The incomparable Gail Bean continues to inspire as she takes on new heights in her career, starring in and executive producing the powerful film Both Eyes Open, in theaters on Friday, January 17th. Known for her authenticity and dedication to her craft, Gail brings depth and passion to every role she takes on. In this interview, she shares her journey behind the scenes, the challenges of balancing acting in multiple projects while producing, and the impact she hopes this film will have.
So, oh my goodness, it has been a few years since the last time I had the opportunity to speak to you! I saw the trailer for Both Eyes Open. It looks amazing. It had me really interested in the storyline, and we are going to get into that in just a second. How are you, though?
I’m good. I’ve been traveling. I’ve been working. 2024 has been a nonstop working year. I’m so grateful. I had to work every single month, since the start of the year. So, it was a nice way to jump back into the swing of things coming from the strike. I’m chilling. I am traveling. I’m about to go back to New York since we have wrapped P-Valley. I’m going back to Ghana… And I just had a birthday.
Happy belated birthday! You have always been a bright light. Ben and I talk about you often and you are just so damn good at what you do! Now, let’s talk about Both Eyes Open. How did you prepare for this role? Because it is so different from the others.
It’s very different. I did research like I do for any other role. I watched documentaries of domestic violence survivors and domestic violence victims. I also read up on the psychological aspects of people, one abuser, and two survivors, because I wanted to see it from both aspects. I was just really honing in on that… I researched shelters to see what they looked like, just to kind of have that honest first-hand perspective. I was really trying to figure out the space and wanted to know if the character felt she was in a prison or if the relationship was the prison and then this is like a halfway house back to freedom.
Now, what drew you to the role? Because that’s heavy.
Ariel Julia Hairston wrote such an amazing script. I read it and I do not accept unsolicited scripts, but it came from my trust attorney. She didn’t know the protocol, and normally, I don’t accept unsolicited material, but I made an exception. I read it and just thought, this is so good. I want to do it. I have to be a part of it. So, we had to figure a way out how to make this happen. I told her that I’m only doing it if you really bring people that can deliver the quality of what these characters require. I wanted people who would take the work seriously and do their own research into the psychology of it all instead of just showing up and doing it half-assed. They listened, and they allowed me to have some input when it came to some of the casting choices and a few other things on the production side.
Can you share any memorable or challenging moments on set with the script?
I’ll first start with the challenging moment. It’s not script-related. It’s an indie film. I mean, true indie, like all of the money is from the pockets of the executive producers. We had a certain amount of days we could get this shot. I worked every single day. The last, I think two or three days, I started on P-Valley. So, the last two days, I worked 48 hours.
How much coffee did you drink? A lot of coffee? I would assume. Like, what were you doing? Was it just like pure adrenaline?
I don’t even drink coffee. Man, no, I was like, this gotta be done… So, I would go over there and have a 12-hour day there, and I would have a 12-hour day at P-Valley. Basically, if you count that and travel time, the only time I got to sleep was in between takes, in the makeup chair, and in transport. That’s my last two days of filming Both Eyes Open. I was like, we’re going to make it work. That was my biggest challenge, non-script related.
Script-related, my biggest challenge, I would say… I’m trying to think… Now, I’m like going through the whole movie. You know what it is? It’s because when you’re in it, you’re just trying to work through it. And then when you’re on the other side of it, it’s hard to remember all those little details. I would say the biggest challenge is getting myself to a place where I allow the character to take me deep enough to be convincing.
In what ways did you relate to the character?
Being in a place of realization that you don’t deserve to be abused. You don’t deserve the pain that people cause you. You don’t deserve any harm from people. She really is a good person. I related to her dealing with a complete stranger who seemingly already knows all this information about her. A person can prey on her and exploit her weaknesses, using knowledge from her past to try to trick and trap her. I could relate to that, being in an industry where my name is already out there and there’s so much public information on me. Sometimes I meet people who already know so much about me, but they pretend not to, because they have ulterior motives. So, I was able to relate to that.
I could also relate to the feeling of being in a situation where it feels like you’re buried and can’t breathe. It can force you to grow up, so to speak; you know what I mean? She had moments I connected with, like having a new friend in your life and experiencing something unfamiliar. You face that fear of unknown territory, but also the excitement of getting to know a new person. And hopefully, that person is someone who genuinely loves you, likes you, finds you intriguing, sees the good in you, and acknowledges that. That’s the potential beauty of it all.
How do you work through that in life? As you stated, sometimes people will know way more about you than they let on.
I’m still trying to navigate and balance that. I pray for discernment every day, but it is a thing I think sometimes people can’t help. We are in this tech-savvy generation; they would rather ask questions about you than ask you. They think they know it all already. They think they already know you… I think I’m good because I keep the people that I’ve known forever close to me.
I was just about to say I can see that you are still so very grounded.
I stick with my people. I ain’t gonna lie. Like I said, I’m open to meeting new people, but I am really careful.
Your character in Both Eyes Open, how does she compare to your previous roles like Wanda in “Snowfall” and Roulette in “P-Valley”?
She’s a completely different person. I feel like there are always some remnants because I always ground my characters by putting a piece of me in them. So, with Ally in Both Eyes Open, she has resilience, right? She has perseverance, as do Roulette and Wanda. I think with all three of those characters, they relate in a way that they’re all unconquerable.
You bring that unconquerable essence to those roles because that is how I see you.
I think with Roulette and Wanda, they kind of operate more in cover, as opposed to Ally, you see everything on her. It’s very hard for her to not be vulnerable. It’s very hard for her to have a wall up. She’s in therapy. She’s being talked to and talked through her trauma. She’s a different space of healing than Wanda and Roulette. I think the difference is Wanda and Roulette were fighters from day one. Ally has to learn to fight. She has to become a fighter. She has to go through some stuff before she gets to that point, like a rite of passage, almost.
Dakari Eli
