What would you do if your wife was murdered and the friend everyone thinks did it, didn’t, and the case is considered closed?

This is the dilemma actor Steve Mize finds himself in starring in the award-winning independent feature film, “Plea”.

Steve has been getting rave reviews and winning all kinds of awards for his performance in the crime-thriller written and directed by Brian McQuery.

Previously, Steve has appeared in a bunch of television shows, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “CSI: Vegas,” “Bones,” “Station 19,” “Ironside,” “Lie To Me,” “Truth Be Told,” “Days of Our Lives,” and “ER.” He’s also been seen in several worthy indie films, won awards for his solo show, popped up in tons of commercials, voiced many projects, and graced theater stages in both Los Angeles and New York. In other words, Steve is always working on something.

To find out more, Steve Mize answered some FanPop questions:

Tell us about the story and your role in “Plea.”

Steve Mize: Let’s see…after 20 years in prison, a man wrongfully convicted of rape and murder is released. The victim’s husband, me as Tom, has become a recluse, obsessed with a true crime documentary about the case. He tries to contact law enforcement to reopen the investigation, but they consider it closed. Then the prosecutor is kidnapped in a desperate attempt to convince her to find the real killer.

Again, I play Tom. He lost his family to a violent crime. His best friend did it. He’s moved on, as much as he can from a life-changing moment like that. Now, the wound is reopened twenty years later, but all the facts are flipped, and nobody wants to find the real killer. Stuck between deep sadness, confusion, remorse, revenge and polite trust in the judicial system, he’s shackled and inert. Every move is wrong. It’s easy to spiral into depression, which he does. Ultimately, fueled by his love for his wife, he takes the only action he believes is available to him. On some level, it’s a love story. It’s Hamlet fighting for justice and Romeo sacrificing for love. I focused on hope and love.

What would you consider Tom Heeley’s ‘best’ quality? And his ‘worst’?

Steve Mize: Well, he’s kind and loyal and he loves deeply. He’s a good person, he’s righteous and doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He believes everyone around him, almost to a fault.

I guess that’s also his worst qualities because kindness doesn’t always prevail in this world. But, he obsessively searches for the best outcome that allows everyone, including himself, to stay righteous.

This was tough, emotional material to work on. What was that like and how do you shake it off at the end of the day?

Steve Mize: Thanks. That’s a very conscientious question. I appreciate your concern. You’re right, artistically, it’s tough to go into those deeply emotional places, and to live there authentically. I’m a Method actor, I trained with Ellen Burstyn, Arthur Penn, Paul Newman, Martin Landau, and others, in the long tradition of emotional truth being paramount to playing a role. But I also believe the most valued trait in our industry is reliability, above talent, skill and even celebrity. Reliability - come in, do the job that’s asked, and do it well.

My models for that kind of professionalism are Sally Field, Estelle Parsons, Tom Hanks - method actors who also understand a production schedule because they started in television. I’m one small piece of a large puzzle. I’m responsible to the production. I have to deliver. I like feeling of service.

Personally, I played this character, who lost his family, when I was beginning my family. I had hope and belief and fear and confusion. So did Tom. I straddled the line between those feelings all day during the shoot. They fed each other. I loved my life and clung to it desperately because I felt what it would be like to lose it, like Tom did. It was awful and enlightening all at once. I start and finish each day with me, Steve. Once I’m grounded, I can jump into the story and imagination all day.
    
Also, a little taste of ice cream helps, to immerse my senses in the present. And, at the end of some shoot days, I’d have voiceover work to do in my home studio. So, I’d jump in the booth, live three to four other lives, shower, then prepare for the next day and go to sleep.

Any interesting stories from the set you can share with us?

Steve Mize: Hmm, can I give you two? A fun one and a spiritual one? There’s a few scenes from my character’s POV, shooting home movies. So, the director wanted me to actually hold the camera, for authenticity. I boasted something like, ‘Sure, I make movies and know what I’m doing’. Ha! I quickly realized that I also had to act, and say lines, sing songs, emote, walk and avoid furniture, keep my other actor in frame, keep the lighting perfect, avoid the crew — I had quite a bit to do. Needless to say, I’d forget something, and we’d watch playback of this beautifully acted scene by Siobhan Doughtery, but the boom guy was in half the frame. All I could do was admit it, “Oh I guess he wasn’t out of frame”. Karma.
    
