David Rosenberg is an actor and writer. He is known for It’s a Dog (2022), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017). Dave writes plays and screenplays and some of these are Effect If Not Intent, I Would Never Lie to You, What Else Is True?, and Absolutely! He has written original pilots such as Absolutely!, Chosen People and Preserve and Protect.
indieactivity: How did you get connected to the project? Did you have to audition? If you did, would you still have got the part?
David Rosenberg (DR): At the end of my first year at Juilliard I got an email from my friend Victoria Pollack (who also ended up in the film) that a friend of hers was making a movie in Chicago and that she was holding auditions.
So I went in, did one audition for Lizzie and a whole bunch of other people, and then did another audition— this one reading with Natalie, and with Josh trying out some camera stuff while we did the scene. It was one of the most pleasant and humane audition experiences I’ve ever had.
What part of the story challenged you when you read it? What drove you to get on the project?
David Rosenberg (DR): Lizzie, Liz, Natalie and Josh were, from the first moments I met them at the auditions, so wonderful and generous and cool.
So the opportunity to work with them was super exciting. And I really dig how Lizzie wrote Colin— he does some messed up stuff, and hurts the people close to him, but he’s really just doing his best. He’s not trying to hurt anyone, which, in my experience, is how that happens
You’re not new to indie films. What do you enjoy about the work that keeps you working?
David Rosenberg (DR): This was actually my first indie film, or at least my first feature, so I was pretty new to the whole ethos. But I really enjoyed the atmosphere.
We all lived and worked out of the same apartment, ate all of our meals together, and went out one or two nights to wind down. That was one of the best parts of the experience— just getting to know these terrific people.
Give an example of a direction you received from the director during the production?
David Rosenberg (DR): Lizzie has a really good feel for directing actors. She’s incredibly sensitive to an actor’s process and is really great at merging that understanding of actors with the story she needs to tell as a writer and director.
There were moments where Lizzie had to urge me to let Colin be a little more inconsiderate— really lean into his flaws and his blind spots. And those ended up being really important, key pieces of direction.
