Up until now, our “5 Questions” interviews have only included directors, but we’re opening up the series to include conversations with actors (and in the future, DP’s and others). There’s no better place to start than with Rachel McKeon, who’s responsible for one of the more mesmerizing performances we’ve seen so far this year in Tim O’Connor’s “The Undiscovered Country.” We asked McKeon how she came to the project, how she prepared for the role, and what’s next for her…

1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interesting in acting?

A lot of actors seem to answer this sort of question with a sense of entitlement and destiny - but this was not my experience. I'm from the Rust Belt by way of an East Coast family of scientists, engineers, and doctors, and so my path with acting has always been wrought with confusion and dilemma regarding the best use of my person and intellect. This tension has imposed itself menacingly on my work from the start. I don't take being an artist for granted or, worse, some sort of divine right. Believe it or not, this inherent struggle actually keeps me in the game, even if it tortures me.

But to answer your question better - as a child, my imagination was quite vibrant, and often overwhelmingly difficult to manage, even turbulent. It led to me being intensely drawn to the crowd of people doing theater. They were funny, wild, very alive, and the mythology of show business really captured me. Despite being advised otherwise, and even being told that I was in no way good enough, I just kept doing it. With time, I became less afraid of being in the spotlight, less afraid of messing up. Just after college, I started getting asked to do films. And somewhere in there, it all clicked. And people started finally encouraging me.

2) How did you come to this project? Did you audition? What did you think of the script initially / could you easily imagine yourself in the role? Were there any tweaks to the character that you made, or you guys discussed together?

The wonderful Allison Twardziak called me in for this film. I auditioned with the upstate bar scene, and got the offer pretty soon after. I remember seeing women I recognized from other indie films waiting outside the audition room and thinking - "well, it won't be me". But I was really excited to come in with some biting dialogue, so I assume my enthusiasm for that came through.

The script, I think, was actually pretty spare as I recall. There wasn't a lot of "color", per se. Not a ton of description in the action. It was very simply rendered - a true blueprint - which made me nervous! I'm someone who looks for a lot of clues in the surrounding text. Usually when scripts are like this, there are two reasons: either the creator doesn't have a lot of specificity pre-determined (a red flag), or the writer/director knows their aesthetic goals so well that they don't feel the need to "prove" the style in the script. This was definitely a case of the latter. Upon request, Tim sent me an absolute flood of material that was inspiring him visually and emotionally. It harmonized for me immediately - the passion of this character, and how she's being watched, almost spied on, by the camera. 

I think Grace is the closest character to myself I have ever played. I do some things in the film that I'm frankly embarrassed to have shared on screen, because they reflect so much my own tendencies. Tim had a very laid back approach to directing the acting of the film. He kind of just let his actors do their thing, so to speak, and was accepting of a lot of ideas. And I think because there's a very distinct visual style, he made the right choice. I do recall what was most important to him was that Grace had an intensity with everything that she did. And I personally felt responsible to make sure, since the audience was going to be having to watch so much of me, that I kept showing different, possibly even contradictory, sides of Grace's passion in every scene. Even in her softness toward the end.

3) How do you usually prepare for roles, and was this film any different?

I have yet to solidify a routine for preparation. Though for the other features or even shorts that I've done, I have spent time creating a distinct physicality - how the character moves, talks, responds - thereby separating myself from the role. It's become a bit of my calling card - the "transformation", if you will. But I kept Grace closer to me. Which isn't to say that it was less "work". If anything, it can be harder and more vulnerable for me to explore my own passion, my own flaws, my own impulsiveness, my own pain without hiding behind gesture or planned physicality. I am grateful for this film for that reason, and I actually think I shed some serious demons in the making of it. 

4) What was the hardest scene to perform and why?

Perhaps the little fight with my ghost mom toward the end of the film. I get antsy about physical fights and the like on small indie films. My athletic passions of choice are Muay Thai and boxing, which I have studied for years - and when asked to kind of just improv something physical like that, I feel really responsible to make sure that no one gets hurt. Tim was super understanding of this. 

5) What’s your favorite performance in any film, new or old, that you’ve seen in the last couple years?

Indulge me here. I'll even absorb the risk of some side-eyes from the NoBudge crowd and include television performances. From the past year or two I want to immediately praise Chris Meloni in Happy! on Syfy - and then there's the stunning Suranne Jones in both Gentleman Jack and Doctor Foster - which are British-made shows - she's got the kind of thing going on I can only wish to aspire to. She's an absolute force, and so compelling. 

From some recent film re-watches: Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday.  Don Cheadle in Boogie Nights! I might be Don Cheadle's biggest fan. Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher. Natalie Wood in This Property is Condemned. I read Tim's interview with you and was pleased to see him mention Splendor in the Grass, which she also excels in, of course. She's so underrated. 

I also recently re-watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and was very touched yet again by Michelle Yeoh's performance in that film. It's a subtle, romantic, and mature thing of beauty, her work in that.

Oh! And Jessica Lange in the second season of American Horror Story: Asylum, which I just caught last year, is one of the finest examples of capital A Acting there is - ok, I'm done. I could go on for ages. Is anyone still reading this interview? Do they hate me for loving Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and television?

Bonus Question: What’s next for you?

The final season of Marvel's Jessica Jones just dropped on Netflix, which I have a very small part in throughout the series. Getting to watch Krysten Ritter and Carrie-Anne Moss deliver those intense, funny, and dark performances on that sort of insane schedule was a master class, truly.

Soon enough the lovely Brandon Colvin's next film A Dim Valley will premiere, as well as an artful eco-horror film, Unearth, directed by a husband and wife team John C. Lyons and Dorota Swies-Lyons.

But as far as production goes in the next couple months, I'm looking at an open calendar. I'd love to do a play, and I'd certainly love to find another small film to sink my teeth into. 

Website: http://rachelmckeon.com/