I had the opportunity to attend a round table interview with Lonnie Chavis and Amiah Miller, the two young stars of the film The Water Man. A few of my fellow bloggers also attended.
Synopsis
Gunner (Chavis) sets out on a quest to save his ill mother (Dawson) by searching for a mythic figure who possesses the secret to immortality, the Water Man. After enlisting the help of a mysterious local girl, Jo (Miller), they journey together into the remote Wild Horse forest — but the deeper they venture, the stranger and more dangerous the forest becomes. Their only hope for rescue is Gunner’s father (Oyelowo), who will stop at nothing to find them and in the process will discover who his son really is.
Jana (Whiskey + Sunshine): Lonnie, do you have a favorite filming location in Oregon?
Lonnie Chavis: The whole set throughout the entire Water Man was mostly in the woods. It was hot some days, it was cold some days and there were lots of days where it was raining. Most of the days it was raining, and there was a lot. I wouldn’t really say that I have a favorite set in particular, the whole set was pretty nice.
—-
Onica (The Mommy Factor): This question is for both of you guys. The film tends to have a theme of facing fears, especially with tweens. What kind of advice would you give for tweens who also want to face their fears? Also, during the filming, did you guys face your own fears in any way?
Lonnie Chavis: I had lots of fears during this movie, and heights were one of them, also the darkness. There were lots of scenes in particular, but specifically speaking, the log scene was definitely a difficult one for me. When I had gotten on top of the log, (it was very high up) I did not want to get down. My mom tried to calm me down and then Mr. David stepped in and he reminded me why Gunner is doing this. Gunner’s doing this for all the love and the passion that he has for his mom.
Amiah Miller: One of my fears with this role, in particular, was not really achieving everything that I knew I was capable of as an actress. I think that’s something that a lot of actors and actresses face is knowing that you’re so fully capable of doing a great job, but being afraid that something will stop you.
—-
Robin Davis (momtomagnificent.com): My daughter Olivia would like to ask a question.
Olivia: What was it like filming scary and intense scenes?
Amiah Miller: It was very fun. Lonnie is like my little brother. It was like going to work every day with my family. We got so close. It wasn’t really intense on set because we were always joking.
Lonnie Chavis: Amiah and I really built the chemistry as Gunner and Jo, but we also built a friendship at the end of it. Throughout the entire set, it was just lots and lots of fun, everyone treated everybody with kindness and care. I don’t really think that it was intense at any moment.
Christina (thepatricios.com): In the movie, Gunner, really uses his imagination with his drawings and his books. I’m curious, are you similar in any way to your character that you played in the movie? Also, what were your biggest challenges taking on this role?
Lonnie Chavis: Yes. I actually do a little bit of drawing myself. I’m not as good as Gunner, but I do a little bit of drawing, here and there. I wasn’t familiar with the art but they had brought in a graphic artist that helped me learn how to draw Gunner’s way and it was pretty cool. He gave me some tips that I still use to this day.
You could definitely say that there were lots of challenges facing this movie, like the one scene when I was telling Amiah how my mom was sick. I was having lots of trouble with that scene. Mr. David, had pulled me to the side, and he gave me a personal story about his life and then he made me tap into my own and he realized that I can see myself in Gunner, and that I basically am Gunner, and that I would do everything that Gunner is doing and how far Gunner has come.
—-
Tessa(mamasgeeky.com): My eight-year-old needed me to ask this question. She has to know if those bugs were real because she said she would have been freaking out.
Amiah Miller: The same with the two of us. They weren’t real. But Lonnie, didn’t you have a scene at the end of the movie, and they used real bugs?
Lonnie Chavis: Yes. When I first stepped on the set that day, I heard hissing and I thought there were snakes. I mean, they’re huge. They’re literally huge and I had to interact with them to make sure that I felt safe around them and I hated it. I wanted to go home, dude. They’re so huge, it’s creepy. I don’t mess with bugs like that.
Dianna (Me): Lonnie, what does it feel like being a leading man?
Lonnie Chavis: Man, everybody’s been telling me that. I got to tell you, I don’t feel like I’m a leading man. I feel like Mr. David really set a tone on the set. You feel like it will be hard for somebody who’s not only an actor but also a director of a film because of how many things they have to control. They have to control the camera angles, they have to control somebody else’s lines, their lines, their makeup, his makeup is there are so many things that you have to manage, but Mr. David had a grip on every single one of them and he did everything smoothly, patiently, made it like a walk in the park. I mean, he never bumped into transition. He was always considerate of everybody else on the set and collaborative with everybody else on the set. I always say that a movie is only as good as its director and the outcome of this movie was all led by Mr. David.
—-
Ashley (Ashley and Co.): My daughter wanted to ask both of you, and you kind of touched a little bit on the log scene earlier. Did you both do all of the stunts or as many as you could? And what was that like?
Amiah Miller: The log scene was a real log, and it was huge and really long, and it was elevated. We were on the log, but there was no rushing water. It was fun.
—-
Mel (The Mommyhood Chronicles): My question is to Lonnie. When I watched it, the emotions you had to your mom, okay, versus the emotions you had to your dad, I noticed the push back, those typical teenage moments towards a dad, and the loving tender moments to the mom, which we see a lot with teenagers. Was that hard to portray in this movie, and that would be for both of you because you both did a really good job of different emotions throughout the movie.
