Over two years ago, I had the remarkable privilege of interviewing a genuine screen legend, Marshall Teague. In fact, his is the only interview on my site which bears the distinction of being split into two parts. Concurrently, I connected with another actress, Heather Place, and at the time, she and I knew at some point we would ultimately do an interview together. It’s always about timing, after all. Well, that day is upon us, and I am honored to celebrate a woman whose career is peppered with enough intriguing stories to fill several volumes, and she is one of the sweetest women I know in this business. I gladly present her and our recent chat to my readers today.

RH: Heather, it is so good to finally talk with you!

HP: Same here, Ruth. I feel like we know each other so well because of social media, and it’s very nice to actually chat with you.

Things are busy here, but I was happy to set aside the time to chat with you today.

Things have been busy with me too. I was filming in Atlanta a little while back, and I always seem to have auditions. Here in Charlotte, we usually do all our auditions on tape because they do most of the casting in Atlanta or occasionally LA. But thankfully, you can send your tapes anywhere. Technology has made things really nice that way.

How did you get started in acting?

With Kim Sheroff and Marshall Teague on the red carpet

Oh goodness, I started as a child. I was nine years old, and I joined a children’s theater troupe in Michigan where I was born. It was called Animated Antics, and we played storybook characters. I fell in love with acting at an early age; I was hooked! As I got older, I continued to do community theater and theater in school all the way through.

When I went to college, I went to the University of Georgia and majored in drama. I was thinking I was going to pursue a career in theater, but my freshman year, I got cast in a television series that was shot on location there. And so I kinda fell in love with filmmaking at that point. In fact, that’s how I met Marshall. I met him on that very first set that I ever worked on back at UGA. He was one of the first people I met in this business.

Somehow, I think I remember you mentioning that before.

Probably when you did that interview with him a couple years back.

So most of your work has been independent, correct?

Yes, most of my work is indie film. The last ten years or so, I’ve been doing a lot of indie film, as a matter of fact. I’ve helped found a couple of production companies in Atlanta over the years: Falling Tree Films and our current company, Four Leaf Features with Patricia Roberts and Kim Sheroff. Some of our films started out as shorts and now are being developed into feature films. That’s kind of what we’ve been working on the last several years, which has been a great education since I came in from the acting side. And in the last ten years, I’ve worn so many hats. You know, casting, script supervisor, producing…and it’s helped me to learn the nuts and bolts of the business. We’re trying to get our first couple of feature films finally made, and that’s been quite an education in itself.

I just love getting to support indie films. I know that sometimes means that you’re not working on well-known projects as much, but you certainly meet a wide variety of people in the business. Sometimes I interview the more well-known people and they are just as humble and as lovely as you can imagine, and then I’ll go to interview someone who is not as well-known, and I find they may think a bit too highly of themselves. ‘

With Pierce Brosnan on the set of Noble House

I know exactly what you mean, Ruth. I’ve worked with such incredible people in the business who have been in it a long time. In fact, I started out doing studio films as a stand-in photo double to various leading ladies, and I just encountered so many wonderful people. Like Richard Gere and Pierce Brosnan and Kim Basinger and Jaclyn Smith. And they were all so lovely. Then sometimes there are those who are just starting out, and after they book a few prominent roles, sometimes they start believing their own press a little too soon.

I think I’ve seen that happen before. Those kinds of people often have to be knocked down a couple of notches before they realize that maybe they’re not as great as they thought they were.

I am of the mindset that slow and steady wins the race. I’ve been doing this for thirty years. I may not be a household name, but I’ve worked with household names. I’ve never stopped working on my craft nor pursuing it. And I think that keeps you humble. It really is a difficult industry, more so than the general public may realize.

I have nothing but respect for people in the film and TV industry. And I even have more respect now that I interview them. Some of the stories I have heard…it’s amazing how sometimes you have to overcome these impossible circumstances to get these productions done. It’s astounding to think how you can defy all the odds and get your production done after all.

Absolutely! And I tell you, indie film is the best teacher of all. When we started our production company, we had no money, and our works were no-budget productions. And we managed to not only get them done, but some of them got into festivals and won awards. It’s just amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.

You mentioned some of these big name actors you have worked with in the past. Any stories you’d like to tell?

With Richard Gere on the set of No Mercy

Yes, I have a great Richard Gere story. The first major film I worked on was called No Mercy. It was shot in 1986 in Wilmington, North Carolina, and this was right after the studio opened in Wilmington. They needed a stand-in photo double for Kim Basinger, and she had just come off doing a James Bond movie. She had done a couple of things in a row, and her star was on the rise. I happened to be her height and her size and had her hair color and length, which is the criteria for being a stand-in. I was told that her leading man was Richard Gere, and I had had a huge crush on him. I had seen An Officer and a Gentleman and American Gigolo. I was a little nervous, but I

thought, “Oh, I can be cool. I can hold it together.”

