TATYANA DECKER TALKS JUNEBUG

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

‘Junebug’ tells a story of feeling stuck in life, but how with some help from yesteryear a way back to hopes, dreams, and desires becomes a possibility again?

I fell in love with this script instantly. It was so enjoyable to read, I was smiling the entire time, then smiling and crying. I felt really connected to the little Junebug with her box of wishes, her dream of a knight, and her love of stories. I think what I liked the most was how Juniper found what she was meant to find, what she was meant to do, by truly being herself. It’s so simple and lovely. She didn’t intend on writing a children’s book, but the synchronicity of that is so beautiful. From a storytelling perspective of course, but it also makes so much sense for her character. I’ve had these moments in my life where something finally clicks and it’s as if I get this download from the universe like, "Oh that is what I really want, that’s what I’m really good at", and that is what has miraculously aligned for me, and it’s never what you thought you wanted.

As you’ve followed your own storytelling dream, has it always been easy listening to your inner child?

There is nothing that fills me with enthusiasm more than daydreaming and my imagination. Playfulness is an essential part of my everyday life. I’ll spend hours walking around with my head in the proverbial clouds. I will admit, however, that there was a brief period when listening to my inner child was not a priority for me. But besides this blip in time, which was entirely dependent on, in fact, the avoidance of that necessary listening. I’ve always felt very free and youthful. I love fantasy and science fiction and stories and make-believe worlds. It makes me so happy I feel like I could burst. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve also come to intellectualize it and so I understand deeply the value of child-like wandering.

Was the eight year old–version of you already set on acting?

When I was a little girl I wanted to be an actress, to perform and be bright. It is all I wanted throughout my youth and into my teenage years. At a certain point that dream was crushed, by myself, or my circumstances, or my peers and family. In March of 2021 I read Julia Cameron’s 'The Artist’s Way' for the first time and it reinvigorated this desire that had been sitting idle within me for many years. That dream never left me, but the way I saw the space between where I was in the present and the physical manifestation of living that dream was incalculable. And therefore skewed. I think a huge aspect to having a somatic connection to your inner child is building a bridge over that gap.

How did you approach playing Ruth?

I thought of Ruth as someone full of enthusiasm and perseverance, she lives in an idyllic seaside town. She is happy and she is someone who carries gratitude. I thought, when she interacts with Juniper I want her eyes to mirror that soft almost sleepy state that you feel when you have a crush on someone. I imagined her running back to her coworkers at the service station gushing about how cute her table is.

Your previous role as Adrienne in ‘Game of Love’, existed in a similar space as this, which is perhaps not very nuanced but certainly is a pick–me up. What attracts you to this genre, that perhaps speaks to why we are all so drawn toward these genre films?

That was the first part I had in a Hallmark production and I was incredibly excited to be a part of it. I find these supporting roles, especially in this genre, to be catalytic in their own way for the protagonists’ journey. With Adrienne’s scene in 'Game of Love', they were pushing for something they thought they wanted, thought they were good at, and our supporting roles showcased the awkwardness of that in a light way, while still maintaining the stakes of the two lead’s jobs. We’re drawn to these films because of the tension on the way to the climax, you know, we can see ourselves in an objective sense, how we’ve been blind to our own happiness. And it is this beautiful feeling of rooting for someone, or for a couple, that I think really draws people to this genre.

This film makes several references to another rom-com classic, ‘Say Anything’. What might be your favorite rom-coms?

I adore rom-coms! Some of my favorites are 'Never Been Kissed', 'Pretty Woman', 'My Best Friend’s Wedding', 'How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days', 'Mamma Mia' and my all time roman empire movie, 'The Princess Bride'. Obviously with Wesley and Buttercup we get to experience this quintessential romance as an adventure trope and I’m totally enamored with that. That is what a romance should be. Fated and thrilling. I love the drama, the hyperbole, and the metaphors, and I relate to it on a practical level, I genuinely believe in true love because of that movie.

Do you prefer rose coloured love stories or love stories carrying more of a realness to them?

I tend to lean on the side of realness because we must believe that life can offer it to us, even in our lower moments, when we are cynical or heartbroken or a complete dorky high school girl turned dorky adult, thinking of your life as a movie allows the humor to come in. It’s great to feel sad or melodramatic, and really sink into those feelings when you know that you’ll come out on the other side.

What roles can we look forward to see you in after this?

Last October I was in a short film called 'Up in the Spotlight', I play Nikki an intense method actress at this really quirky acting school. The trailer for that recently came out and I was completely blown away. It looks fantastic, funny and smart. I can’t wait to see the final product. I also play the role of Cat in a crime thriller called 'Slant', which we shot earlier this year. It’s an intense sort of coming of age film about an asian teenager who has to grapple with his personal demons as well as his fathers. The script is truly brilliant.