Udana Fonseka - Interview

"What is your role in the film?"

"Gamunu the monster slinger". 

"How would you define your character?"

Complicated. Determined. Passionate. Warrior. Self Obsessed. More of an Anti Hero than a hero. It's like playing some aspects of my real self which I used to hide from the society. 

"How would you describe the work relationship with Ray Jay and the rest of the crew?"

Not that friendly during the shoot because I was staying in character and was rude to everyone most of the time. Generally very casual and friendly... like being on vacation. The team got everyone else s back be it a shoot or a fight. Even the girls.

"We realize that Ray is an unorthodox filmmaker, how insane was he?"

He wasn't insane. He is skilled.

"How was to shoot in Sri Lanka?"

I'm used to shooting in Sri Lanka. Shot two feature films before this with Ray. Shooting in the jungles was fun and thrilling. Hot and humid, sweaty, dirty, physically challenging in some zones. Chilly yet physically challenging in the hills. Sometimes it's like being back in boot camp. Hardcore and Love it. 

"You had to perform with nonexistent surroundings, creatures, situations where they will be included with VFX. How did you manage to pull it off?"

The difficult part was to get over feeling like an idiot in the eyes of the crew. Once got over that it wasn't hard. As a kid I used to do these kind of things. Didn't have video games as a little boy, so you have to make up your own game in your mind and physically play it. So in a way, it's like playing in the fields like a 5 year old as a part of the profession. Ray didn't pressure me when I didn't get it right in the beginning. Instead he would physically demonstrate some of the actions and would explain the situation over and over in different ways. That helped to feel a bit more comfortable. And sometimes he'd demonstrate a little piece of action so well and I wanted to do better than that. That helped too.

"What are your expectations with Re-Entry?"

For as many people to watch and enjoy the film. For the team to make this a way to prove what can be done with very limited resources and get bigger budgets to make bigger films. For filmmakers to consider myself for there movies as an actor. For struggling and aspiring filmmakers to watch this, learn what they can from it and go out there and make a film.