Ferreira Fest 029

Published May 2012
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All newsletters up to Ferreira Fest 44 (including this one) used an off-site image storage system that is now unfortunately defunct.
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Whenever possible, photos have been added afterwards.

It’s May 20th and that means it’s time for Ferreira Fest 29! Grab a free pineapple drink at the bar and join us for an exclusive interview about TOUCH, your questions answered, sound clips and screencaps as we celebrate the acting career of Louis Ferreira (Justin Louis)!

Hopefully many of you have had a chance to watch Louis’ episode “Music of the Spheres” last week. The episode has been unlocked on the official TOUCH website, and it will air in other markets around the world in the next few weeks.

It has also become available for free on HULU. This version is closed captioned for the deaf and hard of hearing.  

The episode airs in Europe on the German cable channel “Prosieben” on Monday, May 21 at 9:10pm (local time in Paris); the German title is “Sphärenklänge“. NEWSFLASH/ UPDATE: the air time has just been changed to Tuesday 12:05am (or 0:05 – 5 past midnight). Please be sure to check your local listings!

The episode’s name in Italian is Musica degli Astri (source http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episodi_di_Touch_prima_stagione)

The episode also airs on the Austrian channel ORF1, Monday, May 21 at 11:10pm (local time in Paris)

(Thanks to michigoo  for the links and updates!)

Here are some reviews of the episode:
Very nice review at Critical Myth
Really nice recap and review at sciencefiction.com
Decent and witty review at IGN
Review that gets hung up on plot issues at digitalspy

Nice interview with Louis about his role here at SciFiAndTVTalk. WARNING: the interview is chock full of spoilers, so you may want to wait until after the show to read it! It will also answer a lot of questions you might have about the role!

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On TV Equals: press release about “Music of the Spheres” (May 10)

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Finally – Gateworld has published the news after 4 (!!!) notices and several emails asking them to post the news!  Please be sure to thank them for the announcement! (May 5)

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Louis gets a nice announcement on destinedtotouch.com:

Stargate Universe actor Louis Ferreira will make an appearance in an upcoming episode of Touch, according to reports.

Ferreira will play a Brazilian street musician in the episode “Music of the Spheres,” set to air on May 10. His character tries to charm a beautiful woman, according to TV Guide.

For two years Ferreira played Colonel Everett Young on Syfy Channel’s space drama Stargate Universe.

Also appearing in the episode is Scott Michael Campbell (ER, The Event), who reportedly plays a corrupt parole officer who Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland) must expose. (May 5) Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2379603/ 

Thursday, May 10
TOUCH (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) – “Music of the Spheres”
Martin exposes a corrupt parole officer (guest star Scott Michael Campbell), and a Brazilian street musician (guest star Louis Ferreira) uses his guitar to win the heart of a beautiful woman. In addition, Jake bonds with another mute boy (guest star Tre C. Roberts), while Clea and Martin learn new information about one of Teller’s key patients.
Source: http://www.ksitetv.com/glee/fox-may-2012-press-release-programming-highlights-spoilers-for-glee-touch-fringe-more/13715

JAKE MAKES A CONNECTION ON AN ALL-NEW “TOUCH” THURSDAY, MAY 10, ON FOX
Martin exposes a corrupt parole officer (guest star Scott Michael Campbell), and a Brazilian street musician (guest star Louis Ferreira) uses his guitar to win the heart of a beautiful woman. In addition, Jake bonds with another mute boy (guest star Tre C. Roberts), while Clea and Martin learn new information about one of Teller’s key patients in the all-new “Music of the Spheres” episode of TOUCH airing Thursday, May 10 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (TOU-109) (TV-PG LV). Kiefer Sutherland as Martin Bohm; David Mazouz as Jake Bohm; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Clea Hopkins. Guest Cast: Scott Michael Campbell as John Tenney; Louis Ferreira as Felipe; and Tre C. Roberts as Andres.
Source: http://www.ksitetv.com/touch/touch-episode-9-music-of-the-spheres-images-description/13920?pid=8480

(thanks to Agi for the links!) (April 27)

If you haven’t watched the episode yet and wish to remain spoiler-free, you might want to consider holding off on reading this month’s Ferreira Fest, since it’s mostly about his work on that show.

ASK LOUIS

So here we are: your questions about TOUCH answered!

Listen to the sound file here:

Q: How did you find out about the audition for the role in “Touch”?

