Krew Boylan and Daniel Webber as Dolly and Kenny in Seriously Red.

Yesterday I published my interview with Seriously Red writer, creator and star Krew Boylan, so who better to follow it up with today than Krew’s co-star, Daniel Webber.

I’ve admired Daniel’s work since first seeing him in Rhys Graham’s 2013 drama, Galore, in which his acting ability was on full display.

In this rowdy and rambunctious musical dramedy, Red (Krew Boylan) is at a crossroads in her life. A vivacious and hilarious redhaired woman grappling with high expectations and low self-esteem, she pours herself a cup of ambition and trades her 9-to-5 career in real estate for a life under the spotlight as a Dolly Parton impersonator. After misreading her work party’s dress code, Red tumbles outta bed into a new world of tribute artists and impersonators in her wild and messy journey that includes romancing a Kenny Rogers impersonator, played by Daniel. Red has to lose herself in order to find herself.

Daniel Webber was born and raised in the city of Gosford, New South Wales. Daniel’s extensive body of work includes the Epix series Billy The Kid as Jesse Evans, Escape from Pretoria feature with Daniel Radcliffe, the Netflix feature The Dirt as lead Motley Crue singer Vince Neil, the epic Australian feature Danger Close, The Battle of Long Tan, Marvel series The Punisher, J.J. Abram’s television mini-series 11.22.63 playing the role of Lee Harvey Oswald opposite James Franco, as well as Thumper, Sleeping Beauty, Galore, Deceit, The Combination, Teenage Kicks and Australia Day. 

Seriously Red is in cinemas from November 24.

Daniel Webber and Krew Boylan in Seriously Red.

“The passion that came onto set was phenomenal, and I’m talking from Oscar winners and genuine movie stars. There was a massive pool of talent involved here.”

Interview by Matthew Eeles

Seriously Red has run its course on the local and international film festival circuit, and the film is now ready to release to the public. As an actor, is there a different feeling for you between a film festival audience seeing your film, and the general public?
I don’t think so. I mean, it’s nice when a film travels the festival circuit both at home and Internationally. You’re generally more embraced as filmmakers at festivals. But I really think cinemagoers are really going to love this film. I think it’s got a lot of comedy in it, and there’s a lot of passion behind it. There’s a lot of heart in the story, and that’s the reason that I jumped on board. After reading the script it seemed like it was going to be so much fun to do. By the time I’d finished the script I had a big smile on my face and it just felt like the right film at the right time. We were just coming out of Covid. It felt like a bit of medicine for that time and the period that we’d all just gone through. It just felt right. I’m curious to see what the response is out there compared to the film festival audience. I think there’s going to be a lot to love out there for this movie.

You just mentioned Covid which obviously had a great impact on the local arts community, and it created quite the downturn in opportunities for creatives like yourself. Was working on Seriously Red a satisfying tonic for you following that downturn? Describe the buzz for everyone being back on set.
It was just phenomenal. It was one of those rare experiences because we’d all been essentially been out of work and unemployed for about nine months. The passion that came onto set was phenomenal, and I’m talking from Oscar winners and genuine movie stars. There was a massive pool of talent involved here. There was just so much energy and enthusiasm just to be there, and just to be creative. The film has Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers songs. You’re not going to get something with that much energy on your average job. People came in just knowing that it was going to be a bit of a scrappy shoot and that people were going to be mucking around, that people were going to have to work a little bit faster and harder than you’re normally used to when you’ve got a bigger budget. But that’s what made it so special because it had that community feel. It reminded me of my earlier days getting started in this film business. It had that sort of energy to it, the passion and the scrappiness.

