The Old Guard's KiKi Layne Discovers Her Voice With Thomas Doherty's Help In Dandelion [SXSW]

yes I do also sing and I also write music and I got to contribute to the music and the film which was amazing um yeah it felt very Divine guys congrats on this film it is so sweet so Soulful I really really dug it you guys are wonderful and it uh Kiki let's start with you I'm you know I'm I'm a fanboy if if beill Street could talk I'm GNA I'm just that's when we first met I I followed the trajectory of your career uh Old Guard don't worry darong I did not know that you could also sing your ass off uh so this was like a revelation for me I think it's going to be for a lot of audiences um tell us a little bit about like what your musical background is and how exciting it was to tap into for this role yeah um honestly I always wanted to be a singer and an actress when I was growing up and when I was 7even years old I auditioned for the um performing art school in Cincinnati Ohio as I am also from Cincinnati Ohio and I didn't get into vocal music and that was kind of the first moment where I was like oh maybe singing isn't my thing maybe I should focus more on acting and so it's just been a very long journey since then of reconnecting to my voice and finding pride in my voice again and this film really allowed me to do that Thomas how did you respond the first time you heard Kiki sing did you did you know this did you know about her background I didn't know so I had a zoom call with Kiki and we had like this you know like meeting each other congrats on the job job and all the rest of it and she had explained that this is an amazing opportunity for me to kind of like show the world like another side of me another part of my passion and I I wasn't [Laughter] excited and so when we kind of got together to rehearse I was like oh got to step up my game here well we have seen you flex your musicality in in projects before uh but never do like a a I don't think like a music based theme like this how what did you like about getting to play musician getting to tap into that duality in this project oh it was amazing it was fantastic like so I so I went to college I did musical theater and I would feel like musical theater is just the Pinnacle of everything I know millions of people disagree with me but I just think the culmination of singing dancing and acting all in one expression is so so powerful if it's done well and so I mean to to have the opportunity to to sing and to to learn and play an instrument and to do it alongside some like Kiki was just incredible and we also worked with the band A Lot mhm um brother Elsa and yeah it was just it was incredible it was amazing and it's an amazing expression I love being able to that's what what we do is I hate myself but artists Express we express the in in different mediums and and yeah singing in musicality is a is a a major one and a very powerful one I feel like Kiki you play a singer songwriter who's kind of like at the end of the the road that sort of fork in the road where the artists sometimes reach where you know they they don't know if it's time if they can if they can put any more of themselves into it um but first I want to talk about the low cal cuz as you mentioned you are from The Natty also yes I am Nat represent Bangles B uh was this I mean was this this was this homecoming sort of coincidental did you know the filmmaker did you guys go to high school together like how did you how how were you drawn back to your hometown for this um no Nicole reached out and I read the script and thought it was amazing and got excited about the opportunity to tell this story and finally share my singing voice and I think it honestly was so Divine that it brought me back home because I mean that's where all of my dreams started and so like I said I growing up I knew I wanted to be a singer and an actress and then just moved you know on to focusing more on acting so I thought it was very Divine to be like called back home in order to kind of kick off this part of my career where where people will know that yes I do also sing and I also write music and I got to contribute to the music in the film which was amazing um yeah it felt very Divine Thomas you are not from Cincinnati North South Dakota just you know I'll give me I'll give it away I'll give me yeah Thomas what do you like about discovering these towns like Cincinnati that you know our our what they call fly over cities or whatever that off off the off the you know what was your exper what was your experience in in Middle America it's like really I don't want to like make different parts of America sound like some kind of like not a caricature but like truly when I was in South Dakota W Maring Kentucky it was really it was like a film like you need to remember like I'm from Scotland like I like my impr of America in these parts of America is entirely based on honestly like cartoons in films oh no and so like when I'm like in Kentucky and like a train is just going through the town like it was I don't know it was very very surreal to be in like these these places and it was really really cool and I I I really did love it I love comington Hees the CH he loves the B I love the bals not sure about the orange color but like we'll come right into it what do you what do you guys think are the gold standards for like music movies like what what is what does d dandelion sort of aspire to be in the company of what are what are your favorite films about about music I think once once is a good yeah that's a good one um honestly the first film that popped in my head was Selena cuz I love Selena neither here nor there um Selena SEL you haven't seen Selena Thomas I've not seen that what okay we'll talk about this later um well I think that that dandelion stands out though like among music films because it's really a songwriters film and I don't think we really see those films that really dig into