LF: It was an agent. I actually left my agent of 17 years now and went to a smaller agency and those were the two jobs that I did, it was the NCIS guest spot and then the Touch guest spot. And he goes, “You speak Portuguese?” I was like, “I do.” He goes, “Because there is a part.” I go, “Well, I’ve got to go in.” But I did not know it was gonna be Brazilian when I got there. So the fact that, you know, it sort of – talk about, Mastin at The Daily Love, I know that’s now on our website, talking about believing in – trusting the universe to guide. You know, having just changed my name, gotten back to LA, people would be like, “Why did you do that?” I was like, “Justin Louis would never have gotten a chance to do audition for that role.” So here I am, Louis Ferreira, auditioning for my first Portuguese role ever.

And I walk into this room, and I’m like “This is exciting”, only to discover that there’s 20 Brazilian soap opera – what I can only describe as beautiful Puss-in-Boots kinda fellows in there with their guitars. They are all tanned, they are gods, and I’m sitting there going like “What the hell is going on?” I’m like… because my Portuguese is Azorean and that’s why I put that line in there about the guitar when I said… I made it very clear to them that I couldn’t speak Brazilian.

FF: Right.

LF: What I speak is a Portuguese from the Azores and I said “If you guys” – I basically thought I had sabotaged my own audition, because it went something like, I’m outside of the audition, I’m looking at these beautiful Brazilian, you know, the stereotypical soap opera kind of looking guys. And I’m like “I got no chance here.” And these guys are all with their own guitars and I’m like “I don’t really play guitar.” So I say to them, I go “So, you guys, are you from Brazil?” And literally one after another they go, [low sexy Brazilian Soap Opera Hunk voice] “Yeees, I am from Brazil, I am nine years do soap opera in Brazil.” I’m like, it’s Antonio’s – all of them are like Antonio Banderas in Puss in Boots to me. I’m just like, “I’m so dead.” (laughs)

So I’m like, “What do I do here?” and I’m like, “OK, I just got to go in there and do my version of what I think this character is”, which for me was that busker, the artist, who is a man age-wise, but still has very much that sort of boyish belief that hasn’t been beaten out of him, yet. Like it’s so much of us, right, our Western civilization. He’s still very much the romantic. And there was something beautiful in that. So there is something kinda very innocent and grounded, but yet there is this childlike innocence in this character, Felipe, that they were drawn to, because it wasn’t me coming out with a sort of swagger like [low sexy Brazilian Soap Opera Hunk voice], “Hello. I am Felipe.” You know, it was more just something sweet and endearing about him and I think they really responded to that.

But then when they asked me in the room, they were saying, “So, do you speak Brazilian?” I’m like, “No, not at all. I speak Portuguese.” And so my audition here was pretty bad as far as the actual Portuguese and they go like, “Do you play guitar?” And I’m  like, “Not really. I can play like five chords, but certainly nothing well.” ‘Cause that was the other thing, when I was on the outside, I’m like, “Oh guys, you play guitar for real?” [low sexy Brazilian Soap Opera Hunk voice] “Yeees. I play guitar fifteen years.” And it was literally like “pa-ram-pam-pam pam ta ta ta ta ta ta!” I was like “Oh, my gosh, I have no chance in getting this role.”  (laughs)

But I was like, “But at least Louis Ferreira gets to audition for a Portuguese role. That’s pretty good.” So when I got the call that I’d gotten it, I was really really shocked. More than that I was really really grateful, because I was just sitting there going, “OK, that’s divine intervention right there as far as it’s ever happened as far as my little career” – and it’s a small little piece in the big puzzle as far as like it’s just me doing a guest spot. But the message of Felipe is so much about where I am at personally as Louis Ferreira, that message of love, and devotion, and sacrifice for – just that ability—and that’s what I loved about it. ‘Cause, we’re used to me playing a lot of bad guys, and tense guys, it was just nice to see this guy who made a decision to love someone and he was steadfast in that decision, and the sacrifice of the guitar, sort of nice, sort of like him winning this girl over because of who— just staying true to what he believed inside and her believing him. There was something beautiful in that role for me, There was something very beautiful in that, and poetic for me personally, with that particular guest spot. And I know this is a long-winded answer but that’s basically what happened. It was a complete beautiful surprise for me.

