The Flowers' killer, "The Exile" actor Bryant W. Lohr Sr. speaks with Ronnie Sortor.

 

Ronnie Sortor:  What’s your favorite movie?
Bryant W. Lohr Sr.:  My all time movie is The Exorcist for horror.
As for drama, any thing with Julia Roberts and Jessica Lang; for comedy it's Carol Burnette and Gilda Radnor.  I've always been drawn to these great performers..

R.S.  Have you worked on any other movies before or since?
B.L.  No experience in acting but I have a knack of endorsing products that I am passionate with LOL  Being in a movie was one of those things on my bucket-list that I've finally been able to cross off! :)

R.S.   In the imdb credits, your character is called "The Exile."  I understand that your casting in FLOWERS was one of those "right time - right place" circumstances. That's happened in movies before. It's rare, but not unheard of for untrained regular people to go before the movie camera and become professional actors. You're a natural!  I've seen all the raw footage and you seemed pretty comfortable in front of the camera the whole time. I hope Phil (or other directors) use you in more movies! You did a great job!
B.L.  Ever since I have known Phil he has been a great friend. He knew I would be good for this movie before I did. I am glad he did. He saw something in me that I didn't see myself. I wanted to act but never went through with it. Now that Phil gave me a taste in acting I want more!

R.S.  Some of the actresses had behind-the-scenes duties. Did you help out behind the scenes also?
B.L.  The girls were more involved than I but if Phil needed help I was there.

R.S.  FLOWERS certainly isn't lacking in the skin department, including yourself. Krystle has already commented on her exposure, how about you? Did you have any difficulty undressing for the camera?
B.L.  Just for the record book I don't mind being naked. In the summer I am usually 95% naked most of the time. Being naked in front of Krystle and the camera was no big deal. It was just like doing a job.

R.S. Have you thought about The Exile's motivations?  What made him a killer?
B.L.  To me, this killer is a downtown mail clerk. A born again Christian who, in his mind, needs to punish all women who do evil things against god's laws. He was so tired of seeing and hearing bad news about what women do to themselves and to the children who are so innocent and the way they sell themselves. In the killers mind, he thinks “I've only just begun” and lays among the trophies of his accomplishment.

R.S.  On one of the FB comments, I remember seeing someone say "my Dad plays the killer in this movie.  I can't wait to see it!"  Your daughter?  I couldn't help but think:  Uh oh!  Is she aware that he gets full-frontal naked for the camera?
B.L.  That has crossed my mind as well. How would my family feel about that part? We are all adults and I hope she has an open mind about this. I will need to sit down and talk to her about this. And if she is uncomfortable I will figure out how to show her a censored version. As for others, I really don’t care what they say. My partner doesn’t mind it at all.

R.S.  On-set safety is a big concern with other actors doing violent scenes.  Were special precautions used for those?  Such as Kara's strangulation, using a real gun on Tanya, etc...
B.L.  Yes every safety precaution was used. To be honest, I was a little shaken during Tanya’s scenes.  I never placed a gun in someone’s mouth before. That shot took several takes to get it down. (There was a weapons specialist on hand, set to safety check this weapon prior to and during the entire shoot. No ammunition was in or around the building, the chamber was checked several times.)  I got through and after all was done, felt proud of myself to finally get through it without any trouble..  

R.S.  Do you have any stories from the FLOWERS set that the readers may be interested in?
B.L.  One story I can remember is when I was laying in the bed with Makaria and all the girls on the floor when the shoot was over Makaria and I werE literally stuck together!  LOL we laughed and ouched ourselves apart. I worked with a great bunch of women.