In the new drama,The Godfather Buck,two brothers uncover hidden familysecrets during a yearly hunting trip in the woods. The film was written and produced by co-star Frederick Keeve (CITY OF LIES), who portrays the misogynistic and homophobic, Dan. The more level-headed and empathetic character of Steve is portrayed byKyle Lowder, best known for his Emmy-nominated work on the daytime drama,Days of Our Lives, as well as his work onThe Bold and the Beautiful.
It was Lowder’s previous work with director Thomas Churchill that landed him the role inThe Godfather Buck. “I worked with [Thomas] on a couple of other films, and when he came on originally as a producer, Frederick and Tom were talking about it, and Tom said, ‘You know, I have a guy in mind that might work for this role,’” says Lowder. “So, Tom facilitated the meeting between Frederick and me. “We went out to lunch, and we talked about the film, and it was something I really wanted to do because I knew it was going to be a ridiculous challenge for me, and I love that.”
Opposing Viewpoints
While much of the focus inThe Godfather Buckis on self-exploration and self-awareness, it also leans heavily into toxic masculinity, which Lowder was very relevant to today. “The film addresses two opposing viewpoints on many, many different topics,” says Lowder. “Dan, who is a very prejudiced character, comes on strong with everything from his politics to his opinions on what men should be. And then you have Stephen, who is counteracting that in terms of being a little bit more compassionate, a little bit more open to people wanting to be what they want to be having the right to be what they want to be.”
“I believe that the dialogue exchange both with what is said, and how it is said, really lends a voice to having two diametrically opposing viewpoints on any given subject, and still have mutual respect at the same time,” Lowder continues. “I believe that that is what we need more of in this world. I’m not trying to be on a soapbox right now or be self-righteous at all. I just think the film does a great job of two brothers getting together who really don’t agree on a lot of things, if anything, really. But to be able to say, ‘You know, I respect where you’re coming from, and I love you anyway.’ That said, I believe that Steven needed to be the voice of reason. I humbly believe that some of what Dan says is just plain wrong,”
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Lowder understands, however, that there is a segment of the population that may not agree with the morality presented by his character Steven, instead of siding with the misogynistic and homophobic views of Dan. “II think that that’s why the film is in your face,” he says. “Frederick did a great job of writing a film that was going to make a lot of people uncomfortable. He didn’t write it to make people uncomfortable, mind you, but I think he just what is said in the film is stuff that is really said behind closed doors between people. Now it’s just kind of out there, and it forces people to say, ‘Wow, which side am I on? Which side do I believe in?’ Nothing’s right or wrong, good or bad. It just is. But it brings a lot of these very touchy sensitive subjects to light.”
From the Script to the Screen
The Godfather Buckhas a heavy dialogue-driven script, though that’s nothing new for Lowder, coming from the world of daytime drama. “I think to a lot of actors,reading that scriptfor the first time would have been overwhelming,” says Lowder. “It read like a play. Typically, films might have one or two very dialogue-heavy scenes, but a lot of it is very visual. On a show likeDays of our Lives, you’ll have twenty pages of dialogue a day. Daytime drama absolutely prepared me for the sheer amount of dialogue, which I’m so grateful for. There’s nothing worse than trying to be authentic and organic in a scene while trying to remember what you’re saying.” Lowder’s stage experience also helped with the amount of dialogue, though he notes that they are very different experiences. “On stage, you have sometimes months of rehearsal, and your performance becomes subconscious. For this film, I really dove into each scene the night before we shot it.”
The luxury of a slowerfilm production scheduleversus the breakneck shooting of a soap opera allowed for better exploration of the characters and relationships. “I don’t think this subject matter could be done in a soap opera,” says Lowder. “There’s no disrespect to the genre. It’s just that we needed time to really flesh out these characters and make this dialogue, and their brotherly relationship, as authentic and organic as possible. I was so grateful that we had the time in that cabin. We lived there for two weeks, and I think it was the best way to shoot this film. We needed to be very intimate and immersed in the dialogue and the relationships. it was the only way that this could have worked.”
Most of Lowder’s scenes in the film are one-on-one with Keeve, and while the two didn’t always see everything eye-to-eye, he appreciated that they both had the best interest of the film in mind. “Frederick was really great,” says Lowder. “It wasn’t always easy. We respectively disagreed at times on some things, but it’s just because we both were very passionate about this film, and we just wanted it to be great. We had a very healthy dialogue in our disagreements, but I think it added to the performance of our characters. I liked it that way. And he and I have a good relationship.”
Staying on Schedule and Out of His Comfort Zone
While Lowder has worked on television, in film,and on stage,he feels that daytime drama best suits him as a performer. “I’m somebody that likes that it’s very regimented,” he says. “My work schedule is a well-oiled machine. It’s like clockwork, with my call time to wardrobe, hair & makeup, and rehearsal. I have an idea of when I’m going to wrap for the day just from the experience of working here for so long. I can kind of plan out my life, and I resonate with that as a human being. I’m a very kind of psycho, regimented person. I’ll say I enjoy film work more in the sense that you have more time to flesh out a scene and perfect it, but at the same time, on a film, you could shoot till four in the morning. Who knows? You show up at you have a 5:00 am call time, and you don’t get on camera until 5:00 pm. That’s just the nature of the beast.”
While his role as Steve inThe Godfather Buckwas difficult, it’s exactly the type of role that Lowder is drawn to. “I enjoy roles that freak me out when I first read the script,” says Lowder. “If I think to myself, ‘How am I going to do this?’ When I first read the script for this film, I realized that it would be a little rough in how intense it was. just don’t know if I wanted to tell this story. But then I realized that it scared me, so, I should probably do it. I’m drawn to roles that are challenging, whether it’s physically, or emotionally, or the subject matter itself. I knew this was going to be the hardest role I’ve ever done, and I knew it was going to take up all of my time, mentally, physically, and emotionally, and it scared me right off the bat. So, I said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
