Brian: What led you down the slippery
slopes of show biz? Freddy Fender playing at a
neighbor's BBQ? Bullwinkle cartoons on Saturday
morning? The Bay City Rollers on tour?
Princess Leia's buns?
Levi: I was eight
years old, sitting in the basement of my dad's
house - watching "The Wizard of
Oz." The minute Dorothy opened her
mouth and - sang "Somewhere Over the
Rainbow", I clicked my mamma's heels three -
times and repeated over and over, "There's
no place like the stage!" "There's no
place like the stage!"
Brian:
You're both a musician and an actor. Does one
trump the other or are they equal in importance?
Levi:
Music has been demanding more attention lately as
I've embarking - on my 3rd year of touring
extensively; at least 150 dates a year. Now that
I have a team to help manage things, I'm full
force on the acting side again. - Started the
auditioning again this week, actually.
Brian:
How did you get involved in 'Frailty'
? Was it a random audition or did you know
someone involved in the production?
Levi:
I had just wrapped on an indie film where I
played one of the leads. It was being talked
about in a positive way all through the industry.
Casting directors began to hear my name and I
think they contacted my agent to audition. It was
pretty overwhelming being that I had never set
out to act before. Within a years time I had been
thrown into a short, an indie that won 2 film
festivals, and then a Lions Gate Film. - Pretty
random.
Brian: What
was Bill Paxton\rquote s process as a director
like for 'Frailty'? The film has
such an assured tone and style - was that
apparent from working with him?
Levi:
I know that Bill wanted to take a bit of an old
school approach; incorporate a bit of a Hitchcock
approach in some scenes. On a personal level,
though my involvement in the film wasn't more
than a few scenes, he was very engaging and made
you feel welcome, centered, and free to create. I
definitely left the set with a great impression
of him.
Brian: Your first appearance as "Fenton" in
'Frailty' is pretty intense emotionally.
Was it difficult to get to level performance
wise?
Levi:
Bill was a good coach; really brought my energy
up. - Had me doing push-ups even to get my heart
really racing. He works well with actors.
Brian: Did you do a lot of research to get into the mind
of "Fenton" - who is at heart (if he
had one) a serial killer?
Levi:
Here's where my history with radical
Fundamentalism came in handy. Brian, I started
evangelizing when I was 12 years old, watching
people get healed by the Spirit, falling out
unconscious from the hand of God touching them,
handling poisonous snakes as a display of faith,
often hearing the audible voice of God. And in
all sincerity, in my little country town in
Tennessee where I was born, that was just as
normal as a cup of coffee in the morning. So,
rather than doing a lot of studying on the mind
of a serial killer, I refreshed my own memory of
how one will do absolutely anything if they
believe that God had spoken it to them. Rational
disappears quickly when an action is justified by
faith and that can take you as far as you are
crazy.
Brian:
Lastly, (Got to ask it!) do you have any specific
memories of working with Matthew McConaughey?
Levi:
I'll admit a little man-crush here. And I should,
because the first thing I think of after hearing
that question is what he was wearing at the
premiere. LOL! There is a reason he is known as
the sexiest man alive. I don't care if your
straight, gay, cylon, or pink polka dotted, there
is a level of beauty that simply can't go
unrecognized. He's got that, for sure.
Brian:
In my book, you are totally the most punk rocking
kid on the playground because you worked with
Katharine Ross in 'Don't Let Go'.
I LOVE HER! (And it looks like she maybe played
your mom, too! I'm faint.) Any thoughts about her
or working on that film which sounds very cool,
focusing on rockabilly?
Levi: Yeah,
man. Katherine is refreshing. Talk about beauty;
she is an ageless one; inside and out. She and
Scott Wilson were so willing to reach out to this
rookie and coach me along, answer my questions,
give to me in a way that brought out the best
possible performance. I would love to work with
her again one day. She and Scott both.
Brian: You had one of your most beautiful songs, "I
Should Go", used on 'Days of our
Lives' and you got to appear on 'Soap
Talk' (Lisa Rinna rocks!). Do you know
for what scene/characters that the song was used
for on 'Days'?
Levi:
'Days' used I Should Go for the
reuniting of Austin and Carrie. I think it was
the first time they had seen each other in a long
time. Old flames die hard; and apparently they
are rekindled quite quickly.
Brian: Your
CD One of the Ones is gorgeous. As
songwriter do you find that you write best when
inspired or do you try to work at it everyday?
Levi: I try to work at songwriting every day; but
instead of it being like I'm punching into work,
I make it an exercise of trying to tap into
what's going on with me at any given day and
write about it. And that's more like therapy to
me, than it is "song-crafting".
Brian: Lastly,
any current projects or words of wisdom (IE:
Don't chug whiskey, chew bubble gum and play a
Southern Baptist Sissy all at the same time) that
you'd like to leave us with? And - thanks for
doing this - it's been an axe - e-r-r- blast!
Levi: Yes,
If God comes to you in a vision, don't hide the
porn, and stuff the bud under your pillow. God is
way more liberal than you think; he may even want
you to oust somebody that took his name in
vain... (Probably while stuck in L.A. traffic)
Whatever it is, just say, "F@8% Yeah, God!
Hand me the f@#king axe!" Onward Christian
Soldiers!
Brian:
Um-m - Thanks again, Levi - I think. (And folks -
Do check out his CD- it rocks!) |