Married actors Kyle Schmid and Caity Lotz are teaming up for their new Lifetime movie, Yoga Teacher Killer: The Kaitlin Armstrong Storyand sharing what it was like to transform into the film’s real-life inspirations.
Speaking with ET’s Kevin Frazier in an exclusive interview, Lotz and Schmid opened up about everything from the beginning of their relationship to their new project, which tells the true story of Kaitlin Armstrong, a yoga instructor turned killer.
In the film, the Mad Men The 37-year-old actress plays Armstrong, the woman who shot and killed cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson in May 2022. The murder was triggered by Armstrong’s jealousy over Wilson’s illicit relationship with her boyfriend, Colin Strickland (Schmid). . Actress Larissa Dias plays the murdered cyclist.
Lotz told ET that she found it difficult to put herself in the shoes of the titular killer — who fled the country after killing Wilson, spending more than a month on the run and drastically changing his appearance to hide from the law. She did, however, find one important thing that she could relate to.
“The one thing that struck me about her … is how when you try so hard, you want something so bad and (you) want it to work and it’s not working, but you keep trying to force it,” Lotz said. of his character. “I think that’s what really happened to her and she just tried so hard.”
The actress, who called Armstrong “highly emotional and volatile,” continued: “I tried to connect with that aspect, of when you want something so desperately and you, no matter what you do, it’s like you keep doing it. worse.”
Lotz and Schmid – who got married in Colombia in 2023 – announced in April that they are expecting their first child together later this year, a girl. They shared the happy news in an Instagram post showing off her baby bump and baby bump, touching it for dramatic effect. “Gaining weight for the role of a lifetime 🤰🏼🥰 👋,” Lotz captioned the post.
According to the actress, she was early in her pregnancy while they were filming in Canada. Luckily, they were able to keep the baby news a secret and hide the pregnancy from the public thanks to the help of the production team. Looking back, though, they say the film will forever be infamous in their household, especially when their daughter is older.
“And now we can tell our daughter, when she grows up, ‘You’re in this movie,’” Lotz said. “Mommy is murdering someone while you’re in her belly.”
Schmid shares that while others may watch in shock and horror (rightfully so) at the actions of the film’s main character, he will always marvel at Lotz’s ability to play the role in a nuanced, layered way.
“I had never seen Caity play a character like that,” he shared. “Seeing her do that and balance the character so well in a way that made it interesting and dynamic and fun to watch in a weird way was really cool.”
He added of his wife’s portrayal, “When I read the script, I didn’t see the way she played it and that was fun.”
On the subject, the couple told ET that while they were no strangers to the headline-making affair, it wasn’t until they read the scripts and signed on to the project that they fully understood the extent of the situation.
“She’s a yoga teacher, so you – it’s the opposite of what you think someone like that would be like and running out and getting plastic surgery and all this like crazy, it was beautiful – it’s a very dramatic story,” Lotz said. .
“I had heard about the story, I mean, it was on the news, everywhere. It was widely publicized,” Schmid added. “When we got the script, I thought, ‘No way. Really?'”
As the case played out recently in the courts — Armstrong was found guilty of first-degree murder in November and sentenced to 90 years in prison — the couple gave credit to the film’s writer and director, Katie Boland, who they say approached with good taste in the source material.
“I think she did a good job of balancing the characters and (she) made it interesting,” Schmid said. “It will be a good watch.”
Yoga Teacher Killer: The Kaitlin Armstrong Story airs on Lifetime on June 15 at 8pm EST.
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