Jessica Rothe & Alex Roe On ‘Forever My Girl’ & Learning Southern Accents [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Jessica Rothe and Alex Roe star in the film Forever My Girl, which hit theaters Jan. 19. The story follows Liam Page (Roe) who left home at 18 in search of musical stardom, but with that left the love of his life, Josie (Rothe), at the altar. “Finally, eight years later, he has fallen into troubled ways,” Rothe told uInterview exclusively.

“[He] seemingly has everything that you think that you want  – fame, fortune and success – but he’s kind of empty inside,” Roe noted. “He’s lost his family, he’s lost the love of his life and has lost his connection to home and his roots, so it’s time for him to definitely go back home.”

The film is set in the South, and, with Rothe from Colorado and Roe from the U.K., both actors had to take lessons to grasp the accent for the movie. “We had a couple of sessions with a dialect coach who helped us pick out certain sounds, but it was just maybe two one-hour sessions,” Roe said. “Luckily our director [Bethany Ashton Wolf] is from Louisiana, so if there was anything that needed to be tweaked or anything, she could give us advice. But we grow up with so much American TV back home, so we’ve heard all of these accents a lot of times.”

Rothe even got a real-life ‘date’ with Roe to an Atlanta Braves game. “I just loved and appreciated what a team we got to be, in this whole process,” Rothe said. “It was an incredibly collaborative process, and we worked really hard on and off set to develop this very intense and real connection that you would have if you had known someone almost your entire life… But I loved some of the more quiet, intimate scenes, because we got to explore that space and explore that amazing electrical tension with the person that you’re supposed to be with. My other favorite moment – Alex actually took me to a Braves game when we first got to Atlanta as a Liam and Josie date, and that was one of my favorite things that we did the whole time we were there.”

While neither actor has ever left a significant other at the altar, both had their own ways of relating to the film. “I can relate as far as, I’m from England and I’ve come out to America, and each year I seem to spend more and more time out here, so I can definitely relate to the difficulty of the juggle,” said Roe. “But I haven’t necessarily run away the same way that he has, or left anyone behind apart from family.”

“The thing I could really relate to in this story was how sometimes it’s not the right moment,” Rothe added. “Even if Liam hadn’t left, I don’t think either of them were really ready to be in that relationship, and it might have fizzled out. Sometimes you need growth and space and time to figure out who you are before you jump into a relationship, and I think both of them needed that.”

Full interview transcript below:

Jessica Rothe and Alex Roe

Q: What’s the plot of the film?

Rothe: So ‘Forever My Girl’ follows the story of Liam Page, who has left his hometown to
pursue fame and fortune. But in leaving his hometown, he has left the love of his life at the
alter when he was 18. And when we find Liam 8 years later, he’s kind of fallen into troubled
ways, I would say. Do you agree with that?

Roe: Seemingly has everything you’d think you’d want, fame, fortune, and success, and all of
those things, but he’s kind of empty inside. He’s lost his family, the love of his life, and has lost
his connection to home and his roots, so it’s time for him to definitely go back home for sure.

Q: What did you learn about the Southern accent?

Roe: Both of us actually, Jessica doesn’t have a Southern accent either. We had a couple of
sessions with a dialect coach. He helped us pick out some sounds, but it was just kind of maybe
two one-hour sessions, and then luckily our directors from Louisiana too. So if there was
anything that needed to be tweaked a little bit, she could give us advice. We grow up with so
much American TV back home and American movies, so we’ve heard all of these accents a lot
of times, where you guys only hear British accents when awkward Brits like me come and talk
on the Telly.

Q: What was your favorite moment working on the film? 

Rothe: Oh, many. I just loved and appreciated what a team we got to be in this whole process.
It was an incredibly collaborative process, and we worked really hard on and off set to kind of
develop this very intense and real connection that you would have if you’ve known someone
your entire life and how comfortable you’d be, and also, how Josie can see right through Liam’s
façade. I really loved kind of the more quiet, intimate scenes because we got to explore that
space and explore that amazing electrical tension you have with the person you’re just
supposed to be with. But, my other favorite moments, Alex actually took me to a Braves game
when we were in Atlanta when we first got there, as a Liam and Josie date, and that was one of
my favorite things we did the whole time we were there.
Roe: Yeah that was pretty fun.

Q: Have either of you ever mistreated an ex?

Roe: I can relate as far as I’m from England, and I’ve come out to America and each year I seem
to spend more and more time out here. So I can definitely relate to the difficulty of the juggle,
but I haven’t necessarily run away the way he has or left anyone behind, apart from family, I try
to stay in touch with them.

Rothe: I have never left anyone at the altar, to my knowledge, I don’t think. But the thing that I
can really relate to in this story was how sometimes it’s not the right moment. Even if Liam
hadn’t left I don’t think either of them were really ready to be in that relationship, and it might
have fizzled out. Sometimes you need growth, and space, and time to find out who you really
are before you jump into a relationship. And I think both of them needed that.
Roe: I think Josie’s done a tremendous amount of blossoming and Liam kind of stayed on this
one track because he’s been surrounded by so many Yes people. But yeah, I think Josie’s
blossomed into this amazing woman who’s raised a child, and has an amazing community
around her. I think that makes Josie a very, very strong and interesting character.
Rothe: Thank you.