Joanna Steven: What attracted you to the script of Bold Native and made you decide to audition for the role of I Rock?
Tonya Kay: What attracted me to the script of Bold Native initially was the way it found it’s way into my hands. Taran Smith, a fellow vegan actor who played Mark in the hit TV series Home Improvement, initially sent the script to me for review. When an actor/activist like Taran sends you material, you pay attention! The second thing that attracted me to the script was it was actually good. I mean really good. I read a lot of independent film screenplays and it is surprisingly rare to find quality material. The Bold Native screenplay touched me so, I wept the first time I read it. After I booked the role of I Rock, I read the screenplay 7 more times as I worked through my role and even though I knew and knew well what was coming, it still had the power to bring me to tears. This is a touching, well-written story.
Finally, I related to the compassion, rebellion and blind drive that our heroes have for freedom. This film is about animal liberators wanted for terrorism by the FBI. The spirit of everything I fight for on a daily basis is encompassed in Bold Native. Freedom really is an essential spiritual motivation.
Joanna Steven: How was the atmosphere on set? Can you share with us an off-camera anecdote that brings a smile to your face every time you think about it?
Tonya Kay: As an actor in Bold Native, I felt the story’s freedom translate to my art as well. I originally read for both of the lead female roles and didn’t hear back for some oddly long time after my reading. Now, I audition 5 to 6 times every week, so as soon as I walk out of the casting office, I focus forward and never count the days until I “should hear back” on a certain role or until a role I auditioned for is shooting. It’s part of being a healthy actor. But Bold Native was different for me. I did wonder why I hadn’t heard back for so long from Open Road Films, the production company. I really wanted to be a part of this film!
Out of nowhere, probably 5 weeks after my audition, Denis Hennelly, the director, calls and asks if I will come back in and read for the role of I Rock. Of course, I said, “but isn’t I Rock written for a male?” Turns out the production team watched my audition over and over again and felt I represented the “unexpected”. It was Jeff Bollman, the cinematographer, whom suggested that they see me for I Rock, the zany, chaotic force of nature in the film – originally written for a male.
Denis Hennelly (director/writer), Casey Suchan (producer), Mary Pat Bentel (producer) and Jeff Bollman (cinematographer) of Open Road Films are that open minded. They cast me in a male role in Bold Native and between you and I, I never stopped thinking of I Rock as a man. When I referred to my character, even while playing the character, I referred to I Rock (myself) as a “him”. How completely freeing and appropriate!
Joanna Steven: The press release mentions that the entire cast is vegetarian. How did they react to the fact that even though you do not eat animals, you also do not eat cooked food?
Tonya Kay: The set of Bold Native was catered completely vegan, which is extremely rare in Hollywood. In fact, most of Open Road Films is vegan themselves and in casting, Open Road Films intentionally sought out talent that was “familiar with the animal rights movement”, believing that knowledge was favorable to effective portrayal of believable roles. In the end, Bold Native’s cast of 60 includes cameos by famous activists like Peter Young, who served two years in federal prison for releasing thousands of mink from fur farms; actor/activist Chris DeRose, founder of Last Chance for Animals; pioneering animal rights lawyers Shannon Keith and Odette Wilkins; famed first amendment lawyer Louis Sirkin; John Feldmann, lead singer of seminal pop-punk band Goldfinger; rapper MC Supernatural; and vegetarian television stars Dianna Agron (Glee) and Whitney Mixter (Showtime’s The Real L Word).
I was the only specifically RAW vegan on set, but I was in good hands. In Hollywood, raw is almost a mainstream word. If cast and crew haven’t already tried it, they’d like to. Just imagine the cast of Bold Native, now: vegans who really understood what raw was all about and also respected specialized diets – I had full on raw vegan meals hand delivered to me from a caring production from Cru and Leaf Cuisine raw restaurants – now that makes a girl feel like part of the family!
Joanna Steven: Can you tell your fans more about your future projects? Where can we expect to see you again?
Tonya Kay: Bold Native’s red carpet premiere is June 16th in Westwood, CA with an immediate follow up screening in Beverly Hills June 18th – get your tickets to these events NOW because they are really going fast. Bold Native also has currently scheduled screenings in Portland OR, Seattle WA and Washington DC. Check www.boldnative.com for continually updated screenings and tickets and vegans, as part of your activism, if you wish to see this film come to a town near you, contact Bold Native and make it happen!
I play a role in another film touring festivals currently, called The Things We Carry. And I am the voice of Green Girl in the animated raw superhero film series Rawman and Green Girl. This year alone, I have appeared on Glee, House MD and dancing with Rhianna on American Idol. Look for me in the Hallmark movie of the week, Wish List, airing sometime this summer.
Although you won’t get to see these projects for another year or so, I just shot a tv pilot with Gary Cole and played the lead in scifi/horror film OffWorld, shot a series regular role in the web series Silver Lake, shot a cameo in the horror film Creep Van and am currently filming a role in the film The Mudman. I write weekly for the environmental magazine EcoHearth online and am working on 3 books right now.
You can keep up with me at tonyakay.com, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1800223/ and kayosmarket.com.