In an exclusive interview, Film News sat down with Australian born actress Claire Dewar to talk about her latest movie ‘I Got Pregnant With My Ex-boss’s Baby’ currently in post-production in Los Angeles.
What got you into acting and made you realize that it was your chosen path? I attended a Summer Program for Young Actors at the Los Angeles campus of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2018 and it was this experience that convinced me that Acting was the career I wanted to pursue. Throughout my childhood I had always been performing and was thinking about it as a career, but it was this experience that really convinced me that Acting was the path to choose. It was like I had finally found my tribe, my second family.
When I was at home at Christmas, I found a letter I wrote to my future self when I was in Year 7 at school. In it, I wrote that when I finished school, I wanted to become an actress – I guess deep down I have always known that acting was what I wanted to pursue as a career.
What are some of your early acting experiences? My very first time performing on stage in a play was when I was about 8 years old. I played the part of a Lost Boy in my Junior School Production of Peter Pan. I loved it. I went on to perform in all my school plays until I graduated Senior School – Pinocchio, Crazy For You, Mary Poppins, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At the same time as school, I was taking private Speech and Drama classes as well as Acting lessons at a local studio in Cleveland and I performed regularly in the studio’s productions as well as competed in many Speech and Drama competitions around Brisbane. I have won numerous Championships, and prizes and I even traveled to Canberra and won National Titles. I’ve completed all my Trinity College London examinations in both Acting and Speech & Drama and I have topped the State of Queensland on several occasions with my results. It was a lot of work but so much fun.
I started dancing when I was 3 years old. I’ve studied all forms of dance (jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, musical theater, lyrical) and successfully completed all my dance examinations. I competed with my dance school at many competitions and have even competed individually.
Can you tell us about the film project ‘I Got Pregnant With My Ex-boss’s Baby’. Yes, the latest film project that I completed only a few weeks ago is called I Got Pregnant With My Ex-boss’s Baby. It is currently in the process of post-production and should be released in the coming months. The movie is a web mini-series that follows the story of Alma. She is stuck in a toxic relationship with her ex-boss. Alma unexpectedly falls pregnant with his child. She has to make the difficult decision whether she tells him she is pregnant and if she should keep the baby.
The movie is from Unreal Imagine, directed by Carol Xie and produced by Yves Lu and the great creative team of Unreal Imagine.
I play the role of Jenny, a young medical professional who is Alma’s best friend.
Are you anything like your character? I am similar to Jenny in that we are both young. We are both loyal to our friends and would do anything for our friends and support any decisions they make.
Did you do anything special to prepare for the role? Like all roles, it’s important to read the script and analyze it to determine a character’s role, importance and significance to the plot as well as their relationships with the other characters. I then looked at who Jenny is? How did she get to be the person she is and to be where she is now? I then found ways that I could relate to Jenny; were there any similarities between myself and her. I also tried to remember times when I have personally had to make tough decisions so I knew how Jenny would have felt. Once I had done all this analysis and research and found a way to relate to Jenny, I was able to bring her to life.
How did you get involved? I have previously worked with Unreal Imagine on two other TV mini-series, Affinity Under Darkness and Forget Me Not. The producer, Yves Lu, contacted me and asked if I would audition for the part of Jenny in a new web mini-series. I auditioned and was thrilled to be offered the part!
You have been very busy in Los Angeles and scooping up several awards. How does that feel accomplishing so much? It’s always exciting when a project is completed, and you can watch and enjoy the end product and watch an audience react to your work. It is even more exciting and humbling when your work is recognized by your peers. Promises, Promises, a short I acted in has been nominated for 12 awards in the US and internationally and has been screened at many film festivals in the US and overseas.
My most recent feature film, Lady Lazarus, written and directed by Montana Cypress has been selected to be screened at the 2024 Phoenix Film Festival as it starts the 2024 film festival circuit. I have another short I am working on that is in the final stages of production that will be submitted to the 2024 Singaporean Film Festival.
I’ve been fortunate to be involved in some amazing productions from independent shorts to feature films and also work on some amazing Netflix and Sony Productions. A lot of my most recent work is either still in production or in post-production and will be released throughout 2024 and 2025. 2024 is shaping up to be another exciting year as the films I have been working on are completed and released. I’m looking forward to the 2024 film festival circuit and many screenings over the next few months.
Congratulations and thank you, Claire, for taking the time to chat with us. Stay up to date with her on IMDb, Instagram and WebsitePhoto credit: Matt Tente
