[Editor’s note: The following contains major spoilers for Find Me Falling.]

The Big Picture

‘Find Me Falling’ is a Netflix original about a rock star retreating to Cyprus, dealing with old flames and a secret.
Ali Fumiko Whitney stars in the film and also in #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead, a slasher flick.
Whitney shares her experiences working with Harry Connick Jr., her love for music, filming in Cyprus, and her future aspirations.

From writer/director Stelana Kliris, the Netflix original Find Me Falling follows John Allman (Harry Connick Jr.), a rock star who decides to hide out on the Mediterranean Island of Cyprus after a failed comeback album. But what he thinks will be a break where he can be left alone in a remote home by the cliff to figure out what’s next, soon turns into a surprise reunion with an old flame (Agni Scott) that has a big secret of her own. At the same time, John bonds with a young singer named Melina (Ali Fumiko Whitney), who helps him reconnect with his love of music.

After checking out her stand-out performance in Find Me Falling, you can also catch Whitney in the slasher #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead, in theaters and on-demand on August 2nd. When a group of college friends rent an Airbnb for a weekend of partying, things take a terrifying turn. As they are murdered one by one according to their sin, the mystery of who is responsible and why continues to build to its eventual big reveal.

During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Whitney talks about what she learned from working with Connick Jr., who she’s been a fan of since she was a kid, why the project was a dream come true, singing in another language, getting to spend time in Cyprus, and what it was like to meet her movie parents. She also discussed what drew her to the slasher film #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead, even though she admits to being a chicken when it comes to watching them, why Worth the Wait was such a special project, having always known she wanted to be an entertainer, and what she hopes to do in the future.

Find Me Falling (2024) Find Me Falling follows aging rock star John Allman who retreats to a secluded cliffside home on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus after a failed comeback album. Seeking solitude to reignite his creative spark, his plans are disrupted by unexpected visitors and the reappearance of an old flame. Release Date July 19, 2024 Director Stelana Kliris Cast Harry Connick Jr. , Agni Scott , Ali Fumiko Whitney , Tony Demetriou , Angeliki Filipidou , Lea Maleni , Athina Roditou , Clarence Smith

Collider: Find Me Falling is such a sweet, fun movie. It’s a different take from what we normally see with romantic movies, focusing instead on the parents. And the added focus on music sets it apart.

ALI FUMIKO WHITNEY: Yeah, I’ve been a fan of [Harry Connick Jr.] since I was a kid. I grew up listening to his Christmas albums, and his When Harry Met Sally album was my favorite. Getting to work with him and listen to him sing was pretty spectacular. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to do something that cool again.

You essentially got to have your own private concert from him.

WHITNEY: Not only that, but I also got to see the way he works, as a human being. He’s an icon. Like you said, this is a really unique love story that focuses on a second chance at love and on the parents rather than on the children. It was really special to get to follow him. He’s an incredible leading man, obviously, but to see how he ran the set, he’s just so kind and warm. I think having someone who’s number one on the call sheet run a set with so much compassion and respect for everyone on set, really made it such a great experience.

Ali Fumiko Whitney Was Equally Excited and Terrified About Singing in ‘Find Me Falling’
Image via Netflix

When you read this script and realized everything that you would be doing, what were you most excited about and what were you also most nervous about?

WHITNEY: Everyone always thinks I’m lying when I say this, but I always show up to set with so much excitement, and also petrified by nerves, because you never know. It was such a big opportunity and so exciting. When I read this script, I was really excited that music was such a big part of it. My background is actually in musical theater. I went to UCLA for their School of Theater, Film, and Television. You always dream, as someone who studied musical theater, about getting to do a film that has music incorporated into it. That’s not always something we see, especially with an A-lister like Harry attached. So, I was just really excited to get to collaborate on music and film together. But with that being said, I was also terrified. I had never done singing in this world. I had done it on stage and live in the theater, but to do it in a studio and to learn how that works, and then to translate that to the screen, it was a huge learning experience for me. Harry was really helpful because that’s his world. I would say I was equally as terrified as I was excited to be able to sing on camera and in front of an entire crew and Harry. Probably also speaking Greek, I would say that was something I was very nervous about, just because I wanted to do it justice. I have such love and respect for the people of Cyprus, so I really wanted to make sure I did them proud. And I had a lot of help from coaches and my lovely director, Stelana [Kliris]. Hopefully, it turned out great and people love it.

