It’s not that Meghann Fahy has been underappreciated. Over the past three years, she’s earned two Emmy Award nominations for her stellar work on HBO’s “The White Lotus” and Netflix’s “Sirens.” That being said, there is something genuinely special about her performance in Max Walker-Silverman’s “Rebuilding” that feels completely new. She demonstrates a grounded sensitivity she’s rarely, if ever, been able to spotlight previously.
READ MORE: “Rebuilding” Review: Josh O’Connor Stars In A Tender Tale Of Wildfire Heartbreak [Sundance]
A world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Walker-Silverman’s drama centers on Dusty (Josh O’Connor), a rancher trying to get by after a disastrous wildfire destroys his home. He finds himself living in a FEMA trailer camp, almost in a trance over what to do next. His ex-wife Ruby (Fahy) does something smart. She makes him take his daughter, Cali Rose (Lily LaTorre), for a night or two every week to get him out of his funk. In the perephery is Ruby’s mother, Bess (Amy Madigan), who still has a fondness for Dusty and Mali (Kali Reis), a single mother in the camp, also doing whatever she can to move on from the wildfire.
As Ruby, Fahy has one particular scene that is utterly heartbreaking. It’s a startling moment that’s hard to forget. And it was just one of the subjects we discussed last week, as “Rebuilding” finally makes its way to your local theater.
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The Playlist: I first saw “Rebuilding” at Sundance – which was 10 months ago – but it’s one of those films that has stuck with me since, even though the countless movies and TV shows I’ve seen since. It’s such a special movie. When the script came your way, do you remember what popped about it?
Megann Fahy: Yeah, I think for starters, it was very different than anything I’d ever done. And I just really loved the way that Max was leaving room for the story to exist. He’s a very thoughtful filmmaker. He wasn’t pushing any of the moments. I sort of loved that it felt like a peek inside of this community’s life, and there was no, apart from obviously the devastating circumstances of the fires, there was no sort of dramatic thing between characters or anything. It was just sort of about these people coming together and about this man and his family navigating this difficult moment in choosing to show up for each other and stay and stick it out. And I just loved that so much.
And the crazy thing about it is you shot this over two years ago, correct?
Yeah.
Does that feel like another lifetime ago?
Yeah, it’s funny. It feels like two years, and then in other ways it feels like it was last summer to me. I don’t know why that is. I think it was just such a lovely experience, and being in Colorado and being in all of those locations felt like it was such an authentic filming experience. But yeah, it is always a strange thing when it takes a while for something to come out. But I think I’m still feeling really connected to the story, so it doesn’t really feel like it was that long ago.
I didn’t realize it had been shot that long ago until I was researching for this interview. Obviously, it premiered right after the LA fires, and the timeliness of its subject matter has not dissipated in any way. When you made it, did you realize how prevalent this issue of wildfire devastation was? Did it feel timely?
It did. I think because I think on a larger scale, it’s really global warming is here. So, we’re all feeling the effects of the change in the weather. It’s windier than it was. It’s drier than it was. The seasons are changing quicker. And obviously, I’ve had people that I love who have lived in LA for years who have either lost their homes or know somebody else who has, and that was before the last Palisades fires and all of that. So to me, yeah, it definitely felt like this is something that is affecting the entire world, and it did feel important at that time to be sort of telling this story, and then obviously, so unfortunately, how timely it became when it was screening at Sundance. I mean, it was a really emotional moment to be sitting there in that theater with so many people who had come in from LA. So many industry people who live there that you could just feel the sort of heaviness in the room in that moment. But I think ultimately this film is about hope and community, and I think that that is hopefully the taste that was left in everyone’s mouth when they finished watching the film.
Did Max tell you where his idea for the movie came from? And if there was anyone in his life who inspired your character, Ruby?
Specifically for my journey in the film, Joshua O’Connor’s and my characters play exes who share a child. And I think what I loved about their relationship is that it wasn’t really a love story. It wasn’t really about how they felt about each other, necessarily, or should they get back together or not. It was just them meeting each other where they are in life, and being a blended family happily, and offering each other love and support in a real way. And you don’t see that a lot in film. And I know that relationship was inspired a little bit by Max’s experience with his blended family as well, where it’s like there’s no contentiousness between Ruby and Dusty. They really genuinely want the best for each other. It might be a little awkward sometimes, but it’s not because there’s some horrible drama between the two of them that makes it impossible for them to be co-parents in this great way. So that I know was inspired a little bit by his personal experience.
