Snow and Sasha Grey. We also recently wrapped production on Ari Gold’s untitled new feature w/ Rory Culkin (SCREAM 4) and Robert Sheehan (MISFITS). Really excited about this one. It’s also happens to be the first “non-genre” film I’ve produced. You can read more about our productions at www.socialconstructfilms.com.
Thank you Nia. It has been a pleasure discussing MIDNIGHT SON with you and all the rest!
Midnight Son will be released on Region 2 DVD on 13th February, from Monster Pictures.