The very first day on set, I was just hanging out waiting to work, and Richard came right up to me and introduced himself. He asked, “Are you Kim’s stand-in?” I said, “Yes.” And he asked, “Would you mind rehearsing this scene with me?” I went, “Not at all.” {laughs} He grabbed my hand, and it was interesting.

In the story, he and Kim are handcuffed together through the entire film. The film takes place in Chicago, New Orleans…Wilmington was doubling for New Orleans because there’s a lot of swamps in coastal Carolina. Kim was his prisoner, and he was a cop. Now, Kim was not a fan of the swamps, and she wasn’t a fan of doing any of her own stunts. Richard, on the other hand, loved to do all of his own stunts. I became her swamp double. He would grab me, and we would hold hands like we were handcuffed. We would do the blocking. So we hit it off from day one. He was very kind and chivalrous.

There was one night where we were shooting and it was raining, and I was standing under the lights…it seemed like for hours while they were trying to get this shot right. He ran up to me with a raincoat, wrapped it around my shoulders, and said, “I’m getting you out of the rain. They’re not paying you enough to catch pneumonia.” And he just kind of whisked me off. {laughs} He was such a lovely, wonderful guy. It was a good first experience on a major film working with a major movie star. He just could not have been nicer. A lot of our swamp scenes were shot before the sun would rise because we had a director who loved to catch the sunrise over the swamp, and of course, the water was freezing. My call would be at five A.M., and there Richard would be at five A.M. He would have his coffee, and he would grab me a coffee. I would slip him into his wetsuit, and he would slip me into my wetsuit and we would go off and shoot. And that was my first big break.

Heather, thank you for sharing that. That’s easily one of the best stories I’ve heard in some time! I don’t always hear such great behind-the-scenes stories, and these are the kind my readers and I just love!

I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every set I’ve ever been on. It was one of those things that as a little girl, I dreamed of being an actress. When I first walked on to my very, very first set, the one Marshall was on, it was just surreal. I had always thought about running away and joining the circus, and that’s what it felt like when I walked onto this big set and saw the huge klieg lights and the grips and the gaffers and the honey wagons and the catering trucks and you’re like, “Oh my gosh! It takes all this to make a movie!” You don’t usually think about that when you’re watching movies back home in your living room. I thought I wanted to go to Broadway and be a theater actress, but this was fascinating! It was the coolest thing to watch them make this movie happen. When I was growing up, I had a crush on the Hardy Boys…Parker Stevenson, and I had a big poster of Shaun Cassidy hanging on my wall. He was one of the first people I saw when I walked onto set. And of course, he was as nice as could be. I mean, everybody on that set was as nice as can be.

The memories to me are so clear because this is not a normal job nor a normal workplace. It’s kind of a magical feeling when you’re on a big movie set. So I guess that’s why I remember all these stories so vividly.

Tiger Lily Poster

I get that totally. That’s how I am when I’m interviewing people and meeting them in person. I know you been promoting your film Tiger Lily.

Yes, that is correct. It is a very special project.

I haven’t had the opportunity to watch it as of yet, but I must say that I like your character’s name {Ruth} in the movie!

There you go! And I highly recommend this movie to you and to other Hallmark movie fans. As well as anyone else. Now, this movie is a nice length; it’s only forty-five minutes long. In fact, it is the longest short film that you can have. It is too short to be considered a feature.

Part of the reason that it’s forty-five minutes long is that when we started shooting Tiger Lily seven years ago, we intended to make a feature out of it. There were creative differences amongst the producers of the film, and so the film sat on the shelf for about five years. When I came on board as a producer, I said, “Let’s do what we can to finish it.” Because after all, it’s such a beautiful story. It was so moving and inspiring, and I knew there had to be a way to connect the dots. So when you do see it, there is footage from seven years ago as well as footage from two summers ago. You’ll hear my voice as a narrator kind of connecting the dots in a flashback. But it is a heartwarming story, and in the story, two of the main characters have cancer. So it is a bit of a tear-jerker, but it’s ultimately uplifting. The nice thing is that we partnered with the American Cancer Society, so when you go to Amazon to rent it, download it, or buy it on DVD, the proceeds are going to the American Cancer Society.

on Tiger Lily set with Todd {Denson} and Samantha {Duncan}

When I originally came on board, I was an actor, and I was cast in the role of the nurse, which is a very small role. The one day that they were going to shoot the nurse’s scenes was the one day I couldn’t shoot because I was going to a wedding in Savannah. So I had to tell the director and the producer that I couldn’t do the role since I would be out of town. I was sad, but I let it go.

