After: Peter Gallagher and Jennifer Beals’ heartfelt revelations can’t be missed

The much-anticipated romantic drama After is all set to hit the theatres and there’s much excitement about the film already. Starring newcomer Josephine Langford as Tessa Young, alongside Hero Fiennes-Tiffin as Hardin Scott, Selma Blair, Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, and Inanna Sarkis among others, After is directed by Jenny Gage. The film is based on the best-selling novel After by Anna Todd.

While the film is being much looked forward to, some of the stars reveal what attracted them to sign up for the movie. Former The OC star Peter Gallagher, (who will be playing Hero Fiennes-Tiffin’s dad Ken Scott in the film) said, “I was halfway through a vacation in Ireland, on the way to the airport to pick up my daughter, when I got the call about After. And then my daughter called to tell me her plane was delayed almost 24 hours and I told her about After and she said: ‘This is a sign. You have to do the movie.’ So I got on a plane and started looking at the scenes on the plane, and the next day I shot two-thirds of them.”

About his casting, author Anna Todd shared, “Peter Gallagher as Ken! I was obsessed with The OC. He is so impressive. As soon as we announced him, the fans were mind-blown… especially on Facebook, where I tend to interact with my older fans. Many of them were even more excited about the parents than the kids.”

As for casting Jennifer Beals as Karen Scott, Todd adds, “Jennifer Beals was the first adult that we cast and, later on in the series, the friend group gets smaller and the adults get much bigger. When I heard, ‘Jennifer Beals wants to be Karen,’ I was shocked. I didn’t think that we were going to have legends in this movie. As the series progresses, Karen and Tessa become really close and Jennifer has this motherly softness about her. She played Karen perfectly to set up for the future movies.”

On her own involvement in the film, Jennifer says “I basically become Hardin’s stepmother and am stepping into a tense familial situation. Even though the part is relatively small, I was offered the film by a really wonderful producer Mark Canton, who I’ve wanted to work with for so long, and I was told that in the subsequent films, Karen has a larger presence in the story, and Tessa comes to rely on her.”

The actress adds, “After having played so many people that were really tough, I really am looking forward to playing somebody who operates more out of a heart space then a head space. That will be a nice, refreshing change.”

Directed by Jenny Gage, After is based on Anna Todd’s best-selling novel After (2014). Besides, Selma Blair, Josephine Langford, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Peter Gallagher, and Jennifer Beals, the film also stars Shane Paul McGhie, Samuel Larsen, Khadijha Red Thunder, Swen Temmel, Inanna Sarkis, Pia Mia, Meadow Williams and Dylan Arnold. A PVR Pictures release, watch the incredible love story After on May 3 in your nearest PVR cinemas.