FF: Well, there seems to be a general consensus about that innocence, and just the sweetness of the character, that sort of man-boy kinda thing really really came through that it was… I mean it was very clear from the beginning that he was gonna sell the guitar, it’s that old “Gift of the Magi” story, it’s just essentially another version of that. It just took him a while to figure that out while we were already all screaming, “Don’t sell the guitar!” But of course he did it anyway. I think that showed up really well, and maybe, I’m thinking, also what the casting people were looking for was the one thing that was different, you know. If you get like 20 of the gorgeous ones and it’s sort of the expected response to that, and then you get somebody who comes in and plays it very differently, and lo and behold, that’s the right approach.

LF: Yeah, and I think that’s basically how I’ve gotten a lot of my roles. To be honest with you, I’ve always sort of allowed them, “Well, we weren’t thinking this way, but you know it make sense with him.” And I think that’s been a lot of my career, to be honest, I hope it’s even more so.

FF: Well, it’s funny, because Bradley said the same thing about Weekend to Remember, that you threw a couple of things at him that were completely unexpected to him, but made it better, because he never thought of it—approaching the character that way. So you seem to have a knack for throwing people these curveballs that work. And that they get something out of.

LF: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s a part of it for sure. And by the way I do wanna – if there is a way to thank Bradley for his wonderful and kind, kind words about me, I’d love to put that on the page somewhere. Because I read what he said. I was really, first of all, I am grateful for what he had to say, it was really sweet and kind, the stuff he said about me.

FF: Oh, he was fantastic.

LF: A shout-out for Mr. Bradley and a big thank you for the love, and “right back atcha”.

FF: He was fantastic to talk with.

LF: He’s a great guy.

FF: And he really enjoyed talking about his work and all that.

LF: He is very passionate and a great great great great guy.

FF: Also, he just got four Leo nominations for the next film he did, Unexpected Guest. He got four Leo nominations for that.

LF: That’s great.

FF: Yeah, I was so happy. It’s gonna be on the next Ferreira Fest, too, because you know we’re kinda looking at what everybody else is doing now.

LF: Yeah, of course. Absolutely. I think Patrick Gilmore, who’s one of my buddies, was nominated.

FF: Yeah, yeah, he was in that. So it’s great to see how these things sort of spread around.

LF: Yesterday I was with Patrick Gilmore and Peter Kelamis…

FF: Yes, I saw the picture!

LF: Oh, my god. Yeah, yeah.

FF: I saw the picture. You guys went bar hopping. It was apparently all over Twitter and it’s all Peter Kelamis’ fault. So it’s all his fault.

LF: I don’t have Twitter. But apparently he does.

FF: Yeah.

LF: It was nice. It was nice. It was a Gentlemen’s Night Out. I wouldn’t say we went bar hopping, we went to two places. It was great. It was nice to be with those guys.

FF: Oh, it’s nice to be with your old friends and be together and have fun. Nothing wrong with that.  But as long as you had a good time…

LF: I had a great time.

FF: Other things that people have noticed, and this is going back to there was a lot of Louis in Felipe really in that role, and oddly enough one of the most asked questions was – was that your hat that you wore or was that a costume?

LF: Yeah.

FF: That was your hat?

LF: Yes. My hat, my glasses, my scarf …

FF: Yeah, we recognized the scarf.

LF: … my wristband.

FF: Yes, we recognized that, too. It was just like, people looked at the pictures and said, “Oh, isn’t that the same scarf he wore at Dragon*Con?” So you know, of course it was …

LF: Now, what you gonna do? It’ was just that one scene with the scarf, but yeah. Yeah. I wanted — I feel it gave that little busker, that kinda vibe, that kinda look. I’ve always loved, I’ve always had a thing for hats and glasses. Sadly, I now must wear glasses to read, but even way before that in my 20s, I always had a collection of hats and glasses. Cause I always figured it was just a great way to create characters with just, you know, a little simple prop. But I loved that I got to actually wear the little hat, Felipe had a little … It gave him a little busker-ish vibe.

FF: So did you suggest… Did you bring those things in and show them and say “Can I wear this?”

LF: I did. I showed up with the aids and said, “What about this, this, this. I’d really like to wear this.” And they were cool with it.

FF: Oh. Because that doesn’t always happen, you know, if you get a costume designer…

LF: No, no. That doesn’t always happen. It’s not like that, a lot of times stuff like that gets shut down. Especially if you are doing a guest spot. Blah blah blah. But you know, who knows. At the end of the day, I think it worked out beautifully. I loved that hat.

