Natalie Polisson, Jason Tobias, and Daniel O’Reilly star in the movie My Child has my Doctor’s Face premiering on Lifetime Channel on Saturday April 20th, 2024 at 8/7c. We at Survived The Shows had the incredible chance to talk with lead Daniel O’Reilly, who teased the movie and her experience in ‘My Child has my Doctor’s Face’. Check out the full interview below!
Can you tell us a bit about your character in My Child has my Doctor’s Face?
Dr. Bellamy has a achieved a level of success that few people will ever understand and appreciate however some unaddressed trauma and ill just say “other factors” for sake of avoiding spoilers ..have pushed the man off the proverbial cliff of sanity. He will stop at nothing and I mean NOTHING to protect his legacy of pure excellence.
What initially attracted you to your role in My Child has my Doctor’s Face?
Joshua Butler. I was excited to potentially work with such an accomplished director & thought we could definitely do some damage together. When I expressed interest initially, it was for the only lead role available at the time which was the husband Dylan. They asked for a tape, I sent it in & a week later Stella Nova Casting came back with “we think you’d be better as the doctor” which obviously I was thrilled to hear because that character is my wheelhouse… As odd as that sounds lol. Once they advised that they were pushing me through to producers, I got to work on the fun stuff – I began the discovery of Dr. Preston Bellamy.
What do you think makes this movie so special and captivating?
I have not seen the film just yet, but first and foremost, this crew & cast. What’s crazy is that this has happened multiple times in recent decades & we have the opportunity to tell our wild version of it ..playing make-believe ..doing what we love. If you go back to even the oldest recordings of such cases, the reasoning is pure misogynistic evil that was simply justified before it was hidden by these psychopaths. To attempt telling the story, even on the fairly innocent airways of network TV, offered an interesting glimpse on what may possibly be going through the head of such a fragile, ego-driven mind and the innocent lives catastrophically impacted.
What do you hope audiences take away from watching My Child has my Doctor’s Face?
I hope audiences are satisfied by a complete & compelling tale and are eager for more from Lifetime & this family of creatives ..from the wonderful PAs to the people who cut the checks. As the saying goes “it takes a village” and these villagers had a blast. We hope that it came thru in the visuals, production design, storytelling, performances, wardrobe, hair & makeup you name it. Ill dance with this beautiful team over & over again.
What was it like working with the rest of the cast on set?
1 word – easy. Rarely do you have a set of leads that are that open, vulnerable, and who leave their egos at home. Natalie, Kelsey and Jason could not have been more fun to work with. We just had a good time and we were able to breathe confidently with the support from one another and perform in order to make the Director happy. Our lead, Natalie, has such innocence & playfulness, but the ferocity required to take it home ..just the energy you want. Jason & Kelsey are seamless performers. They are going to bring it so BE READY ..especially Tobias. He doesn’t like chairs 😉
What can you tease about your character Journey?
Preston is at the top of his game, a world renowned fertility specialist on a mission, and all is goin to plan until it isn’t. His fall from grace is just a wonderful heartwarming tale of a fragile man unraveling for all to see!
What was your favorite scene or moment while filming My Child has my Doctor’s Face?
Wow what a tossup between so many scenes with these excellent actors! It sincerely does not feel right picking one. OK.. what started off as the most challenging because up until 10 minutes before the scene it was a VO (voiceover) so I was not prepared to deliver this 5pg monologue, but we may have got it in one take. I’ll just say that im talking directly to “my son”. It touches on something very personal to me so I simply jumped off the cliff if you will and let the wonderful Mr. Butler and his team do the rest. I am very happy with the emotional journey that occurred. I was on a mission to offer anything the audience could even fathom as redeemable for this vile character ..try to make him human. I guess we’ll know soon enough.
Change of subject, What have been some of the most memorable projects you have worked on throughout your career, and why?
2 most memorable involve my now wife & a most flawless actor Laura Jean Salerno (O’Reilly). It was early 2020 & I was living in my car when director Matt Sconce called and said “I wrote this movie and I had you in mind the whole time. I would love for you to read it and let me know if you would like to make the movie with me”. That film titled The Girl on the Mountain was released in 2022 via Saban Films and has changed my life. In short, I was in a particularly rough spot with my faith and looking for answers so the timing of it all was wild and the script simply brought me to tears. I knew I had my answer ..to both Matt and God – YES. Mr. Sconce & I became family and he even officiated our wedding. 2yr anniversary next month.
The other film is how I met Laura Jean. It’s a horror film titled The Forest for the Trees. A fun little log line might work perfectly here – “When mother nature has had enough with us dumb humans”. There is nothing better than doing the thing you love the most with the person you love the most. It’s just indescribable. She’s an absolute Goddess & boss to work & create with.
Anyhoo, Forest sparked lifelong creative endeavors with several folks including writers, producers & dear friends Vincent Flood & Justin Kuhn. Justin is now the post-production supervisor at Lux Angeles Studios in Hollywood.
Can you tease something about your next projects?
Last week I wrapped a wild action film littered with generations of star talent titled Censor Addiction. Ironically enough, in Censor Addiction, I had the pleasure of working with Lifetime original alum Sarah Murphree who starred in Killer Fortune Teller which premiered just days ago on the network so this is just great timing I must say.
Censor Addiction director Michael Rossi & I teamed up for another action packed film titled Charisma Killers which should be releasing this Spring on all VOD platforms.
Justin Kuhn @ Lux Angeles & I recently wrapped on a wild suspense action-thriller titled Beneath the Shadows to be released on a major streaming platform in the coming months.
I’m excited to be moving further into the action-hero brand which allows me to combine my stunt training & fight choreography with bringing these layered characters to life.
I will be teaming back up with several directors and several new directors to round out 2024 so stay tuned!! Thank you all so much and I hope you absolutely love “My Doctors Face” to pieces!!
(Cue evil laugh!!)
“My Child has my Doctor’s Face” starring Daniel O’Reilly will premiere on Saturday, April 20th on Lifetime Channel.
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Desirèe
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