So, when you were prepping for the role, did it even matter to you why Ruby and Dusty broke up? Or was a backstory unnecessary for this?
We did talk about it, and I think basically we sort of arrived at this place of, Dusty was really a cowboy before he lost the ranch in a way that it was kind of taking up all his time. So yeah, I think we ultimately decided that they probably went their separate ways because at a certain point, he was really committed to that, and I think Ruby wanted maybe something else out of a relationship that was ultimately what we kind of came to.
You mentioned there are no dramatic confrontations or anything that sort of pushes the plot in that way, but one of the most memorable scenes is one of the most emotional, where you are reading the letter from your mother, played by Amy Madigan. And I feel like you haven’t had that many opportunities to have moments like this on screen. Do you remember that day?
Yeah, I remember it vividly because I was really, really nervous beforehand. I just felt like I loved that scene so much and it felt so important and I was really, really afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to get myself into a place where I would’ve been happy with how it went, which is always sort of the pressure of when you have a scene that is overtly written as being emotional and that’s the expectation. It’s really hard. It’s hard to sort of know how you’re going to feel in it. And I just think I got really lucky because it was written so sweetly and simply and so honestly by Max. So that did most of the work for me. And then also staged by Max in a beautiful way, where it’s at the table with Josh and Robbie, and our daughter played by Lily. And so there was this sort of sense of support built into it, just having those people that I loved sitting next to me. And yeah, I think I was sort of surprised by how taken I was with the words of that and what it all meant to all of them. And we did shoot it for a really long time, and I don’t know, it was just this crazy day where I just was in it. I don’t know. I got really lucky because that’s not always the case.
What you say, you shot it for a really long time. I would never have guessed that.
Yeah, it was hours.
I would’ve just assumed three takes or something for that.
Well, because there were so many people around the table, we had to shoot a lot of different setups, and it was such an important scene. I think they really wanted to make sure that they got it right. And so yeah, we spent a while on it because of those technical components of getting the different angles and stuff.
Can you watch that scene? Can you recognize how good you are in it?
I do struggle to feel that way, no matter what. I think it’s really hard to watch myself and think like, “Oh yeah, I wouldn’t change anything about that,” but I’m getting better at just letting it go. And I did sit through the film when it was at Sundance because I really love the movie, and I wanted to see how it felt with a bunch of other people watching it too. So yeah, of course, anytime I’m on screen, it’s like I want to crawl into my shirt, but I’m trying to just be more mature and kind of say, “I’m here to watch this film. Who cares about me?” It’s just about the movie, but it’s vulnerable. So it can be tough.
It can be. It’s also so rare to find a child actor in a film who doesn’t come off as overbearing and mannered. Lili LaTorre, the actress who plays Cali Rose, is so natural in so many ways, but what was it like on set? Could you tell she was bringing something grounded, even for such a young performer?
I mean, I pretty much knew right away she has this unbelievably sparkly, magical energy, and she’s deeply curious as a human, and she really wants to know about stuff. She asks a lot of questions, which I think is a really, really lovely thing. And I also think a huge asset that she has is she has an incredible mother on set with her who is not at all a stage mom and is so good at explaining things to her and why things are happening and how she can support her fellow actors in scenes which are emotional, including the one that we were just referencing when I’m reading the Will her mom was. I just remember so sweetly sort of explaining to her, “This is a really emotional scene, and this is how you can be a good scene partner.” And so I think she has this natural, wonderful ability, and she’s lucky to have a family who is going to really take care of her in her path as she moves forward and grows. You love to see that. It’s really a lovely thing.
You all shot this two years ago, and you, Amy, and Josh have all had big moments in your careers over the past 24 months. I’m also assuming you went and saw “Weapons.” Could you have ever imagined that Amy could play that character?
Honestly, yes. I’ve been a fan of Amy’s for so long, and I just feel like she could do anything because she’s such an honest performer. I’ve never really seen her be false, and I think she’s also really discerning. I think she has a really good grasp of what she’s interested in and what she’s not interested in, and I just am such a fan of hers. I think she’s so fantastic, and we were so lucky to have her.
“Rebuilding” opens in limited release on Nov. 14
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