Reese Eveneshen

He played in Peter Szabo’s Dollar Baby Love Never Dies as Steve.

SKSM: Could you start with telling me a little bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?

Reese Eveneshen: Sure thing! I’m Reese Eveneshen… I played Steve in Love Never Dies. Which was my first and only starring role! I also produced and co-edited, Love Never Dies as well. I’m also primarily a Writer and Director as well!

SKSM: When did you know you wanted to become an actor?

Reese Eveneshen: Truthfully it’s not something I had any interest in… and still don’t! Maybe when I was younger and didn’t quite understand the film industry. But my interest has definitely always been behind the scenes. I’ll give myself a cameo here and there, but that’s about the extent to which I want to pursue an acting career. I have lots of friends who are actors and who are busting their butts doing it, I have a lot of respect for what they do, but it’s not for me.

SKSM: How did you become involved in Love Never Dies Dollar Baby film?

Reese Eveneshen: Originally I came on board as a producer on the film. Peter and I had already been working together for a few years by that point. He produced my project and in turn I wanted to help out and produce his. I was there to help facilitate the production, how we were going to pull it off, how we were going to spend accordingly. It was a very low budget short, and we had a lot to pull off in a short amount of time. I had been working on many smaller productions at the same time and new how to better spend what little we had.

SKSM: What do you think it is about the story that attracts people so much?

Reese Eveneshen: I think it’s that primal thing in people, folks are attracted to the dark side… especially when they can view it in third person through a film. Stephen King as always tapped into that dark side, it’s very attractive. And I think people like to watch characters who move against the grain and act out their more violent impulses… Everybody has bad days, everybody gets bullied… not many people act on that and do something about it.

SKSM: Did you have to audition for the part or was it written directly for you?

Reese Eveneshen: Well we had been going through the usual work load of watching several auditions for the character of Steve. And there were several actors that were very good for the part. But it became clear (based on our schedule) that we needed someone who was going to be available on a rather sporadic schedule. Which can be difficult sometimes with a low budget. At some point I started reading alongside the other actresses who were auditioning for Nona. Peter started looking over at me with this “look” in his eyes… next thing I knew he was asking me if I wanted the part! Based on our schedule and what I was already giving to the production, I said yes. Also I thought it would be a fun challenge, there was a part of me that wanted to give acting a try… In hindsight, if I could go back I would have said “No” and gone with someone else. It was a fun little experiment, but ultimately I feel I didn’t do the part justice and we could have got someone better!

SKSM: You worked with Peter Szabo on this film, how was that?

Reese Eveneshen: Wonderful! As mentioned, Peter and I had (and still have) been working together for years. We’re very close as friends, we’re practically family. We’ve got a great short hand between each other. We worked very well together on this set, both as actor to director and producer to director.

SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when they made the movie that you would like to tell me about?

Reese Eveneshen: Oh boy, it’s been years… seven to be exact. I don’t remember much of it. All I mostly remember is how flippin’ cold it was! We shot the movie during a particularly cold April in Ontario, Canada. And it was a lot of very, very cold night shoots. If anything I remember hanging out with fellow cast and crew members, we all got along great and kept each other from freezing to death. On a funnier note, Peter really wanted me to grow a beard for the short… and I really, really tried. I had over a month before production started, and the best I could muster up was a “Wolverine” look. That’s when we learned it was impossible for me to grow a beard! I did enjoy some of the low budget tricks we used: For instance, we had these night time driving scenes, but we wanted to limit our night shoots. We took over a large work shed on a family member’s piece of property and essentially built a black box with heavy cloth. We put the vehicle in the box, ran lights past the windows… and voila! Night time driving sequences. And it worked too… I love that stuff, especially on low budget shoots.

SKSM: Do you still have any contact with the crew/cast from that time? If so with who?

Reese Eveneshen: Of course I do! Mostly Peter and Erin (Nona)… Peter and I still work together to this day. Erin was my girlfriend back then and now she’s my wife… so that worked out well! I’m also still very close to Chris who was our on set sound recordist, he was a groomsmen at my wedding, There’s too many to name, but there’s a lot of people in front of and behind the camera who I’m still close with and continue to work with!

SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?

Reese Eveneshen: Well my feature film (that Peter produced) is now out in the world! It’s called, Defective! A sci-fi, action film about a brother and sister trying to escape a police state. We’re very proud of it. This is a shameless plug of course… but please check it out at facebook.com/defectivefuture . Peter and I are currently developing several different projects at this time!

SKSM: Are you a fan of Stephen King’s work?

Reese Eveneshen: Since I was a kid. I’ve loved his work. That was certainly one of the draws to working on this project. If I had to pick a favourite, I would pick “The Long Walk”. Great book, and what that I’ve revisited multiple times over the years.

SKSM: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

Reese Eveneshen: Plenty I’m sure! Let’s see… Well, I did do the bulk of the make up effects for the Love Never Dies short. I’ve always loved special make up effects and will occasionally dabble in it when I feel so inclined to!

SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to the fans that read this interview?

Reese Eveneshen: Thank you! And thanks to the folks that are still watching the short. It was filmed quite sometime ago, and it’s still amazing to me that we’re talking about it today. We weren’t sure if it would find much of an audience, but it’s continued to play overseas for the last few years, which is really cool.