Anna Marie Dobbins stars in the new thriller movie Sins of the Preacher’s Wife which is set to premiere on Lifetime on June 29 at 8p/7c. We at Survived The Shows had the pleasure of chatting with star Anna Marie Dobbins about her experience in the making of Sins of the Preacher’s Wife and what fans can expect from the movie.
Can you tell us a little bit about your character and how she fits into the story of “Sins of the Prechear’s Wife”?
Anna Marie Dobbins: I play Beth, who is just trying to find a fresh start with her husband, and she recently adopted a new baby. So they’re just wanting a fresh start. So they moved to a new town. And they’re getting adjusted. She’s had a lot of hardships trying to get pregnant. And so they ended up adopting. So they’re dealing with, you know, the ins and outs of that, as well as when they moved to this new town, they meet some very interesting characters that starts. I guess becoming a little spooky and eerie, I guess. Let’s say, and things start unfolding and she learns some crazy truths about the people of this town.
What initially drew you to the role and made you want to be a part of this movie?
Dobbins: Yeah. So I’ve actually worked with this production company before and so when they sent me the offer if I wanted to do it, I read it over. One, they’re amazing to work with. And then two, it was a different role than I’ve done in the past. I’ve done a lot of thrillers, I’ve done a lot of ROM coms. But this one has, she has a lot of back story. She has a lot of things that she’s dealing with different than I’ve been able to portray before. So I really wanted to take on that challenge.
How did you prepare for your character and get into their mindset for the role?
Dobbins: So I think I had about two weeks to prep, so not in a long time. I know usually it’s usually a quick turn around. It’s just kind of that’s just how the industry goes nowadays. It’s really quick lot about two weeks, maybe 3. This was about a year ago. So I’m trying to think of my mind, but two or three weeks repair. Yeah, so I had to dive right in. I had to start digesting the character and dissecting and figuring out who she is and why she’s there and what she wants. Yeah, it was really speedy time to trying to dissect the whole thing, but it was a lot of fun.
What was it like working with the rest of the cast, and did you have any particularly memorable moments on set?
Dobbins: Yeah, the cast is amazing. They’re all vets of the acting world. Vanessa Angel, I mean, she’s been in literally everything. She’s a literal Angel and She’s such a nice and warm person to work with to have opposite of you. She’s very inviting. She wants to play and try different things, which is what you want from a Co star. You don’t want someone who’s uptight and it’s just kind of keeps it themselves. So we had a lot of great bonding times as well as Judson Mills and Jason Scott, who I’m Judson plays the preacher and Jason plays my husband. They have been also in a million things and they’re just amazing. So to be able to work with that kind of caliber people was just incredible.
Can you describe your character’s journey throughout the movie and how she transforms over the course of the story?
Let me think of how I can say it without giving too much away, because I want everybody in. So she starts off in a really dark place. She’s dealt with a lot emotionally, physically, and they’re trying to have this fresh start. A lot of obstacles that she’s having to overcome throughout the whole journey, but she really finds herself and is able to break free of a lot of the demons that she’s struggling with and able to find her own strength again, which is really cool. Yeah, I think that’s it. I think that’s what I can say without saying too much. So she overcomes a lot.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while filming “Sins of the Prechear’s Wife” and how you overcame them?
A lot of it was night shoots because a lot of it takes place at night time. So I think the audience doesn’t realize what it entails in a night shoot. It usually means you’re starting maybe at 7:00 PM and you go until 7:00 AM. So you’re just you’re on that graveyard shift. And that’s a challenge in itself, just to have different hours and to work. I’m not a night. So I’m at let’s go to bed at 9:00 PM type person. That’s always challenging to me. So I always have to train my body and sleep, to get that schedule going.
I don’t know how nurses and firefighters, they do it. Kudos to them. But so that was a big challenge and I don’t have any kids and I haven’t adopted a child. And so having to get into that mindset of what it would really be like having to go through miscarriages and not being able to hold a child and then adopting even though you want a kid, but it’s still sad that it’s not yours and how can you connect with it? Like there’s all these things that she’s dealing with that I personally haven’t dealt with. So I had to do a lot of research and that was challenging just because it’s not something I know.
What message do you hope viewers take away from “Sins of the Prechear’s Wife” after watching it?
I hope it’s a good plot twist. I hope it’s something that they don’t see coming. But the message I would say it’s really just overcoming your demons, anything that you’re scared of, just really facing it head on. And not being scared of the outcome. And I think we can all take something away from that, as you know, as we go through life is to just not be scared, just really go for it.
What was your favorite scene to film in the movie, and why?
Oh gosh, what was my favorite scene? It was a lot of fun. I always love a good fight scene, just because it’s so like physical and there’s a lot of choreography. We had an amazing stunt coordinator and it was actually his daughter that played my daughter, which is really cool. But yeah, so we got to do a lot of stunt choreography and so that’s so much fun to do. And I’m a dancer, so I like the physicality of that.
Finally, what can viewers expect from your character and the overall story of “Sins of the Prechear’s Wife”, and why should they tune in to watch it?
Yeah, so there’s a lot of twists and turns. So you should tune in because just a fun summer thriller that everyone can enjoy and I think everybody can relate to one of the characters in the film in some way or the other. So I feel like it’s relatable. As much as it is fun to watch and it keeps you on your toes, so I’m excited to see what people think.
What can you tease about your next projects?
There’s a couple more. I have another Christmas film that’ll be coming out this holiday season and I have another ROM com that still hasn’t come out yet. We haven’t had an exact timeline sometime this year, I think so, yeah. So there’s some more that’ll be a little bit more of a lighter happy note that’ll be very contrast to what this film is. So stay tuned. There’s still a lot more coming out.
The interview with Anna Marie Dobbins has been edited and condensed for lenght and clarity. Watch the full video interview at the top of the article!
Sins of the Preacher’s Wife premieres June 29 on Lifetime Channel.
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Desirèe
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