Andrea Lewis and Pooch Hall star in “A Nashville Legacy” all-new Signature Mystery premiering Sunday, February 26 (7 p.m.ET/PT), on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. We at Survived The Shows had the pleasure of chatting with Maura Gale, who plays Professor Dolar, about her experience in the making of the movie and what fans can expect. Check out the full interview below!
What’s the main element in Professor Dolar’s character and the movie in general that fascinates you the most and drew you to join A Nashville Legacy?
MAURA GALE: Professor Dolar is like a compass for the main character Naima. I’ve always been fond of roles that guide lead or direct others to clarity or understanding. I loved that element about Professor Dolar.
Where are you and Professor Dolar most similar and where most different as human beings?
Professor Dolar and I are very similar in that I used to coach people. I was called Maura the Midwife! However, I wasn’t assisting women with their delivery of natural babies, I was helping people give birth to spiritual babies. Helping them launch businesses, accomplish the dreams and ideas they always wanted to do. I would coach, MauraVate and help them get clarity on their next steps. I would steer them to resources to implement the things they desired to do.
The way we are most different, is Professor Dolor’s ability to compartmentalize associations. Her abiity to have a non-partial rapport with Naima would definitely be a challenge for me personally. I would probably end up befriending all my students, but Prof. Dolar can’t afford to do that.
What’s been the biggest challenge for you in portraying Professor Dolar?
I’d have to say the biggest challenge portraying Professor Dolar would be I had to be approachable but not personal. I remained encouraging but it was clear I wasn’t friends with Naima. Professor Dolar walks a very fine line of being welcoming and yet not too familiar with her students.
To all the fans looking forward to watching the movie, how would you describe A Nashville Legacy in just 3 words?
Entertaining, enlightening, and exciting!
What can you tease about Professor Dolar’s journey throughout the movie?
Unfortunately, I can’t tease anything but I can say Professor Dolar looked fabulous while on her journey.
Throwing back to the origins of your career, how did the passion for acting come about in your life?
I use to sing and was known as a rapper and a singer. In my freshman year of college, a friend in the theatre department asked me to audition for a stage play he was directing. I quickly replied I don’t know how to act. To which he said “just read these pages while on stage and when they ask you to sing…just sing. I entered when they called my name and I started reading the pages (called sides) for the first time out loud and the character just appeared in me naturally.
The director of the department at SIU-C asked me, what year of studying was it for me, in the theatre department? To which I answered: I have never acted a day in my life, I am majoring in broadcasting. He then said, you are a natural and I’d like to invite you to my invitation only acting class for Juniors…I was the only a freshman in the class. I learned so much under his leadership
Needless to say, I got bit by the acting bug, I created a major called Theatrical Broadcasting (a combination of theatre, television, dance, and music) and I’ve been acting and creating since that time. I started on the stage, transitioned into commercials, industrial films, independent projects and now I act on stage, film, television, new media and video games.
Among all the movies you’ve had the chance to join throughout your career, is there any particular one you’re most fond of?
Yes, I’ll always love “Their Eyes Were Watching God’ it was my very first multiple day shoot and I worked alongside Halle Berry, Terrance Howard and Michael Ealy. It was a sweet and satisfying time in my life. It was the first time I met Oprah Winfrey (the producer) and I simultaneously wrote an autobiography while shooting that project.
If you had to give some advice to people who want to pursue an acting career, which kind of advice would you give them?
My MauraVation for anyone who is thinking about pursuing an acting career is: Make sure you are choosing this career for the right reasons. You need to love it, you should enjoy it and make sure there is nothing else you would rather be doing. This can be a satisfying or sorry journey, it totally depends on your outlook. If you are just in it for the fame or fortune, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. But if you find meaning in storytelling and enjoy suspending peoples reality and don’t mind working at being better at your craft every day…then this can be an amazing journey.
Be punctual, be prepared, be consistent and most of all be in LOVE with the creative process that this work, life, job affords you! I absolutely positively love what I do, for all the right reasons!
A Nashville Legacy, with Maura Gale, premieres February 26 on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Get a preview below!
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Chiara
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