Actor Steven Morana (Three Chords from the Truth) has jumped into the director’s chair for the first time with Beast Within. Steven joins Horror Geek Life to discuss how he became an actor, the importance of using practical effects in werewolf movies, and his challenges going from actor to director early in his film career.
Horror Geek Life: What made you decide on a career in acting?
Steven Morana: That’s a good question, seeing as it’s not the most traditional of career paths. It’s kind of quirky to begin with. I guess I’d have to say from a younger age, I’d have to thank my parents and my teachers. They were all very supportive. I think that’s a key thing, having that encouragement and support. It gives you the confidence at a young age to express yourself and pursue a career in the arts. I think where I first felt that shift was around seven years old. It was a daycare teacher that really thought I had a lot of energy, was spunky, and wanted me to be the lead in our school play. It was A Christmas Carol, and I was playing Ebenezer Scrooge. I got that role and felt the excitement of being in front of a live audience, with all the parents and faculty members. I guess from there is where it kind of sprung, me taking a liking and interest to acting. I started doing a lot of school plays, I got into an art school in high school, where it became more of a dedicated practice, and then I had fellow friends and classmates that had agents and were able to recommend to me and help me get into a more professional side. No one in my family were actors, but we had family members that had musical background or visual arts background. No one did it professionally, but we definitely had that artistic expression in the family. I was the first one to do it for a profession.
HGL: Would you say your career as a young actor was headed more toward the theatre than shows and movies?
SM: Yeah, as a young child and teenager it was all theatre-based. After going to a performing art school specifically, where we had to audition to get in, that was a big shift, because we were coming from an intense dramatic program that was on top of our regular high school diploma. We had to do several shows every semester for the public, and I also did some shows for the town theatre in that area, and people would pay to seem them. Those were my first experiences doing performances in the public eye. It wasn’t until my later teens when I first got an agent and started doing professional TV and film that I went into and made a career. I always enjoyed it and felt it was a passion since I was a little kid. I always wanted to do this as a profession, even before I was exposed to the business side of it. I just love it for the pureness and the expression of the art form.
HGL: You made the transition to directing early on in your acting career. Do you plan on sticking to directing, going back to acting, or both?
SM: Producing and directing on this film was not the initial plan. Initially I was just attached as an actor and I was planning to possibly become a producer on it, but it was later on when I decided to take on the director role, and I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have a co-director. Chris Green had more experience than I did, and he was definitely leading the helm in that way. I was certainly contributing to the storytelling sphere of it all, but it was just kind of how things turned out and the opportunities presented themselves. I really enjoy storytelling and I enjoy film, and acting is my base, but transitioning to more things where I could be the director or producer are definitely things that attract me. Will I do it every time? Definitely not. Would I do all of them at once? I would have to think about it because it is a tall order. It would be situational, but my base and my focus is on the acting side. When there’s an opportunity, I’m happy to jump in on those other sides of production, for sure.
HGL: Let’s talk about Beast Within, your directorial debut. The premise follows a werewolf attack at a party for a game release. The game combines an MMO like World of Warcraft with a popular party tabletop game, One Night Ultimate Werewolf or Secret Hitler. Where did that story come from?
SM: It was based on a lot of different influences. I can’t speak on all of them, because I didn’t write it, but we were just very attracted to the story in general, and what the writers had come up with. There’s a lot of influences and references in the film from various werewolf classic films, to the werewolf card game, which is a major piece we played on, and a whole interactive modernized version of it, from our world of present where gaming apps, and mobile game, and making things interactive online is the focus of a lot of entertainment now. All of us, the producers, actors, etc. were attracted to the fact that it was a hybrid of a lot of genres. You have a whodunnit, you have a play on the werewolf game, and you have homage to a lot of werewolf films, it had the creature feature elements, and the murder-mystery Agatha Christie feel. It had a combination of all of those influences throughout the film, and I liked the fact that it wasn’t just your straightforward horror, either. There were a lot of comedic moments there, some romance, things that didn’t make it a straight slasher film, so to speak.
HGL: As history has kind of shown us, the difference between a good werewolf film and a bad one can solely rely on the practical effects versus computer graphics. We respect your decision to go practical. Was that something you were continuously cognitive about while filming?
SM: That was the plan from the get-go. We wanted to be practical. We love that idea. The influence definitely came from the great werewolf films of the 80’s. I think it’s becoming more and more of the standard of today. I know that you still have your CGI films, but taking it right out of the page of Guillermo del Toro, who spoke about his monster in The Shape of Water, he said similar things about how he wanted it to be as practical as possible, and limit it to facial expressions for CGI, to bring out some more lifelike expressions. We took the same approach. We wanted to be practical, we wanted that rawness and that real feel to it. We just touched it up with little facial expressions with CGI. We also made sure all those other elements, the lighting, the color grading, was able to really capture that spooky, eerie, creature coming from the shadows feel. We felt with the proper cinematography and the proper special effects, we could get a really great werewolf that embodies what we were after. There was a lot of pressure because you can really screw up a werewolf film, especially if the monster is not on point. Kudos to the Butcher Shop, who was the studio that did that. They’re based in Hamilton, Ontario. Led by Carlos, they did some great work there. They customized the suit to our stuntman, Tyler Williams, that was the werewolf for most of the time and was able to bring that to life. We’re really excited about that, and that’s the response we’ve been getting since starting our festival run, is that everyone was thrilled with the werewolf. The practical effects only go so far, the other element is the sound design and making sure you have the right roars and growls to embody that monster and make it come to life. We were really happy with the way it turned out.
