Original-Cin Q&A: IF's Cailey Fleming on John Krasinski and Crying on Cue in The Walking Dead
Seventeen-year-old Cailey Fleming holds her own in a lead role opposite Ryan Reynolds in the family dramedy IF.
Written, produced and directed by John Krasinski, (who also appears in the film), IF follows a young girl named Bea who, after discovering she can see everyone's imaginary friends, embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.
Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Cailey Fleming about playing the lead in her first feature following her stint as young Judith Grimes in the hit series, The Walking Dead.
IF is available to own or rent now, and on digital home entertainment platforms on June 18th
Cailey Fleming and “Lewis” (voiced by the late Louis Gossett Jr.) in IF.
ORIGINAL-CIN: You cut your teeth as Judith Grimes on The Walking Dead. How did playing that character which was a very dramatic role, prepare you to take the lead in, IF?
CAILEY FLEMING: Honestly, I was really scared and nervous because I had never done a lead role before, so I didn't really know what I was doing.
Thank God, I had the best people ever by my side. John Krasinski (director) is literally just the best and he knows what it's like, because he's an actor, too. So any questions I had, they were always answered.
I'm a very nervous person, so I always have a lot of questions but he would always answer anything I asked. We had a great production company and the best cast so I was in good hands which really put me at ease.
O-C: Did you have an imaginary friend growing up?
FLEMING: I didn't have an “IF” growing up, but now I feel like I have a bunch after making this film (Laughs).
I feel like I see IF everywhere, and if I see an object with an interesting texture or something interesting about it, I turn it into an IF.
Now, it's very fun for me, it's a game. I had a lot of stuffed animals when I was little and I would tuck them into my bed so that they wouldn't get cold, you know, make sure all of them were treated equally. So that's just as good.
O-C: There's a lot going on in this film both visually and emotionally. Did you do anything special to prepare yourself to play Bea?
FLEMING: I remember reading the script for the first time, and I just absolutely fell in love with it, and I fell in love with my character. Then I read it the second time, and I was kind of processing it every time I read it.
I kind of got it a little more each time, but we had a week of prep before we started shooting. I think that's really when I got to understand, “Whoa, all of this is really happening because you can imagine it how you want to see it.”
John showed me all these pictures of what our sets were going to look like, and what the main IF’s Blue (Steve Carell) and Blossom (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) were going to look like, and it really just blew my mind! So I think that really helped a lot.
O-C: Most of the film is done with special FX, so what was your first reaction when you saw the finished film?
FLEMING: Oh my gosh, I was completely mesmerized! I was able to see it a few days before we did the big premiere in London.
John wanted me to wait to see it until it was all the way done, which I'm glad. I mean, obviously he knows what he's talking about! The first time I saw it, I was a bit critical of myself and I was a bit in shock. But I think I enjoyed it more the second time.
One of the things that Ryan Reynolds told me, actually, one of my favorite pieces of advice he gave me, was that the best way to remember shooting your film is to relax and just watch the movie.
So the first time I watched it, all of my memories of filming just came back into my brain. So I was like, “Oh my gosh, I had a cookie that day.” Or, “Oh my gosh, it was so cold that day.” So I think the second time I got to relax a little bit and enjoy what was happening on screen.
O-C: Let's talk about Ryan Reynolds, One of the most generous and funny people. I just want to know how you got through your scenes without breaking?
FLEMING: Oh, that never happened. It took me many takes to get through our scenes because I was laughing so much. There are even a few scenes where John just left it in.
We had such a good time, and Ryan was so sweet and generous. I honestly could not have asked for a better scene partner.
O-C: There’s a great scene in the film when you are auditioning and dancing with all of the IF’s on stage. You had some pretty fantastic dance moves!
FLEMING: Thank you! The dancing scene was probably my favorite to shoot. Originally, I wasn't going to be in that scene at all because John didn't know I could dance. But I've been dancing since I was a baby! It's always been my dream to dance in a movie, so being able to incorporate a dance in this film was the icing on the cake.
Mandy Moore was the choreographer, who is a veteran in this business. She got a video of me doing a little piece of the choreography and sent it to John. And then I got an email from him saying, “Oh, my God, you can dance.”
I told him I've been dancing since I was one, and he had no clue. So then I was immediately put in the dance scene, and we shot that for about two or three days. Those were probably my favourite days.
O-C: The voice cast in this film is off the charts. It not only includes Steve Carell and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, but also Emily Blunt, Sebastian Maniscalco, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and many other Hollywood heavyweights.
Did you get to meet anybody when you were working on the film? Or did everyone do their thing in the booth and you didn't really get to meet them until the premiere.
FLEMING: Yeah, that's kind of how it was. None of the voice cast was there on set. But for the main IF’s, Blue and Blossom and Lewis, we had actors there which was great. They are so amazing.
The guy that did Blue four us, his name is Eric, and he is so good. It was so hard not to laugh at him, just because he's so joyous, and his smile is contagious. The woman that did Blossom, her name was Devin, and she matched what Blossom’s height was in the film, so it gave us a great eye-line. Obviously, Eric is not 10 feet tall, so John had to do some movie magic there. It was very helpful especially working on a film with so many special FX.
O-C: You are a master at crying on cue. You did it on The Walking Dead, and in IF, you have quite an emotional scene opposite John Krasisnski who plays your dad. What’s your secret to getting those tears flowing on cue?
FLEMING: Well, for The Walking Dead, I did have some tricks to help me, but I didn't have to pull them out at all for IF, especially that last scene that you're talking about. It really just all came to me.
We shot the movie in order, so, that was one of the last scenes that we did and emotions were running high. It sucks when you have to wrap a project and you’ve bonded with your cast and crew.
I think I just really connected with my character and what she was going through at that moment. John was very good about making sure that everyone was very quiet and there were as few people as possible in the room.
We just did it over and over and we didn't ever cut, we just did a reset so that I could be in the mood. But you know, it's hard to see somebody that you love in a hospital bed, even if it's pretend.
O-C: You've already had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people in your young career. But growing up on the Walking Dead set and having people like Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, and Danai Gurira had to have been a master class.
Having worked so closely with them, what was your takeaway as a young actress, maybe advice that you got from them?
FLEMING: Honestly, I'm just very honoured to have worked with them. Everyone on that show was and still is like family.
They were all so protective of the young actors on set. I got to be on that show for four years, and it was amazing. I got to experience so many things, like San Diego Comic Con. I don't think I ever would have done that if I wasn't on that show.
So, I’ll always be very grateful for that show. I still talk to a lot of the cast, and we still do a lot of conventions and stuff together.