Actor Michael Teh (“Days of Our Lives”) chatted about his new horror film “Smile As You Kill.”
New thriller
Teh remarked, “It is a contained thriller, basically a two-hander between a very sick man with tons of medical debt and treatment needs, and a hotshot advertising creative he kidnaps to force the creative to make him the best crowdfunding campaign ever.”
“Despite the high stakes – both their lives are on the line – the film features some great moments of levity and humor, and it’s really kept audiences engaged and entertained at film festivals around the country,” he said.
Teh continued, “While the film ‘Smile As You Kill’ is mostly entertainment – in some places it’s very humorous – it also shines a light on how broken America’s for-profit healthcare system is.”
“Medical expenses are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States, not to mention the untold number of Americans who are forced to drain their retirement savings to cover medical bills, despite being insured! No other developed country deals with these problems,” he said.
Working with film director Mike Sarrow
Teh met the writer Mike Sarrow, when he directed me in a comedic short over 12 years ago, and was happy to have him reach out many years later. “Mike told me that he had me in mind for the role of the advertising exec,” he said.
“Mike believed we could make a great film on a microbudget and because the script was so strong I jumped on board, and luckily I was able to executive produce (raise all the money to make) the film from an old industry contact and some lovely Northwestern/Kellogg business school classmates,” he elaborated.
“I’m happy to say, despite the microbudget, the film is collecting multiple film festival wreaths, nominations and awards for Best Feature, Best Screenplay and for Best Acting for both myself and my costar Rey Goyos,” he said.
He revealed that there is a screening of “Smile As You Kill” on October 31 at the Workers Unite Film Festival at Cinema Village in New York City.
Future plans
On his future plans, he shared, “Next steps, involve getting the film distributed widely, and I’m going to do my best to have Mike Sarrow’s next amazing feature produced with a more substantial budget.”
Acting-wise, another fun feature, Angels Fallen: Warrior of Peace should be coming out later this year. It’s an indie, angels and demons genre film we largely shot in and around Tbilisi, in the country of Georgia.
“Shooting there was an adventure in and of itself, and I strongly recommend people visit for the hiking, food and wine (they invented it). It features Cuba Gooding Jr, Denise Richards and Randy Couture along with talented bunch of largely London-based actors led by Josh Burdett,” he elaborated.
“Before the strike, I was also blessed to work in Europe on a great show for a big international streamer, but I because of an NDA and the strike, I can’t say anything about it,” he added.
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, he said, “I think with any new technological revolution, there are positives and negatives. On the plus side, in my industry, digital cameras and production have really lowered the cost of filmmaking, enabling films like Smile As You Kill to be made.”
“The trend towards online casting – due to technology and accelerated by the pandemic – enables actors to self-tape from pretty much anywhere, and to put their best foot forward. “The trend towards online casting – due to technology and accelerated by the pandemic – enables actors to self-tape from pretty much anywhere, and to put their best foot forward,” he said.
“Furthermore, this is the platinum age of television, with streamers funding and enabling the production of innovative, incredibly high-quality series, as the format enables so much more creativity to writers, directors and editors who are no longer always forced to a 42 or 60 minute episodes for dramas, and 22 or 30 minutes for comedies, and because binge-watching has changed the way consumers view content,” he elaborated.
“On the negative side, there is so much misinformation and propaganda spread on social media. It can be seriously depressing. I try to fact check everything I post, but I’m sure I’m pissing a lot of people off with differing opinions about the path towards social justice,” he said.
Success
On his definition of the word success, Teh said, “Success to me, is pretty simple… it’s being happy and having a passion or purpose.”
Teh continued, “I left behind two business degrees and a law degree, and gave up lucrative corporate careers in management consulting (I even summered on Wall Street) and at start-up, to head to full-time theatre school in New York, and then pursue a creative career in acting. I am so much happier for it.”
“While I enjoy just entertaining (most of my resume), I look forward to working on more projects that truly touch, move and inspire audiences… as part of my passion and purpose is social justice,” he said.
“So apart from having and spreading happiness, success will involve me working on more projects with a message,” he concluded.
To learn more about actor Michael Teh, follow him on Instagram.
