ALI COBRIN TALKS THE IRON ORCHARD

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

It’s been shown at festivals since May last year, bringing home both applause and accolades for about a year. And now ‘The Iron Orchard’ is coming to theatres, finally. How long ago was it that you shot it now?

We shot 'The Iron Orchard' in the summer a year and a half ago! It was a very intense experience, we shot most of the film in the middle of nowhere in West Texas, the entire cast and crew were all Texans and I am very much a city girl. A cow randomly walked through our location one day. I had never seen anything like that before! It was super hot in the middle of the summer and crew members were overheating throughout the shoot, we also had a man walking around with a shotgun on set one day who’s sole responsibility was to shoot snakes so they did not bite anybody! One crew member was hospitalized for a severe spider bite. It really was the wild west!

I think you give such a fine and captivating performance. How did you end up starring in it?

Thank you so much. Ty Roberts approached me with the script. I read it and I was immediately jumping at the opportunity to play Lee. Lee isn’t such a departure from who I am, but she is dressed up with an accent, set in a different time period and she ages throughout the story and those aspects really excited me.

Another film adaptation of 'The Iron Orchard' was in development, but never happened, already back in 1967. This is the first time it actually made it to the screen. Were you personally at all familiar with the original novel beforehand?

Yes, we are the first iteration to make it through production! I read the book immediately after reading the script in preparation to play Lee. The author, Tom Pendleton, did so much work for me as an actress with his writing. Reading the novel, I totally get why so many have wanted to make the film. The story is epic. The drama is so cinematic!

What was it like working with this director, Ty Roberts?

Ty Roberts, the director, had a really vivid vision and saw it through. I am so impressed with what he was able to pull off in this film.

As an actress, what kind of actor-director relationship do you usually prefer or hope for?

I always hope that I can have open conversations with director, bouncing ideas off of him or her. It’s really nice when we get to sit down before we start shooting and go through the script and discuss characters and get on the same page about everything so I can fully understand, and trust, him or her when they are giving me notes on set.

How do you get into character. Do you have a set routine?

My process to get into character hasn’t changed much over the past decade it's just grown, it is also always different depending on the project.

You portray Lee Montgomery. Jim McNeely’s first love and wife. What do you make of her and the relationship they share as husband and wife?

Lee is definitely his first wife, but maybe not necessarily his first love! I think she is such a brave and strong woman. I love that she does whatever she has to do to save herself from her unhappy life and first marriage and I think its beautiful that she finds true love with Jim. I respect how she handles herself and the situation when Jim becomes too big for his britches. She is a really courageous woman.

It’s also a woman-role existing in an environment of loutish, uncompromising, and violent men. The story itself is very much told from the perspective of men, what did you think of her role as a woman in this story and setting?

Women in this story and setting were supposed to do as they were told as it was very much a man’s world. Lee didn’t find joy in that and very much felt she deserved to be an equal partner to Jim in their relationship. She didn’t enjoy being a lady of leisure, and definitely wasn’t interested in the ostentatious lifestyle Jim sought after.

Is it right you were quite a tomboy growing up?

I was a tomboy growing up, because I looked up to my brother who is five years older than me and I wanted to be exactly like him. I also grew up studying classical ballet, that definitely contradicted with trying to be one of the boys. Ballet was my introduction to the theatre and the arts. I soon got into acting and loved all of it. I wish I could pinpoint exactly what drew me into the world but I can’t, it just feels like its in my blood. I feel very confident it is exactly what I am supposed to be doing with my life.

You are seventeen when you later arrive in LA with a dream of becoming an actress?

If I could talk to my seventeen year old self, chasing her dreams in Los Angeles, I would bottle up her courage and sell it! I would make millions. I’m so impressed with my younger self and how she got here today. I haven’t lost any courage but with age comes reality and the reality is that I have chosen an incredibly tough career. I am just still very impressed with how little fear I had.

Your big breakout role was Kara in ‘American Pie: Reunion’. Jon Hurwitz even said they “scoured the earth” trying to find you. Being just a year younger than me you must’ve grown up with Jim, Michelle, and that iconic franchise as well?

I totally grew up on the 'American Pie' franchise and it had a big part in shaping my childhood. The first time I met Jason Biggs, I told him he taught me what sex was! He laughed, and apologized. I felt so lucky to join those actors and work alongside them after watching them in so many movies growing up! It was such a fun and surreal experience.

What’s surprised you most about being an actress today after that breakthrough?

That the entertainment industry is really hard and that it is unfair but that is probably also what makes it so rewarding.

Do you like auditioning?

I’ve gone through periods of times where auditioning is not fun because I let my nerves get the best of me but l also enjoy a lot of auditions and have a lot of fun.

You’re also starring in an upcoming series, ‘The Baxters’, also based on a bestselling novel. You're playing Kari Baxter?

Yes! I’m playing Kari Baxter! The author Karen Kingsbury’s books are loved by so many people and bringing her to life has been really fun. I have always loved television dramas about families, like 'Brothers & Sisters' and 'This Is Us' and that’s exactly what 'The Baxters' is. We are actually filming the second season right now. But I’m not sure when they are going to air the first season, hopefully soon!