(Left) Freddie Prinze Jr. in ‘The Girl in the Pool’. (Right) Monica Potter in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.
Opening in theaters on July 26th is the new thriller ‘The Girl in the Pool’, which was directed by Dakota Gorman (‘All About Sex’). The film stars Freddie Prinze Jr. (‘Scooby-Doo’), Monica Potter (‘Con Air’), Kevin Pollak (‘A Few Good Men’), Tyler Lawrence Gray (‘Wolf Pack’), and Gabrielle Haugh (‘Jeepers Creepers III’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter about their work on ‘The Girl in the Pool’, their first reactions to the screenplay, working together again for the first time since 2001’s ‘Head Over Heels’, their characters’ complicated marriage and working with director Dakota Gorman.
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Freddie Prinze Jr. in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.
Moviefone: To begin with, Freddie, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and the themes you were excited to explore with this movie?
Freddie Prinze Jr.: I was easy to say yes. This character was the opposite of every character that I’ve ever played, so it’s what every actor who gets known for doing one thing and they only want to try something else, and they want to show you what else they can do. This was that opportunity. I had made a movie called ‘Christmas with You’, with German Torres, and he brought this script to me and said, “Hey, man, this is super weird. I think you’re going to like it. It’s nothing you’ve ever done before, so check it out.” I read it and I loved it. I met with Dakota, the director, and we sat and talked about this guy, Thomas, and how much I hated him, how I didn’t like anything about him, and I didn’t find him loving or anything, but I did find a way to connect with him through vulnerability in that third act. So that’s really what attracted me to the role and made me want to show people what I could do with it.
MF: Freddie, how did you get Monica involved in the project?
FP: She got the script three days before we shot, and her kid said, “It’s Freddie, do it.” She said, “Okay, I’m going to,” and she called me on the phone, or I called her, I can’t remember which one, and we talked about it, and I told her how thankful and grateful I was that she was going to come and play again. That we would kick and how much I needed her and would depend on her in scenes. She laughs at that, but it’s the truth. So, she just came in and played. I love getting to answer that question.
(Left) Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter in ‘Head Over Heels.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
MF: Monica, what was it like reuniting with Freddie for the first time since ‘Head Over Heels’?
Monica Potter: The running joke while we were filming was, I didn’t really read the script at all. I don’t know what it was. Maybe there was a reason because I love reading. I think also, I don’t like a lot of lines for myself. I wanted to be there for him because this movie is all about him, and he has this talent that no one has seen. I mean, I know it because I’ve worked with him before, but I just wanted to show up and be there and have fun and be there for him. I had the best time. It was awesome. I was blown away by his performance. For real. So, I just wanted it to be there for him. Because of where I was at my life a year ago, it was like a restart for me, like starting over in a personal way, and being with him and remembering what it was like twenty years ago.
MF: Freddie, what was it like for you to work with Monica again?
FP: I love Monica a lot. I told her how much I would depend on her in scenes. I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about any scene that her and I were in, no matter what. I really wanted to knock this out. There were certain scenes that required more time than others. Any scene that Kristen and Thomas had together, I kind of just put on the side and was like, “We know how to do this. We can do this in our sleep, so let me really try and knock this other stuff out with the son and really try to focus on that relationship,” because I haven’t done that ever, or dealt with that as a character or as a human being either, when you watch the movie. But to have her in those scenes, it’s just easy. She really keeps me on my toes. I’ve said this before, but I can get caught in my own head and kind of lock into a performance. When you have someone like Monica and Kevin Pollak as well, they can bring you different angles. They can show you different looks, which can completely change the way you want to do something for the better. It just makes the whole scene kind of flow a lot more, and that you’re not just looking at it through your perspective.
Kevin Pollak in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.
MF: Freddie, can you talk about Thomas and Kristen’s marriage, what he does to jeopardize it and the actions he takes to try and save it?
FP: He’s like a beaten dog, you know what I mean? His spirit’s been broken, and there’s no real coming back from that. If you look at the three personality types, the alpha, beta, and omega, he’s a beta. He’s very susceptible to compliments and criticism. You can see the Hannah character, his mistress, sort of pushing and pulling and playing with him whenever she wants, and he really doesn’t have any sort of defense for it at all. He never really defends himself. As far as the second part of your question, him trying to fix it. Dakota, the director, describes it best. It’s like the dog in the meme where the fire’s going on behind him, and he’s like, “No, no, no, everything’s okay.” That’s Thomas. He’s like, “No, no, no. I’m going to fix this.” The son even says, “You’re not good at that. You can’t fix anything.” So, it’s a burning house, and he’s trying to put it out with a little bucket of water, basically. It’s just constantly saying, “Everything’s going to be fine.” What a ridiculous concept. He’s saying, “I just have to get through the party and everything’s going to be fine,” when we know it’s not.
MF: Finally, Monica, what was it like working with director Dakota Gorman on set?
MP: She was amazing. She would just come up to me and we made a joke, because we’re all water signs. She would just walk up to me and go, “Mm-hmm,” and I go, “Got it.” So, it was like telepathic. The same thing with Freddie. I would look at him and go, “Mm-hmm,” and I would squeeze his finger. I was in awe watching him, and she was great. They’re both awesome.
“The truth always surfaces”
A well-to-do family man must get through a surprise birthday party thrown by his wife shortly after he has hidden the corpse of his murdered mistress. Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘The Girl in the Pool’?
A well-to-do family man (Freddie Prinze Jr.) must get through a surprise birthday party thrown by his wife (Monica Potter) shortly after he has hidden the corpse of his murdered mistress.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Girl in the Pool’?
- Freddie Prinze Jr. as Thomas
- Monica Potter as Kristen
- Kevin Pollak as William
- Tyler Lawrence Gray as Alex
- Gabrielle Haugh as Hannah
(L to R) Freddie Prinze Jr. and Gabrielle Haugh in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.
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