MONTEITH WAS A ‘DEDICATED ACTOR’
By Laverne Stewart
Those who worked with Cory Monteith on a soon-to-be-released feature film say he was a nice guy and a dedicated actor.
The Shore Road Pictures Inc. film was written and directed by Gia Milani and produced by Tony Whalen. The Fredericton couple got to know Monteith last summer during the shooting of All the Wrong Reasons.
The ensemble film tells the story of four people who struggle in the aftermath of trauma. Monteith played the lead role of a corporate ladder-climbing store manager.
Whalen called Monteith an outstanding person both on and off the set.
“He was able to keep us moving ahead with a low amount of takes. He always got his lines right and he had incredible performances. He was a true professional. He was super nice to everybody. He took time to sign autographs. He took pictures with fans and shook their hands,” Whalen said.
Milani travelled to Los Angeles on June 10 to show the film to Monteith and the other lead actors. Whalen said Monteith liked it. Whalen said he wasn’t sure what Monteith’s death will mean for the film. He said he and Milani had expected that Monteith would be on the red carpet promoting the film.
“He was excited to see it released and get into festivals. He was looking forward to that ... his intention was to be at some of the bigger film festivals promoting the film. That was something we’d always envisioned,” Whalen said.
Whalen said Monteith’s work in this film is different than anything else he’d done before and the actor was excited for people to see him in the role. He said he believes people will be impressed by Monteith’s work, which shows another side of his acting ability.
Whalen said they first learned of Monteith’s death at 3:30 a.m. Sunday when Milani’s mother called from B.C. to tell them the news.
“It took a while to set in. We were immediately saddened by it because he was such a great guy ... Cory really inspired a lot of people.”
While Whalen and Milani didn’t meet Monteith’s family, they did have a relationship with his agent in L.A. and manager in Vancouver. He said this week he and Milani spoke out to the film’s other cast members who are also sadden by his death.
The B.C. Coroner’s Service reported Tuesday that Monteith was killed by an overdose of heroin and alcohol.
Fredericton actor Denis Theriault, who now lives in Halifax, worked with Monteith on All the Wrong Reasons.
Theriault said he was inspired by Monteith who started out with small roles in Vancouver and rose to stardom on the TV show Glee.
“The way we bonded was because three or four years ago he was just like me. He lived in Vancouver and had done bit parts in films here and there but, up until Glee came along, he was just like me.”
Theriault said when he first learned of Monteith’s death he wanted to believe that it wasn’t drug-related.
“From every account I had heard, he was back on the straight and narrow and he wanted to do well in his life. When I heard that I was disappointed. Not in him but I’m disappointed in the situation and in how addiction came and grabbed his life and took it away from him,” Theriault said.
In the six days they worked together, Theriault said he saw Monteith’s dedication to his work and his kindness to others.
“His death was such a shock to me because we never saw any of this behaviour on set. We were all expecting to see him in about two months because we were going to start doing the film festival rounds to promote it,” Theriault said.
He said he believes people will be drawn to see the movie, in part, because it was one of Monteith’s last performances.
Theriault recalled the first day he arrived on the film set and Monteith approached him to see if he wanted to go over their lines while they waited for the crew to finish setting up for one of their scenes.
“I was taken aback because Cory Monteith was asking me to run lines but then I kept reminding myself he’s an actor, he’s just like me.’’
Theriault said he spent a lot of time with Monteith while on the set and during their breaks and mealtimes. Monteith was always courteous, humble and eager to work on the film with the rest of the cast and crew, he said.
“He saw this film as another opportunity for him. He wasn’t going to let Gia (film director Gia Milani) down. He wasn’t going to let the rest of the cast down. He was going to give it his all and he did,” Theriault said.
Theriault said while the film was being shot Glee was preparing to shoot its fourth season. Monteith would be on the film set in Halifax for five days and then return to L.A. for a couple of days to do promotional photo shoots for Glee, Theriault said.
“The days were very long and I am sure he was tired but he never complained once. He was always a kind guy.”
Vancouver police said Monteith had been out with people earlier, but video and electronic records from the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel showed that he returned to his room by himself early Saturday morning. He was believed to be alone when he died.
Monteith had spoken about previous problems with addiction issues. Last April he’d admitted himself to a treatment facility for substance addiction. He had also received treatment when he was 19.
Joe Monteith, his father, lives in Oromocto. He was unavailable for comment.