Lonnie Chavis: I feel like I have the exact same relationship with my mom. I’m very, very, very close to my mom. There are moments where I thought I couldn’t do stuff, then my mom carried me to the other side of the river. But Gunner’s dad was in the military, so he wasn’t really close with his dad. They just moved to a new town when he finds out that his mom is diagnosed with leukemia, so they try to spend as much time together as they can and try to not take time for granted.
Amiah Miller: My character, Jo, obviously doesn’t have a good relationship with either of her parents and that’s so far from who I am. My parents are my best friends. They are so supportive. That’s what I thought was so fun about that role and acting in general, is that I can be so far from who I am. I remember being in the callback, and I had this long paragraph talking about my dad, and David had cried. It’s so fun to play a role so far from me, and I hope people believe it.
Jana (Whiskey + Sunshine) daughter Parker: My question was since you have both done a lot of TV and film work before, do you prefer one over the other?
Lonnie Chavis: I definitely think that I like movies more, especially roles like this. I feel like this role challenged me, not only as a person, but as an actor, and pushed me beyond my limits of what I can actually do and portray on the screen. So, I feel like I’m going to do a lot more movies now.
Amiah Miller: Yes. Same for me. I love doing both. I mean, I’m so passionate about acting, but movies are definitely very fun because you go to film somewhere, and it’s for a few months, and then you wrap, and then you can move on and do other things.
—-
Onica (The Mommy Factor): So, we know at the end, we find out that the Water Man is a story. If you had to write your own story, whether it’s a comedy, drama, thriller, what kind of story would you guys write?
Amiah Miller: A very good question. My life has kind of been all over the place, recently. So, it would probably be a comedy.
Lonnie Chavis: Yes. Mine would probably be a comedy too. I mean, my life’s just been kind of funny the past few weeks, so it’d definitely be a comedy.
—-
Robin Davis (momtomagnificent.com): Daughter Oliva: Do you have any favorite moments from filming or onset?
Lonnie Chavis: You know, filming with Amiah, she was like my big sister throughout the entire film. We had so much fun together. In between every single take, we would laugh about the dumbest things then as soon as they said, action, we would both snap right back into character.
Amiah, she’s honestly a true professional, one of the sweetest people ever. I love Amiah so much. But I mean, not only Amiah, everybody, Mrs. Rosario, Mr. David (Oyelowo), and especially Mr. Alfred (Molina). Mr. Alfred is such a cool guy.
Amiah Miller: My favorite thing is the relationships that I’ve formed, I still talk to almost everybody. I talk to Lonnie all the time. When I say that I truly gained a little brother, I really mean it. Like, just the relationships that I formed and the things that I’ve learned, that’s something that’s irreplaceable.
Christina (thepatricios.com): At the end of the movie, there’s a question and it really hit home to my husband and my children and me. I want to know, if you could choose a short life with lots of love or long life with no one left to love, what would you choose and why?
Lonnie Chavis: I’d take a short life with lots of love with my mom instead of long life without her. Because, as I said, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my mom. My mom has encouraged me so many times.
Amiah Miller: Same. I think love is the driving force of humans and if you don’t have love, what do you have? So, I would take a short life any day.
—-
Tessa(mamasgeeky.com) What drew you to these roles, and what made you want to be a part of this film?
Lonnie Chavis: When I had gotten the script, I was 11 at the time and what made me interested, is what would make any 11 year old more interested, I wanted to be in it for the action, and the adventure, and the graphic novels and the supernatural thing on the set. But when I dug deeper into it with my mom, I realized that I am basically Gunner and that this is a really cool idea. That I can relate to Gunner and that a lot of kids will be able to see themselves on screen. I mean, this is all about representation in this movie.
Amiah Miller: Yes. What initially drew me into Jo was just how different she is from me, and just how challenging the role is, and I’ve never played anyone like her. I think she also shows kids that do go through similar things that, you know, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that all you need is one good person to believe in you and you can turn your life around and become a better person.
—-
Ashley (Ashley and Co.): Lonnie, you got to wield that sword. What was that like on set?
Lonnie Chavis: That was awesome. I felt like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. That was literally awesome. That was literally one of those things that I only thought of growing up, watching all those cartoons I wanted to be a ninja. So, this was like my dream goal, just to hold the samurai sword walking around in the woods fighting back evil. That was one of my favorite parts.
—-
Mel (The Mommyhood Chronicles): What would be one sentence you would use to describe this movie? Or emotions?
Lonnie Chavis: –Yes. This movie identifies with a lot. There’s love, there’s sacrificial love, there’s family, there’s hope. There’s faith, there’s sacrifice. I hope a lot of people see is that you shouldn’t take time for granted and that love has no limits, especially after COVID. That’s a lot of things that people need right now.
Amiah Miller: My word would be powerful, because this film opened my eyes to Gunner’s relationship with his mom and how I love my mommy and I’ve (sometimes) taken her for granted. We have to enjoy life while we’re living it. I think that’s one of the most powerful life lessons we can learn. I think I’m so fortunate to have learned it at a young age. So, yes. Powerful.
Dianna (Me): I was wondering, what was up next for both of you, where will we see you next?
Lonnie Chavis: I’m not spilling any beans today. If I do have some stuff coming up, I’m not saying, you’re just going to have to see, but it’s going to be good. Oh, I already almost gave it away. But yes, you’re going to have to see.
Amiah Miller: I’m currently in Georgia and I just wrapped at two o’clock this morning. I can’t say much about this film, but it’s very heavy and I’m very excited for everyone to see it.
THE WATER MAN – ON DEMAND MAY 25
STAY SOCIAL WITH THE WATER MAN
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
#TheWaterMan
