Interview with Denis Shepard, star of Paradise Lost
by Billy Ingram
I interviewed up and coming actor Denis Shepard about his role in the new 10-part series from Paramount called Paradise Lost starring Josh Hartnett, Nick Nolte and Barbara Hershey. Shepard plays Hartnett's character's younger self.
"The show is kinda half flashback, half regular, real time," Shepard says. "And all of the things that happen in his past they shoot in flashbacks and that's where I step in."
From the press release: Paradise Lost is a new series where a man (Josh Hartnett) moves back to Mississippi from California with his psychiatrist, partner only to uncover some shameful secrets that irrevocably change the lives of everyone involved. This includes going back into your own childhood for answers, discovering secrets and unblocking those memories you need to understand certain situations in his now adult life. It’s a very complex, but compelling series that is full of many twist and turns, but challenges you to go deep and figure out why things are the way they are, at that moment. Each and every character has their own mystery to them and each scene has a piece to the puzzle. The original story was created and written by Rodes Fishburne (Blood & Oil) and Executive Producer, Arika Lisanne Mittman (Dexter). Who also serves as writer, directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side).
Denis plays the younger “Yates Forsythe” who has a storyline that is incredibly complex, challenging and you have to pay very close attention or you will miss some key points. “Yates Forsythe,” is mysterious with many different plots and twists to his character and role, but there is a point in the series where everything comes together, especially with Josh (adult role) and Denis character (Younger Role). As the younger “Yates Forsythe," each scene has a piece to a puzzle everyone is trying to figure out, including the childhood of Denis and Josh’s character.
Denis Shepard spent four months on location in Baton Rouge, LA, (doubling for Mississippi) this was his first time in the Deep South. "It's such a lovely city. I've always had a fascination with the South and that part of the country. I grew up in California, everything here is so new and modern and when you go back to places like that it's like a whole other world."
As for working with Josh Hartnett "We didn't have any scenes together," Shepard tells me. "I did have quite a bit of time to talk to Josh. I got to set a little early most of the days so I could sit and kind of watch and see how he was doing things. He actually took a lot of time to sit with me and get to know me a little bit and he was sharing all kinds of advice and stories and we were kind of collaborating on the character. He really took me under his wing, it was really cool."
You might recognize Denis from different roles over the years, most relevant, he guest stars on one of the most watched YOUTUBE Premium shows, ESCAPE THE NIGHT, along with starring in the Independent Short, “BOO,” which was accepted into 3 different film festivals. Denis also has regular appearances on the Jimmy Tatro Youtube Series with over 3 Million subscribers and has been involved with a handful of National commercials like, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Panera, Nissan, Volvoline, Samsung, LA Tourismand others.
Born and raised in Chatsworth, CA, Denis, a twin, who is a minute older than him, is 1 of 14 grand kids who moved to CA from NYC in the 1950’s and started a very successful egg ranch and brand called, Trafficanda Egg Ranch, where Denis still helps out to this day. He studied Film and TV producing with a business minor at the University of Arizona and was a very successful athlete, playing 5 different sports in high school.
Paradise Lost premieres on April 13th. 2020 where you can first catch it On Demand with Spectrum TV and before migrating to the Paramount Network.