HGL: The costume was more reminiscent of films like Dog Soldiers or The Howling rather than An American Werewolf in London or your classic Wolfman. It was a nice touch.
SM: Yeah, and there were definitely those influences, for sure. Carlos did speak on that. He mentioned those specifically when it went into the design process. We had influences from Underworld as well. It was a combination of all of them. It was that type of werewolf that had the feel of a half-human, half-wolf, rather than the type of all-fours, all the time wolf.
HGL: What’s your favorite werewolf film?
SM: Oof! I would say it’s a toss-up between The Wolfman, like the original 1941 classic, I really love the nostalgia and his struggle battling with the wolf, and then of course An American Werewolf in London has got to be at the top of the list. That’s the one that all werewolf films are compared to and influenced by. I would say those are my top ones, but as far as modern werewolf films are concerned, I really enjoy the Underworld series. I thought they did a really good job, especially in those initial squaring off moments.
HGL: Trying to manage both the lead acting and the directing at the same time, how tough was that for you?
SM: I think the key thing here was having a strong team, because even producing was tough at times, when making certain decisions. Having my fellow producer’s support while I had to be in a scene on camera and the same with my co-director, that made all the difference. Having the partners in crime to help spread the jobs so I didn’t have to carry the load was key to the execution. Pre-planning is the other thing. A lot of times we’d set up the shot, discuss it, make sure the shot was where we wanted it to be, and we’d just execute. Everybody knew their marks, and it was just a matter of setting up and going. So yeah, preplanning and a strong support team are the key elements there.
HGL: We saw Colm Feore pop up in the film. He’s a fantastic actor. We still remember his creepy performance from Stephen King’s Storm of the Century. What was your experience working with him?
SM: A true professional. Exactly what you would expect. He was very polite, very kind, and very patient with everyone. There’s just this confidence and experience that he exudes. When he would step on his mark and execute his lines and go into character, it just felt so natural and delivered in such eloquence. You were just in awe. You were like “Whoa, now I understand why he has had such a long and illustrious career”. He was such a pleasure to work with, and then seeing him come to life and into his character, was such a magical experience in its own right. It was surreal in some ways, because I remember seeing him performing in a rendition of Macbeth at the Stratford Theatre Festival, and he’s just something else. He’s in this other league of actors where he can just turn it on and is quite distinguished. Everyone was so excited when he was on set, and he was so supportive and brought more out of us, just by us feeding off his energy.
HGL: That seems to be a running theme with classically trained actors, being able to elevate everyone around them to work harder and perform better.
SM: He sets a tone without even saying anything. Very polite, very true, talks to you like anyone else, and then he turns it on and it’s like oh, wow, he’s just there. He just shifts and we’re in it! It’s always a big treat when you can have some great actors like Colm to set the tone for the cast, and yeah, you’re absolutely right, he just elevates everybody’s game and causes it to rise.
HGL: What would you say you’re most proud of when it comes to Beast Within?
SM: I guess, just being an indie filmmaker and just seeing it completed and out there. We’re just really happy that we were able to make it happen because you never know. You start on a script level, letters on a page, and for it to evolve to where it’s gone, and the distribution we’ve been able to get on it, it went beyond my wildest dreams. As far as the artistic elements, I’m very proud of the cast, and the great representation we were able to get with the actors, and just the execution on the wolf. Everyone has just been so pleased with that, and we were so happy to have made a werewolf film that could really stand out.
HGL: Let’s switch over to an upcoming psychological thriller film you’ll be acting in, The Redeemer. Can you talk about that?
SM: There’s not much we can talk about yet, because it’s in the early situations, but I will say this, the director on it, Amy Williams, she was an executive producer on Beast Within as well. We’ve known each other for nearly 10 years. Me personally, I’m excited because we have a great working relationship, but we’re also just great friends outside, so I’m really excited that I’ll be working with a friend of mine, and she’s really a great talent and has been pumping out some great projects over the years. This project is close to her heart and I think it’s extra special because of that. The team-up is something I’m just very excited about on this one.
HGL: Do you have anything on the horizon you want people to look for?
SM: It has been circling quite a bit and I will confirm that Beast Within 2 is in discussion right now. We’re in the early stages, but that’s something everyone can look forward to. I don’t want to give too many spoilers if people haven’t seen the first one, but there is an open ending and a lot more story to be told. We’re definitely focusing on part two and beyond. We see this as something that can be a franchise with a lot more to follow up on August’s journey.
HGL: Lastly, do you have anyone or anything you’d like to support or plug?
SM: I will say, if you haven’t checked it out, Beast Within! It’s out there now On Demand and all major U.S. and Canadian retailers for cable and satellite, as well as all digital platforms. Check it out, especially with spooky season and whatnot. For any other information, you can check out BeastWithinMovie.com, and all our social media platforms are connected to that. You can also follow me @stevenmorana on Instagram and Twitter, and @realstevenmorana on Facebook. I really appreciate you guys taking the time and having an interest in the film. I’d love to do this again sometime when we have more on the horizon!
Horror Geek Life would like to thank Steven Morana for his time and the excellent interview. You can check out Beast Within On Demand, and for rent and purchase on Amazon.
RELATED: Interview: Unmasking Michael Myers – A Talk with Tony Moran