FF: Oh, yeah. It was very much you, just the whole picture of it, and that may have also contributed to how comfortable you felt in that role or when you watch that…

LF: Well, it’s part of it. I think it’s good. It’s also great because people can say it’s me but yet I’m speaking a different language. I think it says a lot.

FF: Right.

LF: I did not speak a word of English.

FF: Yeah. Did they give you the text in English or in Portuguese? LF: We had it translated. We had it translated from English to Portuguese, except the coach was a Brazilian coach and it wasn’t working for me. So what I did on the side – the Brazilian coach was really wonderful, except really I was like, “I can’t speak your Portuguese.” Because the pronunciation was different for people from the Azores. I had my brother call a friend that I had met in Toronto and I would skype with him – or were we skyping? No, we were just on the phone and he coached me every night before I went to do the scenes. So he was actually my coach. So I had an Azorean coach to teach me my Portuguese, so that I spoke it well.

Listen to the sound clip here:

LF: It’s not a natural thing for me. I don’t speak it super well and I, apparently, I got feedback back from my family that I was 99.5 % accurate. There was just one word that I said that was off. Which is very, very impressive, so I’m very, very happy with that.

FF: But, that’s very good. Yeah, oh my goodness, I mean, that close after all those years, you know. And if you’re not constantly immersed in the language that’s, I mean, it’s use it or lose it with any foreign language, whether it’s your mother tongue or not.

LF: Yeah. Yeah, so I was very happy with it.

FF: Now, the songs that you were singing in the show, I assume that they were originals written for the show.

LF: Yeah. They were originals that were written that I had prerecorded, that I sang them in just some – somebody’s apartment in LA. And we, I went there one day and sang the songs, and I thought they came out quite nicely. I mean, the funny thing is, that they are actually really pretty songs. I mean, the longer versions I kind of wish they would have played because, I was like, I kind of had a Brazilian flavor happening there. I was like, “Hey, I kind of like singing in Portuguese.”

FF:  Because, if you go look at the responses that they put on the Touch website, people want to buy the CD.

LF: Oh, is that right?

FF: I wish there was one. (laughter) Because you could make an extra buck or two with that because apparently …

LF: Yeah, (laughter) yeah, yeah. I could go record a Portuguese song. I love it. Yeah, but I just don’t know the words anymore. I mean those are long gone. I know the guy who put the original song together. I mean, he put together like forty-five second bits, he never actually wrote the entire song.

FF: Oh, so it’s not a whole song?

LF: No, it’s not.

FF: So he just literally just wrote it …

LF: He literally wrote it just because he knew he was going to lift the piece, right. So, yeah. I like that people are requesting the music. That’s nice.

FF: Yeah.

LF: Those songs were really pretty. The one he sings to her in the café, like, you know when she’s doing her paperwork and he comes in, like the song he wrote for her, that was a very pretty song.

FF: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. They’re, they’re beautiful. I liked both that one and the “Donna Maria” at the very beginning.

LF: Yeah, yeah, yeah. “Donna Maria” Yeah, and the second song was really nice but they cut it so short you just couldn’t hear any of it. It was actually a really nice song. (Louis begins to sing this song in Portuguese)  So it had that kind of melodic kind of Brazilian samba thing. Yeah. But they literally played back the last four notes. But, you know, that’s what happens on the show, it’s long, and there’s other things happening. So …

FF: That’s too bad. I was kind of hoping there would be a whole song somewhere. But I guess …

LF: Yeah, yeah, that’s not the case, I know. I found that, did you find that Kiefer Sutherland’s voice sounding a little bit like Young?

FF: I did! I know!

LF: (laughter) When I watched that show, I was like, I said, “Kiefer, I was doing that voice on SyFy.”

FF: Yeah, yep.

LF: You know what I mean. You know. He was like, “Jake” [gravelly breathy voice] “Jake, what is it?” And I’m like, “Hey, I know that voice.” It’s like, “I can do that voice.” (laughter) That was too funny. It’s making, it’s freaking me out.

FF: (laughter) I thought that was just me, but I guess other people heard it too. It’s like he’s getting closer and closer to Young all the time. It’s just so funny!

