EXCLUSIVE | 'Sons of Thunder: Redemption' star Charlene Amoia felt surreal after 'HIMYM's success
Last week saw the debut of 'Sons of Thunder' spin-off series, titled 'Sons of Thunder: Redemption', on Pureflix. The first part of the show was released in 2019 and became a huge success. The story was amazing and the show featured a lot of amazing characters. So, the makers decided to explore the life story of one of the characters and came up with 'Sons of Thunder: Redemption'. The show focuses on a wide range of characters, but one character that has surely nabbed all the attention is none other than Sandy, who is played by the supremely talented and beautiful Charlene Amoia.
Amoia has been a part of the industry since 2001 and has been a part of several high-end projects such as 'How I Met Your Mother', 'The Young and The Restless', 'Days of Our Lives', and many more. Even though she feels that she joined the industry pretty late, whenever she has arrived on the screen, she has shown how talented she is. She was recently seen in the third 'Conjuring' movie and did an exceptional job.
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With the arrival of her new show, she is once again trying to weave magic on screen. So, MEAWW caught up with Charlene Amoia and discussed the new Pureflix series. She also opened up about how her stint in 'How I Met Your Mother' changed her life.
Q) Congratulations on your new show 'Sons of Thunder: Redemption', but before we talk about the show, we would love to know more about you. So, you started your career with modeling, and then you transitioned to acting. Did you always want to be an actor?
Charlene: No, I didn’t actually. I fell into modeling just because a woman who was working for my dad needed a replacement for a job she was doing and so, her agent signed me and sent me for an audition. I was already in college at that time and I just really fell in love with it from that audition. I got a feeling like ‘Oh, what was that?’ That was the moment I thought I really needed to follow that feeling. So, that was the beginning for me. But I feel I came into the game pretty late as I wasn’t a child actor and didn’t pursue it at all until I had that opportunity.
Q) So now, coming back to the show 'Sons of Thunder: Redemption'. The series premiered on January 13th and has received positive reviews from everywhere. For those, who haven't yet tuned in, tell us something more about the series and what should the fans be expecting?
Charlene: The show is all about ‘Redemption’. It’s about an ex-motor cycle gang member, Jacob (Rocky Myers), who has just been released from prison and hopes to find his loved ones from the past. These are the same people that he has hurt in the past. My character, Sandy, I am his ex-fiance and he is trying hard to find me. I live on a ranch and my life is peaceful and doesn’t want to do anything with him (laughs). However, we bump into each and all the previous feelings come up. All my anger and bitterness arise, so I am left to deal with him, who just decides to stay and try to be helpful at the ranch. Our relationship grows throughout the series and you see that people can change and there’s always room for growth and forgiveness in every situation.
Q) Your character, Sandy, is bitter in the beginning and has gone through a lot of hardships and heartbreaks. So, how did your character come up? and what was the audition procedure like?
Charlene: They sent me two scenes from the first episode where he surprises me on the ranch and I am angry that he’s here and want him to leave. But they later develop a relationship and I am really confiding in him as a friend. I open my heart up for friendship. I had to just explore both, the feelings of the past and what I’ve been living with this the whole time and then potentially what could our future relationship look like. It was just that audition and they sent that to the casting team and I got the job. I was on the set and we were doing six episodes in order. It was great.
Q) 'Sons of Thunder' came in 2019 and received positive reviews. 'Redemption' is the newest addition. What made you excited about the series?
Charlene: I watched the first season (‘Sons of Thunder’) as soon as I got the role. I signed up for Pure Flix and learned a little bit more about the network and the stuff they were producing. This is a true spin-off because there are no characters from the first part, but the thing was the through-line was that these two men were in the same motorcycle gang who have changed and they are now putting out good things in the world instead of bad. That’s what I liked about the first part and this one, it’s pretty exciting because there are more people in the group this time and every character has a back story. It was a lot of fun to shoot and I hope, it’s fun to watch.
Q) So, the entire series has been really intense and it has a lot of religious stuff as well. These kinds of shows can be really heavy, intense, and even take a toll on an actor. How exhausting did it get for you while doing the show? and were there times when you felt that you needed to disconnect so that it doesn't get stuck with you.
Charlene: I have certainly had to do that with some of my previous roles. Sandy, my character, had to deal with feelings of betrayal and anger but it wasn’t that intense that I really had to break myself off of it. The character was easy to relate to and it was to jump back into normal life. The biggest challenge with the series was just the short amount of time that we had to shoot six episodes and the fact that we were constantly jumping from one episode to the next and then backward again. So, just mapping out the emotional journey for each of us and remembering where we were because we sometimes shoot multiple episodes in a day, I believe, that was challenging.
Q) You have such a diverse resume. From 'HIMYM' to 'Birds of Prey' and 'The Conjuring'. How has your journey been and which genre has been particularly challenging for you as an actor? How did 'HIMYM' help your career?
Charlene: I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to do a little bit of everything. Things really started moving for me with my first sit-com ‘Joey’, which was a spin-off of ‘Friends’ and then ‘How I Met Your Mother’. From that point, I was giving auditions for half-hour comedy shows which are something that I love the most. In between, I was able to do these one-hour shows. I feel fortunate that I have been able to exercise both elements and down the road, do some horror films and a DC film as well. I think that’s partly because I’ve been available to audition for these kinds of stuff and not locked into something. An actor’s life is unique because you are constantly meeting new people and traveling to new environments and new cities. That was certainly something that appealed to me when I embarked on this journey.
As far as ‘HIMYM’ is concerned, I didn’t know what it was going to be for me in long term at all. Initially, I was booked for just one episode and the producers liked me enough to keep bringing me back. Each episode was a surprise because I was never under any contract. They kept calling and I kept saying yes and the series ultimately became so popular. None of us knew that going into it and it changed my career. It was surreal
Q) How was your experience in working with James Wan and all the other 'Conjuring' stars? And how did you feel about being a part of such a massive franchise?
Charlene: Working on ‘The Conjuring’ was really exciting. I have always thought that the first ‘Conjuring’ movie is one of the best horror movies of all time. It is an extremely well-written movie, so when I got cast in the third one, I was really thrilled to be a part of the universe because I respected it so much. Everyone was so kind and we were like a little family during that time. I was playing against Patrick Wilson’s brother Paul Wilson and I got to hang out with him a little bit more. They are just a fun group of people.
Q) So, what's next for Charlene? Any new projects you have been working on?
Charlene: I will be starring in an independent movie that will be premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, but I don’t when it will be releasing in theatres. Currently, I am dubbing a Dutch movie in English.
