Interview: Dan Ewing

Dan Ewing. Photo provided by IGC Productions Pty Ltd.

Australian actor Dan Ewing is no stranger to the big screen, having earned acclaim for his roles in Paramount’s Love and Monsters and the Occupation film series, along with his stint on the popular TV series Home and Away. Now, Ewing is set to take audiences on a chilling journey with his latest film, Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism.

In Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism, Ewing portrays Ron, a husband who pushes his tormented wife, Lara (Georgia Eyers), to seek treatment from a congregation of zealots who believe in the power of exorcism to save her soul.

“I haven’t seen the film with an audience yet, so I’m very excited because this film makes you feel very uncomfortable,” Ewing tells Cinema Australia when we asked him about the themes in the film during our interview.

“There are a lot of themes in this film that will encourage a lot of discussion on the way home from the cinema. I’m a father of two, and there are some themes here to do with parenthood that aren’t cliché. This thing really makes you think.”

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is gripping and thought-provoking, delving into the depths of human emotions and the conflicts between belief systems. As audiences grapple with the unsettling themes presented, Ewing’s confronting performance leaves a lasting impact. There’s also plenty of blood and gore in the film to satisfy hardcore horror hounds.

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism will screen at the Melbourne International Film Festival Friday, 11 August (Standby only) and Friday, 18 August. Details here. A general release date will be announced soon.

Dan Ewing and Tim Pocock in Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to explore some other parts of my personality and beliefs, and not have to rely on laser beams and guns and explosions, but rather to explore some real emotional beats.”

Interview by Matthew Eeles

I spoke with Godless: The Eastfeild Exorcism director Nick Kozakis earlier, and without getting too personal, he spoke about growing up in a Christian setting. I know that your co-star Tim Pocock also had quite an extreme upbringing within the church. Was religion a part of your upbringing?

I was born and raised Catholic. My dear uncle Peter was actually a Catholic priest. I asked him about this subject matter, and I quickly realised that you should never assume that this kind of stuff only happens in the movies. I thought he’d tell me that it’s all hogwash. But no, quite interestingly, there are priests trained in every diocese for these sorts of events. I was blown away to learn that. It’s just so fascinating to know that this stuff not only occurs but is also obviously acknowledged by the Catholic Church. People are not crawling down the stairs backward and spewing green soup. That’s just the entertainment product. But I was fascinated that the Catholic Church actually acknowledges the existence of exorcisms and deliverance. I wasn’t aware of it growing up. I was just trying to get out of there. [Laughs]. I attended Marist Catholic College North Sydney, and it was a very “stand up, sit down” environment, as it often is in the Catholic faith. I really love certain ideals, but in my youth, I couldn’t quite get into the idea of a guy in the cloud throwing lightning bolts. [Laughs]. And whether that’s right or wrong, I don’t want to be the judge.

Away from that environment of a Catholic college, did you grow up in a creative household?

Gosh no! The complete opposite. My mum was a scientist, God rest her soul. Dad was an accountant. I’m terrible at both science and maths. Go figure. [Laughs]. I don’t know where my creative bones come from. I wear makeup for a living. I’ll never forget, my mother had a study journal, like a structured study journal for her HSC. She kept showing it to me when I was going through my HSC. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work that I’d need it. [Laughs]. Dad was a numbers guy who came from a family of butchers.

How aware were you of some of the real-life cases that Godless is based on? Some of them are quite shocking.

Until this film, I hadn’t delved into any research on exorcisms and deliverances. The honest answer is that I really did think that it was all just Hollywood. I assumed that these things were going on, but Hollywood takes what they want from those real-life stories to create a product. But I found it very interesting to learn about these cases. My little boy is eight, and my little girl just turned one. I find it very unsettling that most of these real-life victims of exorcisms are women and infants. I find that very unnerving. There was no research on my behalf from an entertainment standpoint. But these exorcisms, whether you believe in what is occurring during that process or not, are happening in your backyard. That was the shocking element for me, that this stuff goes on.

Dan Ewing and Georgia Eyers in Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism.

Do you prepare differently for a role like this when you’re aware that there are real victims out there who have suffered through an event like the one in Godless?

When you prepare for a role that’s inspired by true events, there is a gravitas and a weight that you need to be aware of. And what I mean by that is that people out there have suffered. This is not an entertainment product to me. I’m an actor who puts on makeup for a living, but this story is very, very real. So for me, playing a devout Christian in this film is quite interesting. I’m used to starring in sci-fi action films. So for me, it was a fantastic opportunity to explore some other parts of my personality and beliefs, and not have to rely on laser beams and guns and explosions, but rather to explore some real emotional beats and this character. It was a fantastic opportunity.

It’s interesting that you mentioned sci-fi and action; you’ve also done comedy and romance. Where does the horror genre sit in your personal film-going preference?