Had you ever sung in another language?

WHITNEY: It’s funny, when I was at UCLA, I really found myself gravitating towards language. I wanted to minor in linguistics, actually, my sophomore year, but unfortunately, with scheduling, I couldn’t take all the classes needed to graduate in four years. I did take Spanish. I took Spanish for 10 years. I would say, if you put on any radio station now, you’ll find Bad Bunny and even Jennifer Lopez, and they’re all singing in Spanish. I’ve definitely sung in different languages, not professionally, but singing along to the radio. That was the biggest challenge, in terms of learning the meaning of what I was singing first, and then phonetically how to pronounce it, and then doing it all for camera, where it’s up close and you can’t really lie. It was definitely a challenge, but I welcomed it. I love learning different languages, so it was actually really fun to get to do that. I feel really lucky that this project even gave me that opportunity.

It’s cool how many different ways you get to sing in this film. You get to sing on stage, you get the quieter moment on the couch with Harry Connick Jr. playing the acoustic guitar, and you get the studio scenes. It really covers every aspect of singing.

WHITNEY: I just love the character of Melina. Music is her love. She says in the film, music isn’t a career for her. It’s her life and her passion. To get to sing in all different facets, within a studio, and then live, and there’s a serenade, it was really cool. I’m just so grateful. I look back at that time in my life and I’m like, “Wow, I got to live in a foreign country that is spectacularly beautiful, and I got to work with Harry Connick Jr., and I got to sing and get paid to do it.” That’s crazy to me, and it’s so cool.

Cyprus Had So Much To Offer the Cast and Crew of ‘Find Me Falling’

How much time did you actually get to spend in Cyprus? Did you get to go off and do anything while you were there? Did spend any time with your castmates outside of work?

WHITNEY: I think filming on location is the best. First off, it helps you, as an actor. You don’t have to pretend, you’re actually living it. You’re stepping onto this beautiful location where you’re looking at the ocean every day. We were fortunate that Cyprus is a very small, tight-knit community and they actually have a phenomenal crew of people who work there all the time together. Really, it was like joining a family when I got there. I was there by myself for around two or two and a half months, and it was really hot. I didn’t know anyone going into it, but as soon as I met the cast and crew, everyone was just so inclusive and so friendly. Because we were American, they wanted us to experience their culture to the fullest, so I really did get to explore a lot. I got to go into the mountains. Omodos is one of my favorite towns that we went to. We filmed the majority of Find Me Falling in Nicosia, which is the capital city. And then, we also got to go to the beach city of Paphos, which was stunning. Harry and I took definitely advantage of trying to sight-see as much as we could. We did a boat day and an ATV day, and he took me along for both of those adventures, which is really cool.

I just kept thinking that if the food was as good as it looked in the movie, you guys were probably eating all the time.

WHITNEY: Oh, it was a problem. I had Halloumi three times a day, every day I was there. Everyone who was from Cyprus would laugh at me and be like, “Ali, you’re gonna go back to America and your cholesterol is gonna be through the roof.” I was like, “But we don’t have this back home.” They have the most fresh, delicious seafood and chicken. Halloumi was probably my favorite, Halloumi with honey. Oh, my gosh, it was just to die for. When you put that in front of me, it’s impossible to not eat it all the time.

What was it like to actually meet your movie parents? What was the moment you met Harry Connick Jr. and Agni Scott like?

WHITNEY: Agni is just a doll. She is so sweet. We were two weeks into shooting when I first met her. She’s actually from Cyprus, originally, so it was really great to have her there because I was coming from the States, and she was able to gently guide me and really help me create this character and family bond between Melina and her mother. She just made it so easy. She’s such a professional, but she’s also such a bright light. I really felt lucky. That’s not always the case that you have amazing co-stars, and in my case, I really did, in all different facets of the film. She was fantastic. To this day, she’ll still text me and be like, “How’s my beautiful daughter? I miss you.” That was pretty cool, to have such a great offscreen relationship with her.

