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Bruce McGill in the role of George Osmond... Bruce was somewhat familiar with the Osmonds before he received his role with "Inside The Osmonds." He had never met a member of the Osmond family prior to his involvement with this movie, but had seen them perform on television. "I've watched tapes, read Fathers' columns: Letters to Fans, and talked to the boys playing the Osmonds," (in preparation for his role). "It is an interesting family story, touching on the complex relationship in any family, amplified in this case by their fame, and complicated by their beliefs. The scenes we have time for (we could use four hours instead of two!), are charged with the ups and downs, difficulties, and triumphs, of a pop music phenomenon, and of a family. Very meaty stuff to explore as actors. I feel that long time Osmond fans will really enjoy this retrospective view, and people who were not familiar with the Osmonds will have their eyes opened a bit about these talented, disciplined, very hard working performers." ~ Bruce McGill Shane Davidson in the role of Tom Osmond... "I remember watching Donny & Marie when I was little." Regarding how he went about studying for his role, Shane shared, "I've learned to sign Tom's lines. Coincidentally, the night I auditioned for the part, I came home and there was a special on television about the Osmonds!" "It's exciting to relive and experience a piece of entertainment history such as the Osmonds. I hope the fans enjoy it." ~ Shane Davidson Miklos Perlus in the role of Jay Osmond... "I was familiar with the Osmonds through Donny's role in Joseph, the Donny and Marie Show, and my mother's infatuation with the Osmond Brothers. Yes, she was a big fan of theirs back in the 70s."
Mik had never met any of the Osmonds prior to his part with this movie, but had seen Donny perform "Joseph" in Toronto. When asked about how he prepared for his role in this movie, Mik replied, "As research, I've read everything I could find on the internet about Jay and the Osmonds. I read parts of Donny's autobiography, learned to play the drums, watched hours of video footage of the Osmonds on tour and on televsion, and finally, I spoke to Jay Osmond himself." " I consider it a great honour that I was chosen to be in this film, and I hope that Osmond fans everywhere love watching it as much as I have loved performing in it." ~ Miklos Perlus Patrick Levis in the role of the older Donny Osmond... When asked if he was familiar with the Osmonds prior to receiving his role with "Inside The Osmonds," Patrick replied, "I knew Donny from 'Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,' and I knew of the 'Donny & Marie' talk show."
"My main source of study was Donny's book, 'Life is Just What You Make It - My Story So Far.' Why? It's the real Donny Osmond. It reveals a lot of the real-life situations and struggles that took place behind the scenes when he was performing as a teen and into his 20s. I play Donny from age 16 to age 22. A lot of things happened during that timeframe for him. Lots of fun times, lots of tough times. The hardest part for me has been trying to figure out how Donny interacted with different people behind all the performance, and what he was really feeling inside. Interacting with him on set was quite helpful, but his book has been such an incredible eye-opener." "This movie shows a very different Donny Osmond than what people know him to be from television at the time. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go with the emotion in the movie. But, Donny sort of gave me the 'go ahead' when we met, by explaining straightforwardly that it wasn't all fine and dandy all the time. It was hard. He said that he didn't really like the spotlight a lot of the time. When he told me that, it seemed like he was really reliving the mix of emotions he felt 25 years ago. Seeing such meaningfulness in his eyes, and hearing him say, 'It was hard. It was really tough,' showed me exactly where I needed to go in the emotional arch of this film. It was exciting. And encouraging!" "Here's what I have to say about this move…you can't recreate, entirely, a family like the Osmonds. No group of actors could ever completely relive the lives of these amazing performers! What this movie will do is cause you to remember. It will take you back to the fun of Osmondmania." ~ Patrick Levis Thomas Dekker in the role of the younger Donny Osmond... Thomas was familiar with the Osmonds prior to getting the role of young Donny in "Inside The Osmonds," though he had never met any of the family. His mother is a big fan of the Osmonds, she's from Britain and remembers all of the screaming fans during the 70s. With his mother being a fan, he had already seen videos of the Osmonds performing. Thomas really likes the Osmonds' music, especially "One Bad Apple," his favorite. Thomas studied for his role by renting videos and watching the Osmonds perform. The production company had CD's of Osmond music, as well as a tape of the Osmonds dancing, to further help his studies after he won the role. Having Jimmy Osmond at the set when production began was a big help too, he would guide everyone saying, "This isn't right, here's how it was," etc. " Jimmy was just great, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to meet him," said Thomas.
The concert shots are actually performed by the actors, with some songs being filmed before an audience of 1,000 screaming extras! On "Honey I Shrunk the Kids," Thomas sang and danced as well, but said, "I've never performed the role of a mega star!" Thomas feels the movie will be great, and said, "The actors are not trying to BE Osmonds, but are trying to bring that energy from the beginning of the Osmonds' super-stardom to the screen." Filming was really fun for Thomas. Thomas and some of the other actors were cast in L.A., while others were cast in Toronto. During the course of filming, and the time they spent together preparing for scenes, Thomas said, "It was funny, we really started to feel like brothers." Prior to his meeting Donny Osmond for the first time, Thomas was asked how he thought he would feel when he met Donny Osmond, and replied, "It will be so interesting! I can't imagine the real Donny there while I am acting out the part of young Donny. I feel it will be an amazing experience. Having the opportunity to play Donny Osmond is such a tremendous thrill and honor." Thomas' role as Donny will go from a little before the One Bad Apple period of time, to right before Puppy Love, until "Donny" is about 14 years old. Patrick Levis then comes in to play Donny during the Donny & Marie Show era. Thomas is 12 years old now, but started his career back at the age of five! He feels he's been very fortunate to have some wonderful roles, but his part in "Inside The Osmonds" is described as, "…the ultimate role for me so far." He loves 70s styles, so he had a lot of fun with the costumes, wigs, etc. used in the movie. Thomas even had a lesson in sign language so he could talk to his onscreen brothers, Virl and Tom. "Inside The Osmonds" was a great time for Thomas, and he thinks fans are really going to enjoy this movie. ~ Thomas Dekker Taylin Wilson in the role of the younger Marie Osmond...
"When I first found out I was going to be in this movie I was thrilled. I finally got my first movie. I am an only child so I was happy to feel what it's like to have eight brothers! All of the real Osmonds are so nice! While filming this movie I made good friends with Thomas (young Donny) and Taylor (young Jimmy). They were the only ones around my age. This was a great experience. I met new people, made new friends and became an Osmond!" Young Taylin was not familiar with the Osmonds prior to her receiving the role of young Marie. She did watch their performances on video footage and listened to many of their CD's. "Marie is a wonderful role to play, and I have learned a lot about the whole family. I think the movie will be great for Osmond fans because they will get to relive the highlights and turning points of their career." ~ Taylin Wilson Taylor Abrahamse in the role of the younger Jimmy Osmond...
Tammy Gillis in the role of Mary Osmond... Tammy was familiar with the Osmonds prior to receiving her role as Mary Osmond in "Inside The Osmonds." She hadn't seen any of the Osmonds perform, however she had watched Donny & Marie on their talk show. To prepare for her role, Tammy checked out the Osmond website, talked to the director of the movie, and read on material from the library. "I feel privileged to have been given a part of this film. I feel it's important to the Osmond family to show what really happened, and for people to appreciate all the hard work they did." ~ Tammy Gillis  A very special thank you to the actors who so generously gave of their time to share their insight and comments on "Inside The Osmonds."
Inside the Osmonds
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Intro
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The Cast
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Osmonds' Views |
Actors' Views
The above information was used by permission of von Zerneck/Sertner Films. |
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