Download the movie here: The Men Who Robbed the Bank
Robert Edwards plays Bobby, a retired thief who has been pulled back for one more job, but Stacie and the others don’t know the real reason why. If they only knew how much danger they were in…
Interview by Holly Foreman
What first attracted you to this project?
Well it intrigued me when Travis said he wrote the script and the characters specifically with us in mind, and that we would use our own names for the characters. Plus, having worked with Travis on his other features, I couldn’t wait to see what new things he was willing to try as a creative screenwriter and director. I was looking forward to working in another one of Travis Mills’ films and knew I would be working with some of the finest actors in Arizona films.
What in your background did you draw on when preparing for your role? How did it help?
I was a detective on a police department for a few years and had the experience of talking with many deemed as the criminal element. I’ve investigated crimes similar to The Men Who Robbed the Bank. That experience and the Meisner method of acting prepared me to think and act as an actual thief with no loyalties to anyone. Those two factors helped me approach the role from an opposite perspective and to act on it with the same kind of mentality.
What do you think most people who know you will be surprised to learn about this film? Why?
It’s surprising that Travis built the characters specifically for the actors involved. We were also asked to study (but not emulate) other particular actors whose characteristics Travis felt were similar to the roles we would portray. We did so by thinking of their mannerisms as if they were in the same scenario. I tried to take on some of the same characteristics as the actor I studied with regard to my wardrobe, mannerisms, movement, and overall demeanor. Not sure how successful I was in pulling it off though!
Why should people download the film?
Simply to watch a different yet good movie. It appears to have a simple plot, but when you watch each individual actor and their character, there is much more going on psychologically. There is a specific reason why each actor responds as they do. There is much more depth to the characters that deserves intense watching. There are specific responses going on by each character in regards to the stimuli being presented. For example, my character is “old school” and I was drawn into the scenario in order to pay back the mob the money I owed them because of my gambling habit. I was a seasoned bank robber having worked with many crews, who I later wasted for the money at the whim of the mob. I was tired of the killing and I wanted to retire, but I had to do this last job to pay the mob the money I owed. I also used one sentence at a time, or short phrases, as I did not talk much. My character was more into playing head games with my partners in crime, hoping they would destroy each other and leave more of the money to the remaining few. My role was to plant things into their heads that would set them off, or get them thinking the worse would happen.
What was the worst thing about being on set? What was the best?
I seriously cannot think of anything being the worst. I appreciated the home cooked meals that the director’s parents brought to the set and I recall everything flowed very nicely throughout filming, thanks to how prepared all the actors were. The hours were not drawn out as long as they could have been. It was a fun set to be on with all of the jokes and wisecracks, and we had nice breaks in between the shoots.
What did you struggle with the most?
Holding back certain gestures and responses – which meant I was in my head. Once corrected, I was able to use more of a restraining nature and not display a lot of emotion and remain calm overall…never getting excited. I tried to not show certain qualities like kindness, fear, hatred, sadness or glee, but I remained cold, quiet or reserved, and rather direct in my dialogue. Again, it was all about playing head games with the others. The truth is, James was so good in his role, I really wanted to kill him myself rather than put up with his constant annoying talk and attitude, but then suspicion had diverted to Michael toward the end which got James off the hook.
