Based on Anna Todd’s best-selling novel which became a worldwide phenomenon on social storytelling platform Wattpad, “After” follows Tessa (Langford), a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart, as she enters her first semester in college.
Armed with grand ambitions for her future, her guarded world opens up when she meets the dark and mysterious Hardin Scott (Tiffin), a magnetic, brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself and what she wants out of life.
Check out our exclusive interviews!
The Knockturnal: This is your first movie, congratulations, how does it feel to be stepping into the acting scene?
Pia Mia: It’s so awesome, it’s such a new world for me and I’m so happy to be able to cross my creativity from music into acting. Tying “Bitter Love” into the movie too I feel like everything is coming together and it’s very exciting.
The Knockturnal: I love that your character Tristan is an LGBT character. Portraying that on screen how was that like for you?
Pia Mia: It was really easy I mean I just think love is love and I just think the best relationships are formed from friendships so it was very easy. Khadija and I clicked very well. My whole life is about love so it’s easy for me to relate to that and have that feeling. I hope the LGBTQ community looks at Steph and Tristan and feels like “oh we love that relationship” because it is so sweet and enduring.
The Knockturnal: Stepping into acting is this something we’ll see you do more of or will music always be the main priority?
Pia Mia: I mean music is my heart and it’s what makes me feel whole and complete and like myself so that will always be you know my baby but I do like acting and I’m down to get into it more. I mean I love bringing other people’s stories to life and getting to play characters is very fun because in music everything is my vision, what I want, and what I’m going through. I think it’s cool to give a voice to somebody else.
The Knockturnal: Have you ever broken hearts or gotten your heart broken?
Pia Mia: Are you kidding me? My heart is like in a million pieces but it’s so worth it to me because when you’re in love and it’s good it’s like the best feeling in the world. I don’t know, whether I’m heartbroken or in love, I don’t care because that just means you are experiencing love. And I think that’s the most important thing in the world.
The Knockturnal: What about the movie is unique from other typical love stories?
Pia Mia: I think that Hardin and Tessa’s love is just so raw and real. Not just in the movie but the way that Anna wrote the book is just very honest and it’s like you know there are struggles and then there are good times and it shows both sides of it. Love is a fairy tale but there are obstacles in that and this shows that.
The Knockturnal: Did you read the books? Were you a fan?
Pia Mia: I became a fan of After after I got the audition for it and then I heard about After, read the script, then I read the books.
The Knockturnal: Was there something that stood out to you?
Pia Mia: Honestly just reading the script and just getting familiar with the story I was just attracted to it. I didn’t care whether or not I booked the job I was just passionate about the project in general. Then I found out I was going to play Tristan and I was so excited. I think this was the perfect first role for me in the movie world.
The Knockturnal: People online are comparing After to Twilight in the sense that it’s books being translated to movies and now fans are going crazy. Did you ever expect it to be this big? It’s only going to get bigger.
Pia Mia: Well I know that the books have over a billion reads so I knew that there was a really big fan base already attached to After but I think that when they saw our faces being put to the characters that drove it even more. It just makes them even more passionate because we’re gonna bring these stories to life and they are gonna get to see it in action like not just reading it and envision it. They are going to get to see what they’ve been reading these past few years come to life and that’s like the best gift.
The Knockturnal: How involved was Anna in the process of the film?
Pia Mia: It was amazing having Anna on set. She’s very involved as she should be. These are her books and we want to bring her characters to life the right way and make sure that the fan base is going to be happy with the movie when they see it. She was very helpful she had so much information and deeper insight into the movie and the characters and the story and it would not have been the same without her.
Khadija Red Thunder
The Knockturnal: You’ve been modeling for quite some time now, how is it like stepping into the acting scene?
Khadija Red Thunder: It’s very amazing actually there are some similarities somewhat just because the way that evolution has caused modeling and advertising to go in. There is so much film portion to it so it was helpful in that sense with like understanding the technical terms a little bit. It made it a little bit more easier and I’m more comfortable with being in front of the camera.
The Knockturnal: Is this something you see yourself doing more of or will modeling always be a priority?
Khadija Red Thunder: I definitely will do this so much more it’s amazing. I’m so grateful to be doing this and I look forward to the future things that will come.
The Knockturnal: Your character Steph is edgy and she’s very out there. Can you relate to her in any way or was this a little bit out of your comfort zone?
Khadija Red Thunder: It was definitely out of my comfort zone a little bit. I mean growing up there was this time where I was punk and I used to have my nose pierced. I had my septum pierced when I was much younger. I went through a punk stage but she’s like so much more of a party girl and super loud and commands attention and I’m more to myself and reserved and I really like 1 on 1 conversations. She could probably make a whole room move so we’re similar but still very different.
The Knockturnal: Your character Steph is in a relationship with Tristan. It’s a same sex relationship how was that like portraying that on screen?
Khadija Red Thunder: It was amazing. I feel so grateful to be able to represent such an amazing strong community like the LGBTQ community. It was awesome being able to portray another love that was beautiful.
The Knockturnal: I know that in the book it wasn’t like that originally.
Khadija Red Thunder: They created it and that shows it kind of paves the way for other people and other artists to see that it’s okay to alter the character and to create it to change the sex. That allows more opportunity to others and also it made it something more special. Not only did she change the sex but she changed the love.
The Knockturnal: Have you ever been in love? Have you ever broken hearts or had your heart broken?
Khadija Red Thunder: Yes I’ve been in love twice. I’ve definitely have had my heart broken for sure recently and then I’ve definitely broken a heart before but still very much been so in love.
The Knockturnal: What about After is different than most love stories out there?
Khadija Red Thunder: The thing about After is that it’s very honest. I like how honest it is. It captures those intimate in-between moments where two people are just living together and I feel like it’s different in the sense where it kind of shows your first love and those awkward sexual experiences and just learning about yourself and growing with another person. I just feel like some of the other stories are kind of more like fluff you know it’s not necessarily as true as it is. It shows how when you’re young and fiery things are much more dramatic than what they actually are. I like that you know it’s very honest and accurate and on brand to the age frame of when you would fall in love being a freshman in college that age from like 18 to twenty-something.
The film is now playing!