It’s funny that you say horror because I never saw this as a horror film. Obviously, this film is inspired by true events, but when director Nick Kozakis first reached out to me, I never saw this as a horror. I never saw this film as having jump scares and quick thrills. What really hooked me was that it sat more in the true crime genre. I saw it as a genre-bending true crime story. That’s what excited me about the project, having been born and raised Catholic. To dive back into that space as an adult and to play Ron, a man of faith, who’s asking himself, ‘What’s more important, saving my wife’s life or saving her soul?’

I understand the true crime element of this film, but I do define it as a horror film because it is quite horrific, with plenty of blood and gore, especially during that final act, which is violent and confronting. Yourself, Tim, and Georgia Eyres bring it all to life with these phenomenal, energetic performances. Your emotions during that scene are raw, and I get the feeling that those emotions were drawn from quite a personal place.

It really did come from a personal place for me. I’m the eldest of four children, and my mother passed away from cancer a few months before we started filming Godless. I don’t bury my emotions; it doesn’t work for me personally when I bury things. But I may not have had the emotional release that I needed to grieve the passing of my mother, which would have been good for my wellbeing or my soul. We were stuck in a shed for a couple of weeks at a time shooting this movie, so I found it almost weirdly cathartic to shoot these scenes. Your readers will see that there’s plenty of snot pouring from my nose onto poor Georgia’s face because it really was an outpouring of emotion. I think Tim spat on Georgia at one stage. It was a very cathartic experience for all of us. [Laughs]. I think that’s why this film has had great traction so far because quite a few of the emotions are quite real.

Editor’s note: Read our upcoming interview with director Nick Kozakis to hear how the other actors drew on their personal experiences to get the most out of their performances.

Dan Ewing in Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism.

While you’re in that place mentally, does Nick’s direction go out the door, or did he leave you to do your own thing?

First and foremost, Nick is such a beautiful man as well as a beautiful director. I’ve done film and television before where there’s merchandise to sell, and there are certain things that you’re asked to do for the sake of that. But with Nick, at no point did I ever feel like there was something that he asked me to do to sell the lunchbox, if that makes sense. He is one of Australia’s most visionary up-and-coming directors. He really is an actor’s director. He’s very collaborative but also brilliant.

Was the final act of Godless as physical to perform as it looked on screen? I’d be surprised if no one got hurt.

Tim and Georgia had such a great rapport, and Georgia is such a great sport considering the physicality required. Tim is like a brother to me, so we know each other’s boundaries. Poor Georgia was lying on this cold concrete the whole time, but she really understood the level of physicality that was required for this film. It wasn’t Neighbours or Home and Away. It’s not sci-fi. All of these characters had to go to a very deep and dark place. I wish the audience could feel what we all had to go through for that scene.

I believe you recommended Tim for this role.

When I saw the character brief and the real-life person they were basing this Daniel James King character on, I said, “I know this guy!” Tim grew up in a very unique religious situation. He also had the same eyes as this person. The subtleties that Tim brings to this role are incredible. He is obviously a very stunning, very fit man, but to watch him perform this role was extraordinary. He was very interactive with our beautiful congregation of zealots and featured extras. He’d talk with them about the process, share his ideas and thoughts, and tell them about his childhood and how it relates to what he was doing with this film. It was fascinating to watch. It really was one of those lightning-in-a-bottle things. We worked together previously on Red Billabong. I called Nick Kozakis at three a.m. saying, “I’ve got the guy for this role!” He’s great in this role, but the real-life experience he brings to it takes it to another level.

Dan Ewing in Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism.

Nick mentioned to me that a few out-of-the-ordinary things happened on set. Did anything, in particular, happen to you?

Something happened to me that really caught me off guard. [Laughs]. We were doing read-throughs in Melbourne. While heading to the read-through, I walked out of my hotel room in Melbourne, and someone put their hand on my shoulder. It was a man of faith, a Christian man. He said some stuff to me that will stay with me until the day I die. He gave me two coins. I gave one to Nick, and I had one on my bedside table, and Nick had one on his. I always say that’s why my accommodation down in Dalesford was great. Poor Georgia had spiders and centipedes falling from her hotel roof while no one else did. Tim is reading nine-page monologues, and there’s a bolt of lightning going off in the background that movie studios would pay a lot of money for. [Laughs]. This guy who gave me the coin wasn’t a preacher standing on the street corner; he was just a random person. He said to me, “I have discovered your faith.”

Your next film is opposite Sophie Monk and Vanilla Ice in Zombie Plane. What can you tell us about that?

I came for the zombies, I stayed for the cameos. [Laughs]. There are some cameos that haven’t been announced yet, but it has been so much fun. I’m one of the characters who sort of grounds the piece in some depth and truth. I grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and now I’m making a movie with Vanilla Ice. It was just so phenomenal, and he’s just such a lovely guy. And Sophie is just brilliant. She plays a hyper-real version of herself, and she’s absolutely brilliant. It’s so fun. But it’s not going to be too silly. We are really grounded in some high-stakes in Zombie Plane. It’s great, great fun.