The other one, talk about life and art convening. My wife and I have flower bushes in our backyard, which attract bees, birds, butterflies. And while we were pregnant, I noticed an influx of white butterflies, like five a day, for weeks. My wife, who is much smarter and more ethereal than I am said that some cultures believe white butterflies are spirits of people in our lives who have passed that are coming to visit and protect us. That idea was very comforting to me because our pregnancy, like so many, felt precarious and I was nervous. Eddie’s dad, the great character actor, Jack Kehler, passed right around the time we shot Plea. During one of Eddie’s closeups, I noticed a white butterfly pass behind him in the bushes. It crossed the frame. Without a doubt, I know that was Jack’s spirit telling us we were doing good, not to worry about a thing.

What’s the biggest lesson you learned from working on this project?

Steve Mize: Trust. Trust the director. Do my work. No need to try to control anything. Vulnerability is strength. Be flexible. The way of working can change with different actors and informs the scene. For example, most of my big scenes were with Eddie Kehler, who plays Hardy Knight, and Anne Marie Howard, the prosecutor. With Anne Marie, we had never met and decided to run lines over the phone because our scenes were eight to twelve pages long with high energy battles, so we wanted to be prepared.

I did the opposite with Eddie. As members of the Actors Studio, I’ve known Eddie for many years, but we’ve never worked together. For Plea, we didn’t rehearse or meet or discuss anything ahead of time. We prepared individually, showed up to set, lived fully connected lives between action and cut, then lived as friends, often laughing deeply - I think there’s a photo of both of us red-faced. Then action, and we were right back in it. All that love between these friends was there, even though the scene was heavy. It shows how different styles of working can still create great scenes, as long as the actors are connected and trusting and malleable.

And, now just for fun:

Who’s your favorite actor/actress?

Steve Mize: So many, for so many different reasons. As a Method Actor, there’s the greats, Brando, Pacino, DeNiro, Duvall, Ellen Burstyn, Sally Field, Kim Stanley, Geraldine Page. Tommy Lee Jones for strength. Everything Phillip Seymour Hoffman did was inspiring. Cate Blanchett is ideal. But the one actor who represents the best of what Method Acting can be is Gene Hackman. Every role, even his early work, when most actors claim they were plodding along, is seamless, flawlessly authentic, deep, and always has a smooth sense of ease. Watch Scarecrow, with Pacino. Jeff Bridges too.

What role from the past do you wish you could have played?

Steve Mize: Well, I’m from Texas, so I’m attached to land, and I’ve always been attracted to Westerns, like Josey Wales and Tombstone. Oh, and baseball too. Doesn’t everybody want to be Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams or Roy Hobbs in The Natural? I’m writing a story about baseball right now that I’m enjoying. In my twenties, Dean Moriarty. Then I went to Paris alone and lived like Hemingway and Henry Miller for a month. Now, I just want to be Jimmy Buffett.

Favorite movie or TV show from your childhood.

Steve Mize: Oh man, these are the hard questions, pick one favorite? Let me see, It’s A Wonderful Life, Bull Durham, Dead Poet’s Society, City Slickers, A League of Their Own - I might be able to quote most lines from each of those films, and I always shed a tear, no matter how many times I’ve seen them.

Tell us one thing that would surprise our readers to learn about you.

Steve Mize: Well, if they’re learning about me from this film, they might be surprised that I usually play comedic roles. I’ve even won some stage awards for comedy acting and writing and had a pretty good standup career while I was in grad school in New York. Shoot, for the longest time, I spent my days in dramas and nights in comedy. I could never get the worlds to connect. Drama people didn’t care if I was funny and vice versa. I should add Jack Lemmon to the earlier question.

Surprising? Like I’m an expert in Spanish and Italian wine, but don’t drink? Some people are surprised I’m from Texas because I lost my accent in grad school and now speak Spanish. Is that surprising? I’m a published writer, professional speaker. I paint, sculpt, play the guitar, run three miles a day, do yoga and have a pretty good facial cleansing routine.

How can fans keep up with you?

Steve Mize: Well, I have a one year-old, so I’m always at local playgrounds or music and tumbling classes.

Otherwise, Instagram @stevemize_la link and my website SteveMize.com link