LF: Yeah, yeah. I was like, “Hey, I did that.” And you know, it just goes to show you, if I had done that on network, people would go, “Wow!” It’s just too funny. But it’s funny. It was like, we kept the, he’s very breathy when he does that. [gravelly breathy voice] “What is it, Jake? What’s going on, Jake?” How does he like, Oh wow, that’s so weird, it sounds like Young to me. (laughter)

FF: Right, right, it really does. I really thought it was really nice, I mean I’ve been watching the show since the beginning, but I really thought it was so interesting how the B story, the whole Felipe story, tied in, in many different ways with the main story because of that music connection. And the first time…

LF: Yeah, I loved that. I loved the tie-in, ‘cause I was kind of, that was really the neatest part. ‘Cause I was trying, I sat here with my two friends. My son, Aidan and Elliot, and Aidan had a couple friends over and Elliot, my friend, and I was like, “Can you guys figure out what the tie in is?”

And they were like, “the guitar, the guitar, something with the guitar.” And I’m like, interesting, you know. And I was like, ‘cause then they noticed the New York thing, when he was going to sell it to the person in New York.

FF: Right.

LF: You know and that was their guess. But I was like, “Ahhh, not quite.” But I liked the way it tied in.

FF: Yeah. Well also, in that the first time that Jake communicated, really trying to make a connection with somebody else was through music, and to me, that was an even stronger connection between that story that, you know, Felipe was trying to communicate with his love through music, and then, Jake was trying to reach out for the first time. And I thought that was a real turning point there in the overall story line, which I thought was really fascinating.

LF: I agree.

FF: Anyways. Somebody else wanted to know whether other than in Missing, where you had a little bit of, you remember with the child abductor …

LF: The one scene.

FF: Yeah yeah. This was …

LF: No, this was the first time I’ve ever spoken Portuguese.

FF: Ah, okay. So for you, what was the difference between acting and speaking Portuguese and acting speaking English? How do the two experiences compare? How is it different to act while speaking Portuguese?

LF: There was something really … It was a proud moment for me. Like I said for the, from the universal perspective of … Everyone’s, you know, you got to understand. I’ve been really met with people, “Why would you change your name after twenty-five years with, of building an identity, or blah-blah-blah.” I go, because, I said, for a lot of reasons, you know, and you know the reasons: my mom passing… And by the way, Mothers’ Day today has been a kind of an interesting day for me, you know. And so, there’s something beautiful for me about being able to go, “oh, Louis Ferreira playing a Portuguese role.” So there was something very … cathartic about it for me more than anything. There really wasn’t a difference as far as the acting, except that I knew that I wanted to be as good as I could with the actual accent. I mean, no, not the accent, but the sound.

Because, you know, I worked hard on it. It was like, it was really between takes, I was in my trailer, like just practicing, and then, letting go and coming off like Louis being very free, so that it looked like it wasn’t. But, you know, it was one of those things where I was really, sort of, doing a lot of work to just make sure that my own, the words were coming out right. But beyond that, it was a really pleasurable thing for me to be able to speak in my sort of, you know, its like, your home language, you know.

I love Penelope Cruz, when she speaks Spanish. When I see her act in Spanish, there is just so much more heart to her, because it’s so much more a part of the culture. Characters like Young and Missing characters you don’t get like, and so Felipe was closer, much more to Louis Ferreira, because there’s just so much more heart in the personality, of a personality like that, which is one of the reasons that I changed my name. I want to play Ferreira roles. Ferreira roles to me are roles that have passion and have colors and have degrees and you know, can be intense or not intense or comedic, but they’re flavorful. And they’re, you know, and so, that to me represented that kind of aspect, if that makes sense.

FF: Yes.

LF: So that was, that was, it was a lot of fun. It wasn’t any different as far as the actual process, it just that I knew I was, you know, speaking a different, it was fun. I had a good time doing it, it was a nice challenge and it was a real proud personal moment for me.

FF: Right. Now, going way back to the early Jurassic period of Louis here, how did you learn English to begin with? Did you just go to school and pick it up there?

LF: I came over when I was in grade six, no, I mean when I was six years old. And I was in, for some reason I was in grade, so I went to kindergarten late, because I was in kindergarten when I was five. And then six. And then, I learned to read with a book series called Mr. Mugs. I’ll never forget grade one. Mr. Mugs was an English sheepdog, which is why I’ve had English sheepdogs in my life. Everything connects for me! I’ve had two English sheepdogs in my life; Sherman, who passed away at fourteen. And Maggie, who is now living on a farm near my farm, because we couldn’t keep all five dogs when we made the move, so I found her a home. She’s awesome.