And then, with Harry, the day before we filmed, our director and producers set up a meet and greet dinner to ease everyone into getting to know each other. That was really nice because sometimes you really do meet your co-stars the first day you’re on set. It’s actually really nice to have a day before, just to sit down, share a meal, and go around and introduce yourself. Harry has three daughters who are around my age, and two of them were with him while we were shooting. And since I was there by myself, he really adopted me into his family. I got to spend time with his daughters, Kate and Georgia. I just feel grateful that he was so warm and open and really wanted to spend time with me off-screen. I feel like we spent more time together off-screen than onscreen, if you can believe me. We would wrap and he’d be like, “What are you doing for dinner? Come over, I’m making gumbo.” And I’d go to his place and he’d cook us dinner, which was great.

How was the experience of singing the song with Harry Connick Jr. when you were on stage together? She doesn’t even know that this character is her father, and he lets her know while he’s singing a song with her drunk. What was that moment like to experience with an audience full of people?

WHITNEY: I feel like Harry knocked it out of the park in that scene. Sometimes it’s weird and hard to authentically play drunk, so he had the harder job there. I just got to react off of him. He really did a good job at holding in. He’s obviously angry. There’s been this secret, this daughter that he’s had that he didn’t know about. In that moment, I really just reacted off him as he did his thing. I was staring at Agni, my mother who was mortified, seeing what was happening. And everyone else in the audience did a good job of just being dead silent and staring. In that moment even though there are cameras, it’s quiet, this guy just yelled that you’re his kid in your face and he’s like stumbling, and I had the easy job of getting to react off everyone else. That was a pretty intense scene. That was probably the most intense scene that we filmed, the whole shoot.

Ali Fumiko Whitney Has Always Wanted to Be an Entertainer
Image via Netflix

You’ve mentioned that your character says, “Music isn’t a career.” I would imagine there are also plenty of people that would say the same thing about acting or any other career in the arts. Have you ever shared that thought or doubt with your own career. or have you always been very focused on knowing what you want to do?

WHITNEY: It’s funny, I grew up knowing I wanted to do this. My mother was an actress back in the eighties and she was a protective mother. Having gone through the struggles of the entertainment life, she was – I don’t wanna say against it because that might be too harsh – a little bit cautious to let her kids go into the industry. I grew up just outside of New York City and I remember begging her, from a young age, to bring me to auditions. I had friends that would go in to do either Broadway auditions or commercials, and my mom always said, “Nope. You go to school and get a degree. And then, if you still wanna do this after, then you can pursue it.” So, it wasn’t really until I was 17 that I decided I was gonna go for it and try to train and become a professional. That’s what I went to college for.

It’s a tough, just like any artistic career. It’s hard and there are definitely moments where you go, “Am I good at this? Did I make the right decision?” You have to have a really good community of people behind you, who just pick you up when you’re down. And this is definitely a highlight for me right now. I know Melina says that it’s not a career, but for me, it’s a highlight in my career, as an actress who’s been at this for quite a while. I’m just really excited to share this with my community of people – my parents, my family, my friends, and the teachers who have supported me. A lot of people share that feeling of, “We love doing it, but it’s also painful sometimes. The reality is that most of it is full of rejection.” When you put so much pressure on the word career, sometimes it can mean you have to make something of yourself versus if you just do something for the love of it. So, I’m gonna celebrate this win for me.

Was it seeing your mother and what she did as an actress that made you want to do it, or was it seeing a movie or a specific performance? What actually connected the dots for you and made you decide to do this and to take it seriously?

WHITNEY: Definitely growing up with my mom influenced me into this industry, a hundred percent. She took a step back once she had children, but all of her friends were still performers. I have memories, as young as four years old, going to see Beauty and the Beast on Broadway because her friends were in it, and getting to go backstage and meet the actors and tour the sets and just being so enthralled by everything about that life. Sound of Music, with Julie Andrews, is the movie that made my mom wanna be an actress, so I grew up watching a lot of movie musicals. I also watched Natalie Wood in West Side Story. I had the VHS tape, and I remember watching it over and over again and just being absolutely in love with it. So, my mom influenced me, just by raising me in a household full of music and great culture, with film and TV. So, yeah, thanks mom.