Then about three weeks later, I got a call from the casting director, and she told me that one of the leads bowed out of the film. She asked me if I would consider coming on board as the character Ruth. And Ruth is the heart of the piece. She is a Southern housekeeper, and she takes care of the leading man, who is kind of a Scrooge-like character. Throughout the course of the film, Ruth is maternal and takes care of not only this man, but a young girl who is homeless, another child, and her own daughter too. Ruth emerges as the “earth mother of hope.” It’s a big role. So I went from having five lines as the nurse to being one of the leads.

And then after I shot all my scenes, it sat on a shelf for all that time. During those years, I became a producer with my own production company. And that’s when I offered my services as a producer in post-production to get it finished. So it was a real journey.

In addition to partnering with the American Cancer Society for the rentals and downloads for Tiger Lily, we’ve recently partnered with the TIgerlily Foundation for the DVD sales on Amazon, so no matter how you order the film, the proceeds will go to a cancer charity! If you’d like to rent or download the film, here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Tiger- Lily/dp/B07FGHMDNJ/ref=sr_1_3? ie=UTF8&qid=1529614801&sr=8-3& keywords=Tiger+Lily+dvd

We’ve been wanting to be aligned with the Tigerlily Foundation since we started shooting the film. It’s cool that the film shares a name with the Foundation and we really love what the non-profit does. They are dedicated to educating, advocating and empowering people before, during and after facing a breast cancer diagnosis.

We are also hoping to screen Tiger Lily during fundraisers for the Foundation all over the country, so the film will continue to inspire people!

On location at the Hartley House with Livingston Bridger and Kristin Link

That’s just amazing, Heather. It makes me want to see the movie all that more! Now, have you done any writing yourself?

I’ve never written a screenplay on my own. I’ve collaborated with screenwriters, and I’m a script doctor–that’s what I call myself. As a producer, you often have to wear lots of hats when you’re trying to develop a project.

For example, we’ve got a film called Alive and Kicking, which is a film Marshall is going to be a part of. And we have some other great people in the cast on board now too. But that particular film has gone through several incarnations. We’ve had four different screenwriters, and it’s gone through five different drafts. It’s changed names. It was originally called Second Wind, but now it’s Alive and Kicking. Throughout that process, I tried to work with the different screenwriters to tweak each subsequent draft, but I do not consider myself a screenwriter. I’ve written plays, poems, and short stories, but I’ve never written a script from start to finish.

Our production company, since it’s so small, we tend to use the same actors over and over, and we have a mental shorthand with each other. So there have been shoots where we’ve ended up improv-ing a lot on set. Even if we have good structure and a script, still once you get on set, sometimes you are able to improvise. And there are times it’s better than what was scripted. That’s happened on several sets. And I love improv. I’m trained in improv, and I think it’s something every actor should be able to do and have in their toolbox. You never know what’s gonna happen when you get on set.

I’ve talked with many actors where that has been the case. Quite often, the parts that really stand out in films as being so memorable are parts that I discover later on were actually improvised.

Improv is a skill that has done well for me. Not too long ago, I was in Atlanta doing voiceover for corporate training videos. It was a corporate industrial, and there was no script. They specifically wanted to hire an actress with an improv background because they didn’t know until we go on set with the client what exactly it was going to be. So for twelve hours on set, I was improv-ing. It was honestly lots of fun. It was mentally exhausting, but it was fun. And not everybody can do it.

I have never heard of that before. That’s amazing. So it really does help actors to have that kind of training in their background. I am so glad you and I met on Facebook, Heather.

Facebook has really made the world so much smaller, and it’s a great way to cast for our films. Personally, I have connected with childhood friends and sorority sisters, but it’s nice to have the career tie-in as well. I’ve had filmmakers reach out to me saying that they liked my look and they think I am right for a role in their production, and we are able to exchange information so they can get everything set in place. It’s a great tool if used properly.

I agree. I wouldn’t be where I am now without social media. I use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and with each, there is a different function and purpose. You had mentioned Alive and Kicking. Can you tell us more about that project?

Yes, so it is called Alive and Kicking. Originally, we had optioned a book, but that’s a long story. In short, it was co-written by two authors, and one author agreed to sign an option agreement, and the other didn’t. So we decided to go in a different direction.

The new incarnation of the film is based on the work of P.K. Beville, who is the founder of Second Wind Dreams, the largest global nonprofit in the world for the elderly. It is basically like a Make-A-Wish foundation for the elderly. The organization is in eighteen countries worldwide. Furthermore, P.K. has invented something called the virtual dementia tour which basically helps caregivers deal with their loved ones who have dementia or Alzheimer’s. In fact, I’m actually a voiceover artist that’s part of that tour that guides the caregiver through this journey so that they can experience what it feels like to have Alzheimer’s or dementia. P.K. is such a wonderful inspiration, and she had about thirty-two or so years as a geriatric clinician and has been in assisted living centers and nursing homes all over the country. She has so many stories you just wouldn’t believe.

