“OMG, she was my favorite on Grey’s Anatomy,” my friend said to me as I was preparing for my interview with Sarah Drew.
I never watched Grey’s so that factoid didn’t really phase me. I’d known her from shows like Cruel Summer, Everwood, Republic of Sarah. I’d seen her holiday films. I’d been a fan of Sarah Drew outside of her Grey’s Anatomy role and when I conveyed that response, my friend looked me dead in the eyes and said, “Don’t you ever insult her by telling her that.”
But here’s the thing, Sarah Drew is more than one role. She’s a talented actress who has taken on many different roles that challenge her and draw you, the viewer in. Her roles are strong women from all different backgrounds and walks of life. Her most recent role is starring in The Hallmark Channel movie, Branching Out.
Branching Out, at its core, is about family and all of the different ways that family can take shape. It’s one thing that Hallmark has done a great job of showing throughout the years, but especially the past few years. They examine the complexities of family and the way that the dictionary defines it may not always apply.
And quite honestly, that’s a beautiful thing.
When I am connected to Sarah, her voice is filled with a joy that I am not sure I can explain. She is passionate about this movie. I can tell this immediately and that sets a tone for me, because it makes me want to know more.
I ask her the same question I always start with, why the actor wanted to do the project. Yes, I know it’s a stale question at times, but I also know that it gives me inspiration for other questions and an understanding of their choices.
For Sarah, she chose to do Branching Out for many reasons. The first she says, “My very dear friend, Maclain Nelson was directing it. I love working with him and knew that he would treat whatever material he was given with the utmost respect and joy with his like comedic flair that he has and with the way that he designs the shots and directs his actors. That was my first thing.”
The next reason? She continued,”I got to read the script and I was just so drawn to how unique of a story it was. What we really get to do in this movie is shine a light on the reality, and truth, and beauty that family comes in all different shapes and sizes.”
She takes a second and then continued by telling a personal accolade about family, “My sister-in-law was a single mom until her daughter was a teenager. That’s when she got married. I have seen and know that experience firsthand and I’ve always just admired her so much in that whole process. I was really excited to tell a story about a family that looks different than what one generally expects and that we get to see them and celebrate them and know that they are entirely and completely enough in and of themselves. Then there’s this beautiful expansion of letting more people into this family that they already have. That’s very sweet too.”
I smile. Family is what I definitely got from every moment in the movie. It felt as though there wasn’t an actor in the movie that didn’t convey that family can come in all sorts of ways.
In the movie, you’ll see Sarah’s character as a single Mom whose life is devoted to her daughter. She’s open with her daughter and that dynamic is something that makes it easy for her daughter to come to her about anything. Yet, it also makes her challenge her own boundaries and that’s something that I loved to see.
However, as boundaries are challenged, Amelia (Sarah’s character) reminds her daughter that their family dynamic is enough. They are enough. It’s examination of the way that family can be reminded me of the way that Hallmark has grown and continues to grow at this juncture in history. Some may be fearful of it, but some embrace it. And I wondered, how important was it for Sarah to be part of the Hallmark family at this time. Was it important to her?
“Yes,” she says, “Because I think there’s all different shapes and sizes of families out there that want to watch stories that make them feel good, and affirmed, and joyful that aren’t, full of just all of the darkness all the time. There’s a massive audience of families of all shapes and sizes that are hungry for that storytelling. I feel like super excited to be a part of the Hallmark family.”
She continued, “Guiding Emily was my last one with them where I got to play someone who lost their sight. It was a story about coming to terms with conquering something that’s really, really scary and hard. That was like a new story [chuckles] to tell too, so just getting to be a part of these incredibly beautiful and unique stories is such a gift. The idea of like, what is family? Family has so many different shapes to it, including families that are not related in any way by genetics.”
I smile, because as I am listening to her, I am realizing that someone gets it. Someone shares my feelings on family.
I know, I know, we’ve been talking about family a lot, but that’s definitely not a bad thing. Family is one of the most important and beautiful things in the world. Branching Out has romance, it has drama, it has angst, and it has being found. But at the same time, one of the most important things about it is that you’re seeing a family find its meaning in the most unique way.
But back to Sarah. She continued, “You have families out there who have created their own chosen families because their own actual biological families are broken, or dysfunctional, or messed up, or whatever. That is just as solid and as beautiful and as real of a family as any genetics or DNA could speak to. I just think, yes, really getting to give voice and allow people to be seen in every different walk of life is a gift.”
Watching the movie, I found myself rewinding to certain moments and smiling, laughing, and at points, crying. I was a mess, because I felt all the feels. I communicate that to Sarah, along with the thanks that this movie really just lets people know that, whatever you choose for your family, is okay and it is enough. I tell her that the movie fills me with all the feels. I just loved it.
She says, “That’s what I’ve been saying too. I’ve, actually, watched it several times and I’ve actually gone back and like fast forwarded and rewound to watch certain scenes over and over again because they just make me feel so good. It just makes me grin. My whole face, and whole energy, and essence and heart is just like grinning. It’s just bursting out when I’m watching it. I love hearing that was your reaction too. I think people are going to– I just don’t think you can watch this movie and not just be like leaning in and like feeling all the feels. I’m really excited for people to see it.”
I am too, I think. We say our goodbyes and I can’t help but smile as I hang up the phone. Sarah Drew gets the fact that people want to be seen and understood.
I for one am thankful for that.
Branching Out premieres tonight, April 27th, on The Hallmark Channel.