If you ever got the opportunity to do a straight movie musical that wasn’t just singing in a movie, would you want to do a remake of something that you love, or would you want to do something new that people haven’t seen before?

WHITNEY: Oh, that’s a tough one. I’m a sucker for classics. I don’t know if I’d ever wanna touch something that people have grown up loving. Why fix something if it’s not broken? But that’s not to say, if the opportunity came, I wouldn’t have to consider it. For sure, originating a role has always been a dream of mine, especially in a movie musical. That would be an absolute dream come true, to do that.

Did you shoot #AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead before or after Find Me Falling?

WHITNEY: I shot All My Friends Are Dead exactly a year after.

1:37 Related VIDEO: #AMFAD | Exclusive Red Band Trailer | Cineverse An exclusive look at “#AMFAD’ starring Jade Pettyjohn and JoJo Siwa, slashing its way to the big screen August 2.

What drew you to that project? Are you a fan of slasher movies?

WHITNEY: I did not grow up watching horror movies. I’m a chicken when it comes to them. As an artist, something I love about being an actor is getting to do all different types of projects. My first project ever (The Road Dance) was a period WWI drama, set in the Outer Hebrides. And then, Find Me Falling was this amazing modern romance story that takes place on a beautiful island. And then, to go do something completely different, like a horror/slasher comedy, just really excited me because I wanted to challenge myself to do something really out there and different from what I’ve done. Also, Jade Pettyjohn was attached, and I’ve followed her career and loved her work, so I was excited about that. JoJo Siwa was attached, so that was another element of it being something different because I didn’t know she would do a horror movie. And just the ensemble aspect of it. When I read the script, I thought, “If they get this cast right, this is gonna be such a fun experience to improv and work off one another.” And it turned out to be such a great experience because the cast was so fantastic. I’m actually really excited for people to see me in that because it’s very different from what I’ve done before.

Is there a very different vibe on set when you’re shooting a project where you know if the title of the movie is any indication, at least most of the characters are going to end up dead, and you’re going to keep saying goodbye to cast members?

WHITNEY: It was funny, one by one, we were slowly dropping off like flies. Suddenly, the call sheet got smaller and smaller and smaller, until it was just one person. We shot that film in 12 days, which is incredibly fast. It was a really quick shoot with long days, and we were all together the entirety of the shoot, except for the last four or five days when people who were no longer alive and didn’t make it to the end weren’t there for the end of filming. That just made us wanna spend more time together. Also, when we had days off, we would still hang out. The fact that we bonded so quickly and so closely really helped our onscreen chemistry and made it more fun. We knew, “One of us is gonna die today. Who’s it gonna be?”

Things Got Messy During the Slasher Shoot for ‘#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead’

What was it like to shoot the more intense moments in that? Especially for the scene when you’re in the bathtub, it’s a movie and it’s not real, but is it still bizarre to do something like that? What is your headspace in a moment like that?

WHITNEY: I get asked, “What do you do to prepare for a moment like that?,” and my answer is always that I’m really big into making playlists. As actors, we prep and we do research, but with this specific film, it’s a modern-day millennial/Gen Z type of banter and script. I didn’t have to search deep within me to go into this character. But for that specific moment in the bathtub, I listened to a lot of specifically Limp Bizkit before going into that. I was like, “Okay, I need to get in the headspace that something crazy is about to happen.” So, I just kept listening to a lot of heavy metal/rock music, and then took my robe off and got in there. They said, “Action!,” and I felt like that got me in the mood for the craziness that was about to ensue. I won’t give too much away, but it was definitely messy. There are lots of fun pictures. I’m excited to share all the behind the scenes content because there are some ridiculous photos of what we looked like at the end of a long day.

You’ve also done Worth the Wait. What is that about and how does your character fit into that world?