So we’ve optioned her stories, and it’s a feel-good, heartwarming ensemble comedy set in a Southern assisted living center. What’s lovely about this is the cast is basically forty and over. We have one or two characters who are under forty, but I play the head nurse, who is also the administrator of this assisted living center. Marshall plays a doctor there. We have characters in their eighties and nineties, and there’s even a love story amongst a couple of the seniors. It’s laugh-out-loud funny in some parts, and it’s very touching in other parts.

We’re very happy we finally have a script locked, and that script is written by John William Young, who is a writer and an actor. In fact, he was in Road House with Marshall; he played Tinker. John’s also going to play a role in this film. His screenwriting partner, the late Rob Fox, who just passed away last summer, was a really sad thing for us. We had just partnered with him, and now Rob has just passed away. So we’re dedicating the film to Rob and to one of his and Johnny’s friends, Chuck Cason, who is the inspiration for the “Jake” character. We are hoping to get Sam Elliott for the Jake character because then it would be a full-fledged Road House reunion because we’d have Marshall, Johnny, and Sam. Then we would love to have Sam’s wife, Katherine Ross, to play the role of Katherine. That’s why her character’s name is Katherine. So that’s our dream cast. We have been added to the slate of a multi-media company in order to get financing and distribution. Several actors have already signed letters of intent. So we’re hoping to start filming within the next few months. After all, it’s been a few years in development, and we really are excited to see this film come to fruition.

We did produce an award-winning short film called Second Wind Storms McKenzie Farms. It won the Georgia Entertainment Award for Best Short of the Year a couple of years ago, and so the film has done the festival circuit. And that is in addition to working really hard to pitch Alive and Kicking, get investors, get it cast…it really does take a lot to get a feature film made. But we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel finally, which is exciting.

One other exciting thing in regards to another film of ours is that our short film, Behind the Chords, is going to be screening at the Something Wicked Film Festival 2018! We’re screening in the Fantasy Block on August 4th starting at 6 P.M.

Hope to see you all there, or at least as many who can possibly come!

On the festival circuit representing Behind the Chords with Patricia Roberts and Scott McDonald

From speaking with other filmmakers in the indie film world, I know very well how hard it is to get these films made. I have heard so many stories. And I applaud all the work you have put in on this, Heather. All of the work your entire time has put into all of your works.

Thank you, Ruth. We are very encouraged with all the people who are financially backing us and are supportive of us. Alive and Kicking is really a wonderful story that needs to be told. The work that P.K. is doing with Second Wind Dreams is so inspiring. And this demographic is really the largest demographic in the world–the Baby Boomers. In fact, they’re not only the largest demographic in the world, but they’re the wealthiest demographic in the world. They’re living longer, and most are staying healthier longer. They like to go to movies, so we feel like we have a multi-generational film where a grandparent could take their grandchild or the parents of all three generations could go to this movie together.

I think that is great! I have certainly been seeing things change recently in Hollywood for the better in terms of age. It used to be that the women especially had to keep themselves looking young, and once they got to thirty or whatever, they would be washed up. Which is ridiculous! I like to see movies that have people more my age as opposed to just teenagers or twenty-somethings.

I hear you on that. And we are really hoping that Sam and Katherine decide to come on for the movie because they are married in real life, and how cool would it be to have them play each other’s love interest in the movie?

I agree! I love that kind of stuff too. Thank you, Heather, and I am so appreciative to you for sharing so much about your journey and your career.

My pleasure, Ruth. Thank you for reaching out and letting me share my story. All of them!

Indeed my interview with Heather was completely worth the wait! Rarely am I able to begin an interview as effortlessly as I did with Heather. From the moment I opened my mouth, she and I were chatting as though we were old friends. I credit Heather’s phenomenal people skills and creative drive as contributing to her down-to-earth and delightful persona not to mention her signature humility and incredible professionalism. What a joy to witness a woman who, hailing from such unpretentious, simple origins, has applied herself and accomplished things that the little girl of yesteryear probably never would have imagined. I could undoubtedly bask in Heather’s presence for a considerable length of time and merely listen to her recount the innumerable, entertaining stories that I am certain are engraved forever within her heart and mind. I do hope that everyone takes a moment and checks out Heather and visits all of her links below. Tiger Lily is easily accessible (and the proceeds go to benefit a great cause as well), but there are certainly more works included and plenteous more on the horizon for her and her team. I would love to be able to meet Heather in person one day, but until that time, it is a true delight and honor to be able to support her personally and promote her work in whatever way I can. And I do trust that my readers will join me in this endeavor!
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