Q&A with Debra Rodkin (Deborah Mathis)
Debra Rodkin
Get to know a bit about the many people who made Ginger possible! Debra Rodkin, who played Ginger’s mother, Deborah, in the film, shares insights about her role, memories from filming, and more.
Q. What drew you to this film and to the character of Deborah?
A. I don’t do a lot of film; I'm mainly a stage actor. My mother survived breast cancer but my best friend did not, so the subject matter of Ginger really spoke to me and the character sounded intriguing. The directors described the character to me as “Hurricane Deborah,” which aligned well with my personality.
Q. Deborah struggles with her daughter’s cancer diagnosis. How does she balance her concern with trying to give her adult daughter some space?
A. I think the difficulty is that even though Ginger sees herself as an independent adult, she behaves very irresponsibly and now is thrust unprepared into a life-changing moment. Ginger really grows up in this movie, which is nice to see. Moms always think they know best (and often do), and my character may seem very overbearing in the movie, but you can tell that it all comes from a place of love and it’s not all about Deborah being right. She’s just frustrated she can’t make it all better.
Q. What is your favorite memory of working on the Ginger set?
A. Something we played around with during the hospital scene after Ginger's panic attack was my character blasting through and ripping open everyone’s curtain yelling, “Ginger, where are you?!” and invading everyone’s space. We weren’t able to include it because we didn’t film that portion in a real hospital, but it was really funny. I also love the scenes with Deborah and Ginger sitting and talking on the couch. They let me bring some improv into those scenes, which was fun.
Also, this isn’t a favorite memory, but one that will always stand out to me: during callbacks for Ginger, we discovered that co-director Melissa Boratyn’s breast cancer had returned and was metastatic. Frankly, I can’t fathom her bravery and how she was always on set and not letting her diagnosis take over her life. I stand in awe of how she embraces and lives her life and of her husband Jimmy who supports her so beautifully.
Q. What has been your favorite role to date?
A. Plays are very odd. Sometimes a role is wonderful (and that’s always ideal), but the experience is more about being part of a wonderful cast and production. A local playwright, Tommy Lee Johnston, wrote a play called Geezers that I was lucky enough to be a part of, and that show really stands out to me. It really increased my awareness of how we need to engage more with the older members of society and appreciate their stories and experiences.