I only had three days to prepare for the screen test and hearing, which was not as much time as I would like. So I tried to go as wide as possible, then shrink it and go as specific as possible to find and discover where I, as Lewis, I can relate to this character.
Where did you shoot?
What was so exciting and terrifying is how much I related to this character. Regarding the parts of the mental health of it, anxiety and depression, I have a good healthy dose of TOC, and just doubt and this negative discourse which can paralyze you. I am lucky to have come from a large family which was very proactive and ingenious to help me understand everything. And so to try to live in someone who didn't have that – I was close enough to these alleys so that I could see what it would have looked like if I hadn't had that.
Have you had frank conversations with people in your own life on mental health?
I was a major in social work at the Northern Carolina College, so I had many conversations on these subjects. In this project, it was obvious that it was a major theme. But it was never our goal of making this PSA, it is always an incredibly fun successful success on a large scale. But brilliant a flashlight, it becomes more real. In many ways, my anxiety is something that I am grateful. He is there as a protective mechanism. You don't just make a film about it, then the conversation is over. I will talk about it until I incurred the drain. And this is something with which I agree and that I agree.
Do you also have personal experience in depression?
It is something that is less a coherent force in my life. He comes in waves. But it is something that is deeply in my marrow because when you feel it, it is very difficult to forget. I was able to exploit this in a way that was safe, with therapy, then friends and support.
I do therapy in the same way that I will play – I guess I never know anything, that there is always something to learn. I did a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy in high school, and now I'm in therapy. I realized that the moments when you should stick to the most to therapy is when you think you do the best without him. It was a play of mind that I fell a few times.
Why do you think the character resonated with people?
This oscillation which he has between feeling this uselessness, has encountered this true belief in yourself, is very resonant. It is something important in Bob: he wants to be useful, but he was told all his life that when he tries to get involved, he always aggravates things. Many of us have been informed in one way or another. And so seeing this very real person among these surreal and extraordinary circumstances is what makes him so resonant.
