Tanzyn Crawford and Pearce Joza on set for the prom scene
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS PROTOS
Pearce Joza was a 15-year-old actor who had never even heard the word “epilepsy” before he played the lead in Miles Levin’s short film Under the Lights. But now, six years after filming the short, Joza says it’s his strong connection to the epilepsy community, as well as his commitment to supporting it, that has brought him back to play the main character, Sam, in the feature length version of the film.
Joza leads an all-star cast that includes Lake Bell (Harley Quinn, In a World…), Randall Park (WandaVision, Always Be My Maybe), Nick Offerman (Civil War, Parks and Recreation) and Tanzyn Crawford (Servant, Tiny Beautiful Things), who co-stars as Molly, Sam’s closest friend.
“I will always be an advocate for everybody seeing themselves on screen, because everybody deserves that opportunity.”
While the cast and crew of Under the Lights hope the full-length film gets more people talking about epilepsy, it is neither a documentary nor an educational piece, but rather a dramatic film that offers an all-too-rare glimpse into the life of a teenager living with epilepsy. As Joza points out, the objective of the movie is that of any other film: to entertain. “My hope is that people see it for what it is—and it is, in my humble opinion, a piece of entertainment that has a specific focus on a condition, yes, but it is a movie,” he says.
Yet audiences will likely meet a new sort of character in Joza’s Sam, since, as the actor says, there has been “no representation [of epilepsy] at all, in any kind of media—and it really opens your eyes to all the other things that have no representation at all.”
Representation is essential: After all, there are around 50 million people around the world living with epilepsy, but, as Levin notes, they often go unseen. “We’re invisible,” says the director.
The type of representation matters as well, says Crawford, who plays Sam’s friend Molly. “Not only is representation important, but normal representation, human events that aren’t just tragedy,” she says. As a woman of color and member of the LGBTQ+ community, Crawford herself has felt unseen at times. “I will always be and have always been an advocate for everybody seeing themselves on screen, because everybody deserves that opportunity,” she says.
For Crawford, the role of Molly was reminiscent of her own life experience—her older sister has epilepsy—and it was a big reason why she took the part. “I read the script and I loved it for what it is, and then on top of that, growing up with somebody in my household that had epilepsy, it just felt even more meaningful,” Crawford explains.
The actor says she could relate to her character’s well-meaning but somewhat confused and sometimes aloof reaction to Sam’s condition. “I liked that Molly, at points, doesn’t let Sam use his epilepsy as an excuse, and I think that’s very similar to the approach that I had with my sister growing up,” she says.
While Joza didn’t have any personal connection to epilepsy before filming the Under the Lights short, he says that since stepping into the role of Sam, he has spent a great deal of time with people who live with the condition.
“Like any condition, epilepsy sets you apart,” he adds. “But there is not one human that is perfect. I think what makes us perfect is each other and that’s why we have to be here for each other.”