WHITNEY: I actually filmed All My Friends Are Dead and Worth the Wait back-to-back. There were two days of turnover between finishing All My Friends Are Dead and starting Worth the Wait. They both filmed in Vancouver, so I was really lucky that I got to do both. Worth the Wait is an entirely Asian/Asian American cast, which was amazing. I’m half Japanese, so it was definitely a goal of mine to try to seek out projects where I get to authentically portray my ethnicity. My character is Riley, and the way I would describe Worth the Wait is that it’s a rom-com that follows the structure of Love, Actually, which is one of my favorite movies. It’s a bunch of love stories – I believe there’s six – and they are all intertwined and connected to each other. As the movie progresses, you discover how the people are all connected to one another.

I got to work with Sung Kang, who is a legend in the Fast and Furious franchise. I’m sure most people have heard of him. I had never actually experienced what it was like to be a celebrity until I worked with him. We would go out to grab gelato or a bite to eat, and people would walk behind us, thinking they were being discreet, but whispering, “Oh, my God, it’s him! It’s him!” I felt like I was his bodyguard. I’d be like, “Oh, do you guys want a picture?” He was just so lovely and so kind, and he really appreciates his fan base. That was a cool experience, getting to work with such a huge, world-renowned name that everyone was obsessed with. I got to get a glimpse of that. He’d be like, “And this is my co-star, Ali Fumiko Whitney.” And I’d be like, “Hey!”

He plays my uncle in the film, and it’s a totally different side of him. I’m actually excited for this to come out because he said that his wife was saying, “It’s time for you to play a different part. I wanna see you play a softer side.” And he does a really good job in this film. I’m excited for people to see him in it. We’ve also got Lana Condor, who’s just an incredible human and talent, and Ross Butler, and Andrew Koji. We had an insane cast. I look back on these crazy life/career moments and am just grateful and appreciating this time in my life. I’m getting to work with all these fantastic actors, and you learn so much from getting to work with people like that.

Since your first movie, you’ve done a variety of different types of projects and characters. How different do you feel, as an actress, now than you did when you made the first movie?

WHITNEY: I feel different, in that I’m more comfortable with the technical aspects of film. When I did The Road Dance, that was my first feature film. Coming from a theater background and an onstage background, it’s very different. There are a lot of differences in the way you act for camera and the way you act onstage. I feel a little bit more comfortable now. Even reading a call sheet, it sounds so silly, but that was something that I had never done, up until I did my first film. I’ve learned now, how you read a call sheet and where to look for your call times. If you’re number seven, you always look for the number seven. I think there’s a different a level of confidence in myself. I feel more grounded, as a performer, but I still get nervous. I’m not gonna say, “I feel so comfortable.” I still always get nervous before going onto set for a new project, which is because I get excited. The second I’m too comfortable, maybe then I’ll know, “Okay, it’s time to walk away.” But I don’t think I’ll ever get there. I always get so excited to read a new script and meet a new group of people. I just feel really lucky. It’s crazy to think back to where I was, and the cool things that I have coming out now.

Ali Fumiko Whitney Has Very Clear Goals in Mind When It Comes to Creating Work For Herself
Image via Netflix

Do you know what you’re going to be doing next? Have you thought about looking for a character that you could play over a longer period of time because there are so many cool projects being done in TV and streaming?

WHITNEY: TV is definitely a goal of mine. My manager and I constantly are looking for great projects to put myself out there for. On a more personal level, I really wanna try to find more projects like Worth the Wait, where it’s highlighting and representing Asian talent. My sister (Rachel Michiko Whitney) is in the industry as well and she has done something that I hopefully, one day, will get to be able to do, where she’s created a network of people so that she can find an idea, find an Asian American writer and director, turn it into something, and then cast herself in it. So, I would definitely say that creating work for myself is a goal of mine. I’d love to find a group of creatives and create a project that I feel passionate about. My grandparents met in the internment camps in WWII, so telling their story has always been something I feel very passionate about. That would definitely be on my list of goals to achieve. And then, also, theater. I’m still chipping away auditioning for Broadway. Keep your eyes peeled, I’m hoping to one day make it to a Broadway stage, as well.

Find Me Falling is available to stream on Netflix. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Netflix