KiKi Layne and Thomas Doherty Talk 'Dandelion,' Their Artist Journeys, and More

with you the Arts are such a collaborative medium when you're cast in this role you had a lot of honest and open conversations with Nicole about bringing the spirit soul and culture of Danel into life in ways that she would Express herself how did those conversations influence the character in this film and how did that trust allow you to take agency over her journey um well I think the biggest thing and this was before we even started filming just talking to Nicole that because these are supposed to be Dand and lion songs like growing up as a songwriter myself is such a personal thing these things really come out of you and your experience and so I think the conversations really were centered around the music and the importance that the music really reflected the fact that dandelion is now a young black woman and of course the desar are amazing but they're you know two older white men so there was a disconnect in like what they might what might they pour out of their souls into music versus what d Lon and this body might pour out and so I was really grateful that you know very early on we could have those conversations and that Nicole and the desar really made space for me to pour more of myself into the music and then from there everything else just took off with the character beautifully said and you know Thomas there's a point in the film where your character is telling Danel line about the impactful moment his career where the audience knew his lyrics and we're singing it back to him what's been that artistic equivalent for you in your own Journey I was on a um I was on a like a ferry once in Seattle and there was a little girl sitting across from me and she was wearing a t-shirt and it had my face on it that was probably the closest I could get to that that was a very surreal experience and she didn't recognize me and so I was like do I go off and I'm like hi was that weird um but yeah that's probably something like that is probably the closest I can think yeah Kiki throughout the film we see Dana L redefine what success looks like to her Embrace her Artistry and her voice and you brought so much depth to that Journey for you as an artist how did you create the space for yourself to explore all those different nuances and did her journey parallel any of your own oh definitely there were parallels on the journey and I think that's one of the things that audiences are really resonating with you know so many of us carry dreams and you know want to see ourselves do certain things in the world but I think sometimes the world gives very limited views of what success looks like you know and I think really that's any career but certainly you know in the Arts it's like if you're not I don't know selling a million gazillion records and you don't have you know hundreds of millions of followers and like all of these things that can kind of make you feel like what you're contributing is less than and so that feels very very real for me I mean I actively wrestle with those things you know dayt day just trying to create the type of art that I want to create and while working in this business that doesn't always nurture you know artists in their most authentic form um and so yeah I just I just used used as much as as much of that as I could um yeah that's why it just it's so real for me it's a root ground of this performance and Thomas you've said that this is one of the most creatively fulfilling projects that you've worked on and you've done it all throughout your career what did you learn about your craft embodying this character and what is it about independent film making that excites you as a creative and a Storyteller because everyone wants to just make it they want to be the next they want to like have arrived you know but I was always like no I need to learn I need to experience different genres of films and different work in the studios and doing do you know what I mean so I I was really kind of building up a a a array of experience that that would help me in my craft and as an actor but doing an independent film there's just a purity to it I love theater I love the stage I went to college to do musical theater and there's just something about it seems very pure it feels very honest and I mean an independent film it just has that you don't have these big studios you don't have this producer and that producer and show do you know what I mean it it feels very very pure and with kit dandelion and this the scale which we did it and the team that that we had on it it just felt incredibly collaborative and everyone made space for each other to develop their own characters and yeah it was just it was just very kind of special experience as an actor p c is it both of you your are incredible in this I hope they release a soundtrack for the film and you know this film also does such a brilliant job reflecting the other side of the artistic Journey that we don't often see in cinema your two characters sh so many open conversations about spaces where they go to silence that noise and remember that it's important to just play in these mediums for each of you when you're looking to escape creatively what is that place that you go to I don't know if I have a specific Place honestly huh I don't know a place to escape creatively or a place to escape creatively creatively oh it has to be outside just nature just outside quiet quiet wow yeah I don't have one yeah as long as locked in a room by myself see that's what I do I just lock myself into a room and see what happen May a song I mean a lot a lot of the stuff knowing I were doing was in that weird Motel [Laughter] Lobby I don't know with the right pressure I can kind of create anywhere I think for me I think with my whole I mean yeah being an actor and Hollywood and stuff is quite political and you're taking so many things into account it's not just your acting ability to know it's who do you know you got on with you know so you're you're kind of semi politician at times and I feel like just going outside going into Woods or something and it kind of puts things into perspective and it's a good ego Ruiner I feel like and so then when there's not so much ego then I feel like then that's when the creativity can kind of just like come out without any roadblocks or you try to rationalize things for different reasons it's just like for the sake of it beautifully said Kiki you know Al at the end of the film when Dana liion is simly at her breaking point it's her mother who reminds her how profound it is to find a passion in life who are the women in your own life who've held space for you in a similar way oh definitely my mom for sure uh just from the very beginning when I said that I wanted to pursue the Arts and I was like seven or so when I did that she was supportive from the very beginning she came back home with an audition packet for our local uh performing art school in Cincinnati and she encouraged me to audition and when I said I wanted to spend thousands of dollars to study acting in college she was you know on board um so for sure my mom has definitely had those types of conversations with me when I'm at my wits end and just about ready to give up it's usually my mom who can speak a positive word who will pray for me and just lift up my expence and remind me that this is what I'm here to do and God always makes a way shout out to moms Thomas final question for you I also love in the film that it's not your character who INSP inspires danion on her own Journey but it's actually the reverse where through danion Casey's able to REM reminded the dream again who are the people in your own life who held space for you in a similar way and also have you seen Selena yet just Selena no you didn't that's a joke bye Thomas you did to that the film the movie no the movie remember in uh in Austin I think it was a was it Screen Rant yeah interview and I I said Selena is my favorite like music film and you hadn't seen it oh yeah yeah no oh yeah right I'll add that to list um I mean yeah just my family my friends I mean I'm from Scotland I'm here right now I don't know if you can hear my parents they're just they just let me do my thing they're just drilling something right now you know what I mean they're just they're just cool they're yeah they've just always like been encouraging and held that space and yeah I'm very fortunate [Applause]