Throughout your career you’ve worked with a diverse group of creatives, but Seriously Red would have to be your biggest collaboration with such a strong group of female creatives from Krew Boylan to Rose Byrn, Jessica Carrera and the great Gracie Otto. What did you take away from working with this particular group of creatives?
You’re not wrong there. And that was part of the appeal. I mean, I’ve got two sisters and my mom, so I grew up with a very female orientated household. At Dollhouse, we’ve got the producers, we’ve got the director, we’ve got the writer, we’ve got the star, they’re all women. Just being a part of what that was so exciting to experience it. I think I’ve worked with two female directors since I’ve been at work as an actor. So I was excited to work with that team of people to see how it worked. It was a different experience really. I loved it and it was such a welcoming culture. I think you take something away from every job, don’t you? When you work with phenomenal people you’re gonna learn something. I took a lot away from Krew in particular. I thought she held the sensitivity and the heart and the soul of this story together so well, and she held not just the story but everybody together so well. Krew and I got to throw it down together each day and the energy from her was electric. She’s in every frame of this movie. Just watching her work is so inspiring. I’m looking forward to my next lead to be able to try and bring some of that same energy, that passion, that creativity, and heart. It’s quite rare for people to actually give a shit about the movies they make like Krew does. Often people are taking jobs just for the money. This film had a lot of heart and a lot of love behind it.

Daniel Webber and Krew Boylan in Seriously Red.

Did you spend much time with Krew and Gracie developing your Kenny character prior to the shoot, or was the work already done for you on the page?
I came in last minute. I think we were three weeks out from shooting when I got a phone call and I went into a bit of a meltdown and  was like, ” I have to learn multiple Kenny Rogers songs and portray Kenny Rogers. I cannot do this on any planet.” [Laughs]. I was literally thrown in at the deep end. I had three weeks where all I did was learn to play Kenny Rogers. I have to learn to play a guy who thinks he’s Kenny Rogers. And so trying to find that within myself, and to get to a place I was happy with was a lot of pressure. It was a great challenge to take up. I mean, it’s not every day you’re forced to sing Kenny Rogers songs, and that’s an absolute pleasure.

Are you musical yourself. Do you play any instruments?
No. [Laughs]. I used to play the guitar, but I’ve been really, really lazy in the last few years. I look at my guitar sitting by my bed and I think about playing it. It was a terrifying challenge to try and get Kenny’s songs down. And what was cool for me was that I grew up loving The Cat Empire and so we put all the tracks down for this film with Harry Angus from that band. That was up in Mullumbimby. That was really special to me. That was one of my favourite parts of this whole experience just being in the recording studio in the bloody jungle recording with Harry. He was incredibly patient with me. I’m not a trained singer, so it took a bit of time. We just teased it back and forth till he was happy with what I was giving and it got to a place where we were like, “That feels like the Kenny that we want.” [Laughs]. It was very special to me. It was very meaningful to me. I might be terrible as a singer, but Harry really helped me out. It was great to know that he had my back. [Laughs]. 

Kenny Rogers is of an entirely different generation to yourself. Was his music ever a part of your life at all growing up in some capacity, whether it be with aunties or uncles or mum or dad?
Dolly was more a part of my life than Kenny was. I was coming into this performance with pretty fresh eyes towards Kenny Rogers. I mean, I’d heard songs like The Gambler, but I really didn’t know much beyond that. I heard it and that was it. I didn’t think anymore about it, so not really. It was fresh for me. About a month before this job came through I was out working in the garden and Jolene came on the radio and I just blasted it and I hadn’t heard it in years. This song, this woman, the passion that she’s singing these songs with is incredible. The feeling behind the sentiment of this song is so brilliant and it’s still one of my favourite Dolly songs. And then a month later or so this thing came through which was interesting.

Dolly’s music transcends generations. My two children are six and eight and even they sing Dolly songs every now and then.
They’re so catchy. There’s so much charm. She’s such a strong figure as a woman in a time that would’ve been quite tricky to be a blonde woman. She would have been tested, but she could hold her own in these interviews where men were being quite rude and gross at times. She’s so admirable. We saw her recently in Austin, Texas and it was an incredible moment getting to say hi to her because she is this story. It was an amazing experience to just sit there watching her. She’s still going so strong and still working so hard. She still loves it, and that’s really impressive.

If you were working at the Copy Club which musician would you impersonate?
I’ve done a couple of musicians now, so I don’t know. I think if you’d asked me a couple years ago, I’d have a clear answer. One person who wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for me to pull off is maybe a Kurt Cobain. I think that would really hurt the voice I’d give that one a go. [Laughs].

Seriously Red is in cinemas from November 24. 

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