Halston Sage

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**With her latest film Daughter of the Bride, Halston Sage is on a mission to bring the essence of late 90s and early 2000s romantic comedies to a new audience.**

In a time where action-packed thrillers, fantasy books turned films and dramas are breaking records at the box office, there’s a clear genre gap missing where there didn’t used to be – the good, old fashioned romantic comedy. For actress Halston Sage, who grew up admiring the work of Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon, she’s hoping to help fill that gap in her latest film, Daughter of The Bride. Sage portrays Kate, who attempts to set up her single mother Diane (played by Marcia Gay Harden), and to her surprise, they quickly fall in love and the two work together to plan the wedding of her mother’s dreams. A mix of My Best Friend’s Wedding and a bit of Bridesmaids, it’s hilarious, romantic and emotional – everything you would want in a modern-day romcom. And in the film, Sage proves that her acting chops could easily stand up there with the heroines of the very films that have inspired her throughout her career.

But romcoms aren’t the only genre Sage has dipped her toes in. Actually, she has quite the resume, including bringing Dazzler to life in X-MEN: Dark Phoenix, playing a college party girl in the comedy Neighbors, and Ainsley in FOX’s serial killer series, Prodigal Son. Soon, you will see her star in the upcoming film The List, in which she also executive produces, expected to release later this year. At just 29 years old, Sage has pushed the boundaries of what many actors accomplish in a lifetime of working, and has shined in every role she’s been challenged with.

1883 had the chance to chat with Sage after the theatrical and streaming release of Daughter of the Bride about what it was like working with Marcia Gay Harden, her favourite romantic comedy films, and what’s next for her in 2023.

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Your new film Daughter Of The Bride is out now! How does it feel to have it out into the world?

I’m so happy. I love this movie so much and I feel like it’s exactly the type of film that I’m looking to watch at night. It’s one of those feel good rom coms so I’m really excited for people to see it.

I completely agree. I was just saying, I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve had a good rom com come out, so I was really excited to watch this movie too! It’s exactly what everybody needs right now.

That makes me happy to hear!

For those who haven’t seen it, could you tell us a little bit about the storyline & what it’s about?

Yes! So Daughter Of The Bride is about a mother and daughter who have this unspoken pact that they will remain single, independent women for life because all they need is each other, until one day, the mother decides to get married and the daughter is like, “what?!” And it’s really cute, it’s really fun, and explores that mother daughter dynamic that is so relatable yet so unique to so many different types of audiences.

What originally drew you to the film and to play your character, Kate?

So, I’m very close with my own mom, and to see a mother daughter relationship portrayed on screen was something I’ve always wanted to explore, and obviously working with Marcia Gay Harden was a dream come true. I’ve admired her work for so long now. To have that opportunity to bring this story to life with her was wonderful!

That actually brings me to my next question. Now that I know you have a strong relationship with your mom, do you feel like your bond with her helped you with this film at all?

Definitely. I feel like it was easy to relate to that type of closeness I have with my own mom and it’s a delicate balance, especially for Kate at her age. She’s going through that stage of life where relationships around her are changing, friendships, romantic relationships, relationships with her family, and I can particularly relate to that. I’m about the same age as Kate in the film and I think when all of this change is happening around you, you grab onto the thing you know is constant. And for me, and for Kate, that’s our mom. So I could definitely relate in that way, to that kind of transitional time and wanting to kind of lean on the one thing you’ve always been able to count on while still being able to adapt to change and accept it and embrace it.

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That’s really beautiful. I love how this film in particular almost twists the traditional mother daughter relationship you would typically see on screen. In a romantic comedy where someone is getting married, it’s usually the mother supporting her daughter planning the wedding and picking out her dress. And this one reverses those roles. That’s something that I would love to see more in films. How was that experience for you?

Like you said, it was something different. This story of this mother falling in love and the daughter needing to kind of grow up and accept it flips the original “father of the bride” plotline on its head. This one kind of reminded me a little bit more of My Best Friend’s Wedding, the classic Julie Roberts film where it’s like, your best friend is getting married and you have to learn to kind of adopt this new person into your relationship and adjust accordingly. And to be able to see a mom falling in love, I think is really beautiful. I feel very lucky that my parents have been together my whole life. But for anyone whose parents aren’t together, I think it’s nice to imagine that you can fall back in love at a different time.

What was it like being on set with Marcia Gay Harden?

Marcia was so lovely. She, before filming even started, had cut fresh peonies from her house in upstate New York and had put them in the hotel room, which kind of immediately threw us into this mother daughter relationship in a really fun way. And we both went to NYU so we had like a little bit of shared history to bond over before we even started, which of course makes things easier. I just also would find myself kind of watching her and realizing that I’m also in the scene and I need to actually like, say my next line, because I would just be so – her choices are just always so surprising and amazing and I think I was a fan.

I can’t believe she brought you peonies! That’s so lovely.

I know. And I love peonies!

And it’s something special, not like a gift she purchased at a shop. It’s so unique and special to her. I love that so much.

Yeah, it speaks to her thoughtfulness, and she’s just a good person and a very, very good actor.

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Do you have a favorite moment from the film?

Ooh, yes. I have so many, but I do think I loved running in the wedding dress, mostly, because I really love physical comedy. And there was a whole day dedicated to just catching footage of me running in this 50 pound dress. I was sewn into it every day and I was really good friends with our onset costumers because you get to know each other very quickly. When you’re in a dress, you can’t even sit down without help, so I think those days were really fun. And I also really enjoyed the paddleboard scene with Aidan Quinn – I have also just admired his work for so long. I felt like it was kind of like the emotional core of the movie and just a really kind of quiet moment in a very loud film.

