When most people think of actress Roma Downey, they think of her many acclaimed works that are faith-based, such as "Touched by an Angel," "The Bible," and "Son of God," to name a few.
Now, the Derry actress has spread her wings and is taking on a new challenge with her new production. She has released a Christmas movie starring Zooey Deschanel, Charlie Cox, and Gus the Dog, named "Merv."
Roma said: “I certainly - for many years I ran the faith and family division at MGM, and the division was called Lightworkers, and under my Lightworkers banner, I created a lot of inspirational content, from the 'Bible' series and the movie 'Son of God,' and then most recently on the Prime platform I had a film called on a 'Wing and a Prayer,' starring Dennis Quaid, and so there was always some element of hope and inspiration in this sort of faith friendly content.
“I'm interested in positive experiences in film.”
"Merv" is about a rescue dog who becomes depressed when his owners break up.
It is a rom-com about a rekindling romance; when the couple decides to take their dog on vacation, they reconnect.
Roma said how, in the film, Merv’s owner, played by Charlie Cox, books him into a friendly hotel resort in Florida to cheer the dog up. She described during this time a fun day they had on set.'
“One of the scenes that we had to film there was like a sort of a doggie theme park.
“It was so cute with all these different rides designed just for dogs, and so we put an ad in the local paper because we were looking for extras and we were looking for people to show up with their dogs, and hundreds of people showed up with their dogs that day, and I think that we just, well you know, people love their dogs.
“People who have dogs and love dogs will agree that you know a dog can just become a member of your family.
“You love the dog, your kids love the dog, and so we are counting on that people love their dogs, that people will enjoy seeing a film like 'Merv,' it's a family-friendly movie.”
"Merv" is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Roma discussed what it was like to work on the movie, which wrapped filming last November.
“It was a really fun production to work on," she said.
“It’s a feel-good, upbeat, happy, holiday story, and the actors are charming and lovely, and I am very happy with it and very proud of it.”
She added: “Gus was a lovely little dog to work with; he was very well behaved.”
Amusingly, Roma also stated: “Gus was great at hitting his mark and looking sweet, but Gus wasn't a very, um, he wasn't a great tail wagger. We had to get another dog with a little bit more energy for some of it, so if you are looking at the film, look really closely, and you might see a few different dogs used at different times, but it's a charming story.”
Merv is a rescue dog, and Roma described the importance of this in the story as she worked closely with a shelter during filming.
“Merv is a rescue dog, and I know that we had been talking to some of the rescue dog facilities here in the States, and they were really glad that we had selected to put that into the story.
“There are so many dogs, I think, that after Covid, a lot of people abandoned dogs that they had rescued, while we all were in lockdown, and so there's a lot of wee dogs in these facilities that just really need loving homes.”
Filming took place in Boston, with the weather being an aspect that reminded Roma of her hometown, Derry.
“The story is set in Boston, in winter, and you know if anybody has ever come through an East Coast of American winter, you know they can be quite severe, as indeed can a Derry winter.”
"Merv" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
On a more personal level, Roma also spoke about how she has had a long spanning successful career and how she is now taking a bit of time to enjoy all her hard work and appreciate more downtime.
“I have worked so hard and done so much throughout my career that I don't mind cutting myself a little bit of slack now.
“I don't feel the need to fill every moment of every day with busyness, you know, I'm learning to stop and smell the roses a little bit, and I'm enjoying that too.
“We have a house full of dogs here, and you'll never find me happier than on a quiet winter beach, with my dogs taking long walks.
“I'm hoping the next year brings just a good balance of work, of course, I've worked all my life, I don't know who I would be if I wasn't working.”
You can stream "Merv" on Amazon Prime here.
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