‘Sheepdog’ Director Steven Grayhm and Actor Vondie Curtis Hall Explore How This Film Resonates With Veterans

Courtesy of Allen Group Media Motion Pictures

There have been plenty of movies about veterans and post traumatic stress disorder in the past. That list is as long as time itself. But Sheepdog is different - in the best way possible. After embarking on a cross country road trip (which was inspired by a fateful encounter with a tow truck driver who served in the military), director Steven Grayhm tells a story of veterans all enduring struggles of their own. Not only does Mr. Grayhm hold his own behind the camera, but he stars alongside Vondie Curtis Hall, Virginia Madsen and Matt Dallas in this post traumatic growth-fueled survival story of human hardship. Sheepdog aims to show the real effects of veteran status - no matter the generation, no matter the age, no matter the connection. The Movie Nerds was fortunate enough to sit down with director Steven Grayhm and actor Vondie Curtis Hall and discuss how Sheepdog came to be and what it means in today’s ever changing world.

Sal Cento: My first question is for Mr. Grayhm - when so many other movies focus on post traumatic stress disorder and what it does to our veterans, Sheepdog heavily focuses on Calvin Cole’s Post Traumatic Growth. What were your motivations towards picking PTG as the focus?

Steven Grayhm: Well, thank you for such a thoughtful question - I thought it was incumbent upon me to share the full journey. I had never seen a film that represented the research that I had done. In 2011, I began the journey of developing what would become the screenplay but I also had the good fortune to stay in contact with the folks I initially had interviewed. They were getting married, having children, getting different jobs - all ebbs and flows of life.

I thought that there wasn’t a movie for my generation that picked up ten years after the last deployment for that veteran. Rather than it being a film that was just solely showing the transition into civilian life right after the first year of deployment, there’s so much life that’s lived in that decade. So many different changes, transitions and triumphs that I thought were worth sharing.

I also thought in terms of post traumatic growth . . . I wanted to provide our audience - and those that have suffered from trauma, whether that’s from military service, childhood, from any aspect of life - to know that there was hope and I had witnessed it firsthand. I had seen the benefits from the folks that were willing to commit to doing the work - whether that’s therapy, different treatments, accepting care from your community, interacting, being more involved. I thought all of that was very important to show an audience - especially as a call to action and to inspire those that feel alone in their experience.

Cento: A story like the one found in Sheepdog only comes across right if the acting is on point and in saying that, I truly mean it when I say each and every one of the performances were excellent. What went into the casting and what was looked for when it came to the numerous roles?

Grayhm: Being the writer, I was very specific in knowing what I was looking for during the casting process. When that aligns, you know immediately that you have to act on it. With Mr. Hall’s casting - as I said, I was very aware of Mr. Hall’s work but reacquainting myself with it and just even seeing scenes from the film Harriet and his humanity and gravitas - I had no question. What I saw in rehearsal was not surprising or a shock. My instincts were right on how special the performance was going to be.

In the casting of other characters, Virginia Madsen is a gold star family member and I knew from her past that the character for her was very relatable. She was very careful when approaching the work, especially with the weight that her character has in being the trauma therapist. Dominic Fumusa was the perfect civilian friend that shows my character tough love. Matt Dallas actually married my wife and I knew what Matt was going to bring to Darryl through his showing of humanity and what was so important was his quality to smile through the pain as Darryl does. Lilli Cooper - she’s a broadway star, has an incredible work ethic and acumen. She had less than a week with the script - I think from the moment she signed on, we had four days before we went to camera to film her part.

Then, of course - Mr. Hall came to set a few days later and we were like ok, we’re off to the races - so I was very, very fortunate.

Cento: Before the roadtrip - which you gathered the penultimate inspiration for this film - when did you know you had a movie?

Grayhm: In the screenwriting?

Cento: Yes.

Grayhm: The story transformed over the years . . .  as Matt Dallas and I got older - the characters got older, right? In the original draft, they didn’t have a family. They were fresh out and thank god over the time it evolved because I think it became more enriched and I was able to really - the shooting draft of the script, I believe, is 87 pages. The original draft was one hundred and eighty seven pages.

Cento: Wow.

Grayhm: To give you an idea - by the time I got to set, I was cutting stuff out while we were filming because I knew what we already had in the can and I knew the story was sort of evolving and being refined as a living, breathing thing. To be fair, I don’t think you really know until you are in the editing room. You can have moments on set where you’re like I can’t wait to see the dailies - but you don’t really know what you have until you put it in front of an audience and that was the beauty of the film festival circuit. To be on that for a year and screen it for so many different audiences around the country and just the profound response was just very humbling and gratifying.

Cento: On the Sheepdog website, the about section describes the film as an uplifting story that’s inspired by countless first-hand testimonials about recovery, redemption, and the journey of healing; themes that now mirror our post-pandemic zeitgeist. Can you dive into that last part? How do those themes relate to the world after COVID?

Grayhm: Speaking from my own experience and those from the people that I love that have shared their own experiences with me - I think COVID taught us a lot about ourselves, especially in those first weeks and months of being on shutdown. Living in Los Angeles, I became closer with my neighbors and interacting with my community - but in saying that I know that a lot of other folks felt very isolated in their experience from not having that sense of community.

Again, I’m speaking from my own experience - the sense of healing and reflection is probably one of the greatest things that I got out of it and from those that I know. When the world stands still for a moment, it kind of forces us all to do that. In our story - where we come into Calvin’s life and when Whitney shows up on his doorstep - it’s like these worlds colliding.

Cento: Considering you said that the climates were much different when comparing the day your father came back from World War II and your own eyes and ears on the Vietnam generation, how did those experiences help you step into the role of Whitney St. Germain?

Vondie Curtis Hall: From my father who came back with a hero’s welcome and bringing his own experience to the point where he named me after the person who saved his life - to my friends who came home during the Vietnam era and received no ticker tape parade. They were not viewed as heroes. They were instead viewed as persons who were fighting for nothing, ya know?

Fighting an endless war and finding out that they had not won the war - that is the way in which it impacted not only me but the way I played it . . . ultimately the journey that I really wanted to take with the character.

Cento: This final question is for both of you - there have been many veterans who have come out to support Sheepdog during its premieres and various screenings. On the other hand, What do you hope this film instills in those who may not have any enlisted or veteran status family or friends?

Grayhm: It was important to tell a story where our audience would be able to see themselves in one of the six ensemble cast members and I think a lot of the feedback that we’ve received has been incredibly encouraging. You don’t have to serve in the military or work in mental health or even be a family member of somebody who served to relate to our story. It’s a human story.

It’s a story of post traumatic growth. It’s a story about community, about faith, about courage, overcoming obstacles and knowing that you don’t have to do that on your own.

For a civilian audience, this is a movie that’s aimed to be entertaining as much as it can be educational and aimed to be emotional as much as it can be funny . . .  to take you on a two hour journey that can hopefully both inform and entertain. No matter what your background is, it’s all  incredibly relatable.

HalI: I don’t think I can add much to that laughs That was beautifully said. But, it’s a film for everybody and ultimately it’s a film about post traumatic growth.

Cento: Thank you both. That was a great chat!

Grayhm: Thank you!

Hall: Thank you!

Sheepdog is now playing in select theatres nationwide. If you wish to see if it’s playing near you or to see more details about the movie, please visit https://www.sheepdogthemovie.com/