And that English sheepdog did something to me. And I had, something happened where I just for some reason, was able to pick up English really quickly, to the point whereas, by the time I was in grade two, I was the church reader. So when, I was in a Catholic school, so we’d go have whatever. Church happened once a week on Fridays and I was the guy, who was, I was reading the Gospel according to whoever at the podium.

And then I was MCing stuff in grade three and four, no, grade four, because I skipped grade three. I went from two to four, because I had started late with my age. They skipped me to put me in the right category, but I had earned it. And reading was always something that just came really quickly and naturally to me, and I always loved it. And so that’s initially how I just learned English, because my mom didn’t speak English and my dad didn’t speak English, so I spoke Portuguese at home as a child. But, English came really quickly to me, through just, you know, for whatever reason.

I sometimes think back going I have no clue how I went, because I did, I didn’t know a word of English when I first got here, obviously. By the time I was in grade one, Mr. Mugs was helping me out. That English sheepdog was “The Man.”

FF: So you just picked it up basically just from the environment, being immersed in the culture. LF: Yeah, yeah, schooling. Saint Mary’s Catholic School, in Toronto, Ontario. Downtown. I love it. That was my school, that was my stomping grounds. Those were the days.

And there you have it – everything you wanted to know about TOUCH! Thanks to Eszter and Kimmy for the transcripts!

If you won’t get to see the episode until later, feel free to still leave your questions here – we will still ask him.

There’s a really nice interview with Louis about his role at SciFiAndTvTalk (but, unlike the sound file we have here at Ferreira Fest, it doesn’t come with husky voices and sound effects!).

SCREEN CAPS

Needless to say Kimmy pounced on TOUCH and made over 700 screencaps for you! You can look at them here. Thanks, Kimmy – it was a true labor of love, I’m sure!

SHOWS UPDATES

Back in the Top 5000!

The week after TOUCH aired Louis’ ranking on IMDb predictably rocketed him back into the Top 5000 – a nosedive next week is pretty much inevitable, so go there while you can. Along the same vein, the Stargate Solutions Louis Ferreira Page has been updated recently.
ADDENDUM (5-21-2012): I stand corrected! Louis remained in the Top 5000 on IMDb for the second week in a row. Go Louis!!
ADDENDUM (5-28-2012): Well, what do you know, even after a 1k point loss Louis is STILL in the Top 5000 on IMDb! That’s the third week in a row!! Woohoo!!!

News from Bradley Stryker

Bradley’s movie “Unexpected Guest” has racked up 4 Leo Award nominations:  Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Picture Editing for a Short Film. Keep your fingers crossed that our favorite filmmaker wins big! Congratulations, Bradley – we’re all rooting for you!
ADDENDUM (5-26-2012): “Unexpected Guest” received a Leo for Best Director for a short film! Congratulations, Bradley!!

Dancing Still

Duke

Things appear to be on the move at last with this much-delayed feature. Duke will screen on May 31st at Paramount Studios. Duke was one of only three films, and the only US film chosen to screen at the Cine Gear Expo. If you would like tickets to the screening please visit http://www.cinegearexpo.com/

More funny Dragon*Con Pix!

Our friend Gene sent me these two pictures he took of Louis at last year’s Dragon*Con. Thanks, Gene!

ASK LOUIS

On Directing

Listen to the sound file here:

YOUR QUESTION: You have had a career of over twenty years in front of the camera; have you ever thought about being behind the camera, such as directing a movie or even an episode of a series?

LF: I have. And I don’t necessarily think it’s out of the question. It just hasn’t… I feel like the best analogy for me is that I feel like I really… there’s something about completing – this is part of the name change thing – about really kind of knowing yourself to a degree. That you’re just completely ready. There’s something… I am interested. It’s a work in progress.

Because now that my son is nineteen and no longer needs me, I still think I’m making that adjustment of going “Oh boy, I’ve got to get back to me now ‘cause I have time for me.”  I’m still going through the empty-nest syndrome of stuff of going, “Oh dear.” You know, I’m like, “Ohhh.”  The co-dependent in me, (laughter) is like, “What do I… Me? Well, I don’t care about me, I’m better when I’m helping other people.” Or, you know, doing things for other people is what makes me happier.