The scene of you running after jumping out of a window in the wedding dress was one of my favorite scenes too!

Yeah, I actually did that by the way, and that was one take! We had this amazing camera operator, who somehow caught it all in one take, and I don’t know how we stuffed that dress through that window. I just can’t think too hard about it because it was definitely an event. It was fun. I’m glad that you thought it was funny!

In one take? Wow. Did you practice before without the dress or anything?

That’s a good question! I probably should have. Not a bad idea. I’ll write that down in case I ever have to jump out of the window in a wedding dress again. I hope I don’t, but just in case.

I think you ticked that box already! What do you hope people take away from the film?

I hope that people embrace change and embrace love at any age, and know that people can come into our lives and it doesn’t threaten the love that we have for the people we’ve known beforehand. It’s kind of like the more the merrier. I love love, so.

Well speaking of you loving love, I read in a recent interview that watching romantic comedies growing up is what made you want to be an actress. What were / are some of your favorite rom coms?

Anything with Julia Roberts in it. I actually did love My Best Friend’s Wedding. I love Pretty Woman. I love Reese Witherspoon – just anything she touches. She’s just so fun and I grew up watching her movies. Also, going back to the 80s, I loved About Last Night and all of those rom coms are kind of what my parents introduced me to when I was growing up, and it’s how it all began.

Was there a specific moment or a scene in a movie that made you be like, “yes, that is what I want to do?”

Yeah, it’s actually funny because it wasn’t even a rom com, but I think it was Rocky. I was watching Rocky with my dad – we watched all of the Rocky movies together – and there was just something about this character who was up against all odds, but had so much heart and humanity that, you know, he gets through it. And I don’t know, I just was like, “I want to make people feel that one day.”

If you could go back in time, is there a specific role in a romcom that you would have loved to play?

Oh, I like that question. Maybe every role in Love Actually, just every single one.

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That is a good one! I watched it recently, actually, for the first time in probably 10 years.

Oh, my gosh, what a treat. I save it, like I make myself save it for around the holidays, because I know if it were up to me, I’d watch it once a week and I would tire out.

That’s how The Holiday is for me! I would probably watch it once a week if I didn’t make myself save it to keep it special.

Yeah, same! Oh, you know, any Nancy Meyers movie, too. I’m dying to work with her. I just think that she’s written every movie that I wish I could write myself. The characters are so dynamic and real and grounded and then they’re in these beautiful worlds on these beautiful sets that I also want to live in.

Soon, you will serve as executive producer and lead character in THE LIST. What can you tell us about that project, and is this your first time serving as an executive producer?

Yeah, it is, which is so exciting because it’s something that I’ve really been looking forward to for a long time. I think there’s so much that goes into storytelling that goes beyond an actor’s role that I’ve wanted to be a part of for so long. And having this opportunity was really exciting because you get to work with so many different creative people on creating this vision. You all are putting your entire heart into this project and there’s something so special about that collaborative effort and seeing it come to life from a very early stage.

How did you handle juggling being the lead in the film and also executive producing, because that is a lot to take on?

That’s a good question. I think you have to be very good at compartmentalizing. You know, a real situation that happened was we lost a location one day and couldn’t get it until the following week. But the actor we needed for that day wasn’t available the week that we’d have to move it and you’re dealing with this in between – like shooting a very emotional scene or a scene where you’re trying to make someone laugh. And so it’s definitely a balancing act, but that’s where I felt very lucky to also be working with other producers that I really trusted to help fix the issues that would come up when I had to focus on the acting.

What can you tell us about the film itself? Without giving away any spoilers, obviously.

The List is very fun. It’s about a girl who finds out at her bridal shower that her fiancé has cheated on her with someone from his “free pass” list. And her friends convinced her to fly out to LA and try to sleep with someone on her list to get back at him. So it’s really fun. We have an amazing cast who just make the movie, like every scene is a surprise and that keeps it really exciting and fun.

That’s definitely a movie that’s never been made before!

Right! And I feel like people talk about it, right. It’s like a dinner table conversation, “who’s on your list?”

You’ve played a wide variety of characters over the years of your career. Do you have a favorite or one you feel closest to?

Oh, I love your questions! They’re really thoughtful. I mean, it’s hard to choose. I think each character has given me some form of life experience that has been either fulfilling or therapeutic in a way. Like, at the time, I hadn’t gone to college, so filming Neighbors kind of gave me this college experience that all my friends were experiencing while I was working. You know, Before I Fall helped me kind of see the world through the perspective of, “mean girl”, which obviously so many people dealt with in high school. And so to play a character who fell in that category helped me understand the pain that they might have been going through throughout the time that caused their behavior. And then I think a role that just surprised me that I never really expected to play, which was fun, was Alara in The Orville. If you had told me when I started acting that I was going to show up to work and have prosthetics in a short black wig and have super strength, even though I’m the smallest person on the crew. It was very cool and unexpected. I think because of that, they’ll always have a special place in my heart.

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Is there a character (real or fictional) that you haven’t played, but dream of?

Yeah, you know, I played Dazzler in the last X Men movie that came out. And originating, like, being able to have a part in bringing her to life was so – I mean, it’s a dream come true. You know, you have this action figure of this character and all of a sudden, you’re in a fitting and you’re stepping into this creation that the costume designer has brought literacy to life from a comic book. There’s something about that that really feels like movie magic and I hope that one day that they decide to go back to her and I have the opportunity to be her again, because she’s cool.

Yeah, maybe she’ll have her own movie one day!

That would be so nice!