the process of songwriting it's such a personal creative process it can be so frustrating you'll spend hours on a song get to the end and you're like well this is trash um and like this film really explores that journey and even explores what it means when songwriters come together like how dandelion music sounded a little different once she started writing with Casey and like all of that um so I think that's kind of what's unique about this film yeah what do you guys think this film says about the you know the the struggle of an artist and and that fork in the road deciding you know if and when to hang it up and how how difficult that decision can be and and sort of what what pushes artists to to to stay with their Artistry I think there's just in quenchable desire to just achieve and to continue to create and you can't dull that flame it's just there you know MH um and it's really it's it's so heartbreaking and I've been incredibly incredibly lucky incredibly fortunate as a as a younger actor to have these opportunities and kind of land on my feet and do very well but I see so many friends and and hundreds of young performers I mean they're not singer songwriters but artists just plaing on and struggling and it's it's it's a it's it's heartbreakingly beautiful it's heartbreaking to see the struggle but it's also beautiful to see that that passion gets through and continues and strives and is is almost more powerful than all the doubt and everything you know yeah yeah you can't really turn off that creativity and so it's a very it's a struggle when you are trying to make a life out of something that is so creative and such a part of your spirit um because sometimes those things aren't aligned the creative artistic desire and you know paying your bills um and it's it's hard and I think that's one of the beautiful things that this film really explores is that struggle when you do start to feel too old for certain things and it's like damn like I still have to fight for this or like I see 12y olds making millions of dollars on YouTube and I'm like what the am I doing sorry my C sorry yes no we're we're unrated here cuz I have been holding by go go for it so I think that's um I think that's something that people are going to respond to in this film is watching this person like you can feel how much dandelion loves it you can feel how much casy loves it loves creating loves making music and it doesn't always put food on the table and as you get older it's like you need more stability you got to be able to keep the lights on I he said it so well like you can't turn it off no you can't if it's in you you cannot turn it off so you either express it or you choking it eat you inside yeah yeah and it's like you're always one job away and I think that's what's like so frustrating like pursuing acting singing whatever it may be is that you just need one person one shot like I just needed Barry Jenkins to just see me and believe in me and now look at everything else that has happened because of it but it's like being that close to like one life-changing moment is equally exciting and also frustrating as hell as an artist I felt I felt for a second like you were channeling Lady Gaga and the Star is Born to her CU there was this Montage of her from that price to her going all you need is one 99 people will say no but all you need is one person to believe in you and similarly there's Seth Rogan has said like you know look at Ian McKellen look at sir Ian McKellen nobody knew who he was till he was about years old so like yeah those are rare cases but like there are it can happen don't ever give up don't ever get up um Thomas you really want to curse what are your favorite curse words you do not want to know I'm so ready what is my I can feel my mind I can feel a sweat I feel the absolute Panic safe space if you if you keep it in too long you're going to explode get it out now first thing in the morning um well you guys are you guys are both killing it and you have been for many years I want to touch on a couple other projects for for a moment Kiki I think you did you just finish Old Guard Too Old Guard was a huge hit for Netflix people we really excited for part two yes what can you tease it for us I I wish that I could we did shoot it um and that's that's all that my pay grade knows about the Old Guard too what what have you enjoyed most about like R teaming with Charlie um I mean I love her I respect her so much just like I mean that's such a badass woman she's such a smart producer an incredible actor and being able to work with her and also Uma Thurman this time around was just like mind blowing yes Uma is in the second one and I like doing scenes with her it just to be in a space with two women who have done what they have done for a women in action films it's so meaningful to just learn from them and just get to sit and watch how they carry themselves how they prepare and yeah so I I hope that there will be more news about the Oar to Soon Is Uma going Kill Bill on us is she like is she going full full action mode us I can't give anything away but I mean if if Uma if Uma Thurman is in the Old Guard too yeah you can probably can draw your own conclusions uh you're in girls five season 3 I am yeah I am it just really good fun um worked with some incredible women on that uh yeah it was amazing it's it's something very very new for me I've never done comedy and and I've still not seen my episodes so I'm honestly petrified mhm uh but pael assures me that I did well so that's that's good enough for me but uh yeah know it was it was amazing and I'm in the middle of doing tell me Lies Season 2 so I'm in the middle of filming that right now in Atlanta so it's all it's all cool it's all it's all good fun and we have a film coming out it's called d l yes well congrats again premiering at South by this weekend guys so great to talk to you once again and give it up for team [Music] dandelion