You know, I’m in this… stage of evolving into something that’s hopefully richer and deeper and allows me to come from a deeper purpose. So that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been doing a lot of work on me, and saying, “I need to take the time to do that for myself.” And that’s a gift. I mean, I really feel like I’m blessed to have the time to be able to do that. And, so I’m trying to give myself that gift. And it’s not easy, I’m very honest about it. But it’s kind of where I’m at, if that makes sense.

So out of that, out of those ashes, out of that dust, will come this person that I know is what is meant to be and I’m excited about that. You know, it’s always hard work but I’ve known that it’s in the hard work that great things are found, it’s in the – not the running away, or the numbing or falling into patterns, but I’m actually embracing my feelings and myself and going into a place, and going, “Okay. I need to learn how to self-love again.” It’s a strange thing.

FF: Well, sometimes your own self is the scariest place that you could possibly go to. LF: Well sure, and that’s the beauty of being an actor, too, because with every… you know, one of the few professions where with every challenge, with every darkness, comes the opportunity to go, “Oh wow! More that I can add to that repertoire.” You know, so it’s always, I always do see that as a gift. You know, Buddhists have a way of saying when there is a big struggle or when you’re met with a confrontation or you’re met, it’s like, “Congratulations! You have an opportunity to grow.” And I love that idea, you know. And it’s true, it’s very, very true and I see it that way as well.

On Writing

Listen to the sound file here:

YOUR QUESTION: You mentioned last time that you have recently started enjoying writing. What kind of writing is it that you do? Scripts, stories? 

LF: There are so many stories that I should write, I mean I could write tons of stories. Right now, I’m doing a lot of self-discovery journaling. You know, like I say, the project right now is me. As I come into something else on my own, so that’s sort of what I’m doing, I’m doing a lot of – I’m basically working with a lot of workbooks. And, you know, I have my, see, I have my little routine, which is great. I ride the Seawall, which is a 10K ride. I come home. I read a chapter, I do a workbook for an hour, then I’m up and I’m doing yoga, you know, and I’m reading more and I do some more writing and stuff like that.

On Character Development

Listen to the sound file here:

YOUR QUESTION: When you get a new role, how do you approach a character? Could you explain the process?

LF: Well, obviously each character has a different… For me, there’s a lot of factors that go into it. Ultimately, for every actor is, it’s an extension, there is a part of yourself that can relate to the character or not relate. Sometimes characters are further away from you than they are, but you look for that part of you which can experience something, some root, that’s in that specific character and then I think from there, you sort of develop, and you grow.

And you know, there’s different ways, techniques. Many different actors approach things very different ways. There is literally a process that some actors can apply as far as asking questions and answering and doing all the detail and all the work.

I love to sort of look for the inner energy of a character, the inner voice of a character, find a voice for the character, and out of that sometimes it comes out of – but, you’re always sort of trying of explore that avenue, which is – you know with, for example, with Felipe it was the the ability to love unconditionally. To have that sort of sweet, that quality that is true and steadfast, and you know, that commitment to something, and that sort of discipline. Although he was sort of the artsy, because I love the idea of the contrast, because those kinds of people are usually thought of “Oh, oh, you’re actors,” they’ll make judgments about it. So I wanted to go, that’s not at all – in a lot of cases it’s not always the way it is. There are exceptions to every rule. I wanted him to be an exception. And he turned out to be an exception, obviously, right, most of guys, at the end, wouldn’t be there, to be there with those two kids in that situation. Felipe was in Heaven because he got, he had love with the woman that he loved, and so everything else followed suit, so it didn’t matter what it was about. So, for example, that was a very important part of that character.

FF: It surprises me again and again, and I guess a lot of actors, it surprises them as well, how much of themselves ends up on the stage or in a movie or a film that they do.

LF: Well, you know we can say, let’s face it, I mean and I’m considered, I’m fairly versatile in some way, I mean I think I’ve done a lot of different stuff, but let’s face it, the majority of actors out there, certainly in America, are just a lot of personalities. You know, celebrities are personalities. They’ve got a thing. Bruce Willis is Bruce Willis in every film that he does. They are not gonna go, you know, and it’s just you have the Meryl Streeps which are  the real sort of method kind of actors who are able to lose themselves completely and submerge themselves in different roles. So there’s really, those are the two kinds of different types of actors. And they are both, you know some people do that one thing very well over and over again and have a wonderful career of it, other people just enjoy, you know, exploring different aspects of themselves, but it’s always them at the end of the day. You can’t escape that fact. They’re not going, “Sure Christian Bale, great actor, the ability to be very versatile,” but it’s Christian Bale in a different role. We celebrate the ability to transform. But, what happens, I think what it is, is a good product is a good product at the end of the day.

