Off the Record star Rainey Qualley spoke to ComingSoon about starring in the music drama with Ryan Hansen. The daughter of Andie MacDowell discussed blending her loves of music and acting in one role, her family’s support, and more. The film is out now in theaters and on demand and digital.
“Rainey Qualley stars as Astor Grey, a rising singer-songwriter whose life takes a dark turn when she enters a turbulent romance with washed-up rock star Brandyn Verge (Ryan Hansen). What begins as a whirlwind love story unravels into a gripping tale of manipulation and resilience as Astor fights to reclaim her autonomy and music. Featuring a standout cast including Rebecca De Mornay, Olivia Sui, Julia Campbell, and Will Peltz – with cameos by Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Peyton Manning, and Edgerrin James – the film offers a compelling exploration of the high stakes in the music industry,” says the synopsis for Off the Record.
Tyler Treese: Rainey, such a pleasure to speak with you, and congrats on Off the Record. This had to be a very special role for you. What was it like getting to combine these two real loves, of both acting and music, into one role? We get to hear your music all throughout the film. How special was that to have this combination?
Rainey Qualley: Yeah, exactly as you said, it was incredibly special. Two of my greatest passions are acting and music. Getting to collide just felt like a dream scenario for me. So I was thrilled to be cast and to be able to bring some of my own music as well as write new songs for the soundtrack.
Your song “See Me Cry” is almost like an anthem for the movie. What was that song written specifically around this story, or was that something you’d been working on prior? What was the story behind that?
They found through this writer Oscar. So I came and worked, the song already existed, and I came and recorded the song in the studio. We changed a couple of lines that make it sort of like suit the movie better. But I wasn’t involved with the writing of that song in particular.
The earlier song, the sort of acoustic one, was mine after I was cast. We knew we needed a song for that portion, so I just sort of went out in my yard and started writing that and sending voice notes to Kirsten, the director, and ended up having that one in the film. Then they incorporated a couple of my existing songs into the soundtrack as well.
You and Ryan got to do a Bruce Springsteen cover, which is really lovely, turning that into a duet. How cool was it getting to do a Springsteen cover? It turned out really well.
Oh, thank you. I’m a huge Springsteen fan, so it was great. My dad taught me to play guitar, and one of the first songs he taught me was a Springsteen song, so it felt a little bit like full circle.
There’s a moment early on in the film where your character has this talk about the struggle of doing acting while also trying to have a musical career. You’ve managed to explore both of those spaces. Can you speak to the difficulty of juggling these two passions? Because that had to be your real life coming on the screen there, a little bit.
It’s definitely a looking at yourself in the mirror sort of moment.
For me personally, especially like in my early twenties when I was really starting to just begin pursuing both music and acting all the time, I had to put people asking me like, “Well, which one is it? Which one are you gonna pick? Are you gonna do music or are you gonna act?”
I always felt so torn. I really had to make this decision. It ultimately just didn’t apply at all. And I think it was just like old dudes who didn’t understand that there’s like the possibility to explore more than one avenue.
I don’t think that it deters creatively at all. I think if anything, like when I’m not cast in a movie, I could be working on music, and it just makes me feel like I have multiple outlets. Astor in the movie, she’s very much more interested in music and does like silly commercials to pay the bills, which that’s not like the same issue per se. [But] there was some of that same energy reflected of like being made to make a choice that doesn’t have to ultimately be made.
Speaking of the funny commercials, Peyton Manning has a hilarious cameo in Off the Record. How is it getting to work a little with Peyton? His comic timing is so natural.
Rainey Qualley: Yeah, that was a fun day. He was only on set one day, but it was really funny and cool for me to get to work with him. I’m not like a big sporty girl, so I never really thought that I was gonna have the chance to interact with Peyton Manning. He was great. He did an excellent job and was very well prepared, and just very relaxed, and seems in-person the way that he appears on screen.
I wanted to ask you about working with Ryan Hansen because there are two specific feelings for his character, because he’s very charming at the onset, and he is naturally just a very charming guy. So I’m sure those are easy scenes to film, but there’s also that switch where his character can become very toxic and manipulative, and it is really interesting seeing him just flip that switch. How is it filming those really tense scenes with him?
Yeah. I mean, he’s such an easygoing, likable guy, so having those intense scenes just makes them even more amplified because I think it’s also reflective of real life in a lot of ways. I think the people that you least expect it end up being the scariest, and when they do turn, it’s like somehow even worse than if you understood from the beginning that that piece was there. So yeah, he was really able to bring it when he needed to in the scenes, and I think it turned out really well, hopefully.
You talked about having all these artistic outlets. Obviously, your mother and sister are also great actresses. How has it been having them as a support system? Because obviously your mother’s done everything there is to do, so I imagine if you ever need advice, she has the answer.
Yeah, we’re so lucky that we get to rely on each other in that way. And my sister’s my best friend in the whole world, and she’s so incredibly talented, and I’m just so proud of her. And then we’re both we’re recipients of our mother’s advice and just like getting to watch the way that she has pursued her career. I’m so inspired by both of them.
Andie’s still doing incredible work, like just last year she did Red Right Hand and Goodrich. Just phenomenal performances by her. How inspiring is it to see her decades into her career still doing such incredible work?
Yeah, absolutely. I think, unfortunately, a lot of, like older actresses in particular, I think more than men, women more than men tend to fade into the distance once they hit 40. It’s maybe less now.
But I think my mom has always been really proud of where she is in her life and not trying to act younger or shy away from becoming an older woman. And I think that has just kept the door open for her to continue working. And she also just loves doing it. She’s the happiest when she’s on set and when she has a project to work on. She’s a hard-working mom.
Thanks to Rainey Qualley for taking the time to talk about Off the Record.