Thanks to Kimmy for the transcripts!

The Farm

Listen to the sound file here:

YOUR QUESTION: You’ve mentioned a farm a few times. Is that your family’s farm?

LF: It was just my farm, it was literally a dream come true. It was the one memory I had with my dad. I remember I worked at a – when I was nine years old I worked at a tomato farm, and I remember sitting there in this open field with these – sitting with these little baskets where – we picked the tomatoes and put them in these baskets by the bushel, and I was just sitting there watching the sunset, and there was this little farm house – I can remember it as if it were yesterday, and I was just like, oh my gosh, one day my dream would be to have a place like this, to live with this.

But in my mind it was with family and dogs, and I did that, and that’s literally what I did with my children, and I remember my son crying when I showed him the farm for the first time. And I go “Aidan, why are you crying?” and he says “Dad, I know this is a dream of yours.” He had that sensitivity about how much it meant to me. And that was a really beautiful thing. And it’s with great sadness now that I’m at a place now where I’m going, “Wow, I think the farm years are kind of gone.” Because you know, Aidan’s a big boy and he’s living in Vancouver, – and it’s one of the beautiful things about life for letting go, and change is inevitable, so it allows you to be grateful for the experience and then to move on.

It’s not easy sometimes to let go of things that represent such great things to you. But that farm was always gonna be magic in my heart, and from that place I’m able to be grateful for everything that happened there, so it’s just such a beautiful place. My brother takes care of it when I’m not around but I’m really now in the process of thinking – I’m trying to rent it out so I hold on to it, but there’s a part of me that also knows it may be time to let go of the farm dream and find another dream, you know?

Camp Dada

Listen to the sound file here:

YOUR QUESTION: What else did you enjoy doing at Camp Dada (besides throwing golf balls at your kids’ tent at night)?

LF: Oh, it was non-stop, it was – Camp Dada started when they were 8 and 2 and I remember every year was a different city, every year it was about – I had them for the first 2 months for the first five years but in those first 5 years we would literally do a different city, so I did Toronto the first year, I think LA was the second year and then we did Vancouver, and so traveling was a big part of it. And to me it was just about being – the Camp Dada was that I got to be mom, nurse, counselor, so it was non-stop, it was event after event after activity after museum after movie after book after cooking after shows…

I learned to love unconditionally through my children. My children taught me what real love was. And it was interesting because for me all I knew was when I had the kids: happy. When I didn’t: not so happy. And it didn’t matter – nothing mattered more than that love and I knew that that’s what life more than anything was about. And at that point acting became a way to allow me to take those two months off to afford a lifestyle like a teacher could – it’s not every job that would allow you, so for me it was “make the money so I could get those two months to be with my children”, to have that time which would fill me in a way that’s just like filling up a gas tank. And so that’s what they did for me. But we just did everything together. And I just tried to spend 24/ 7 with them, just being and loving and giving and getting and all the things that any – what it’s supposed to be. My children had a wonderful childhood.

On Ferreira Fest

Listen to the sound file here:

LF: Having this Ferreira Fest as part of me is something that’s really been a wonderful thing, to go “Hey, there are people out there who believe in me and care about me and love me”, and that means the world to me and it’s sort of like, I feel very grateful and blessed, it’s like it does do something to me, I feel very blessed to have it, so I know that more than anything – one of the things I have to do is get back to that place where I am back on track with myself, so that’s the journey that I’m on and I can be completely open and honest about it, cause I think that’s what makes this special and different and unique.

FF: Well, we need you to know that we do support you in whatever you do out there. We may not be there to tell you that in person, and maybe that’s not even important, but maybe that you know that we’re out here.

LF:  No, because I feel it, that’s the thing, I carry it with me and it’s a beautiful thing because, you know, most people are not… this is a rare thing we’re doing. And I’m only grateful for it, believe me, in every way. So, yay!

FF: It works both ways.

LF: Yay, Ferreira Fest!

The Song for Yarah from TOUCH

Lastly, you can listen to only the song excerpt from the TOUCH interview here:

And that, dear Friends, is about it for this month! Thanks for visiting often! Be sure to follow us on “X” / Twitter for all the Louis news you can handle and TV reminders!

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