Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with 100 Days to Live’s Heidi Johanningmeier

If you only had one hundred days to live, what would you do? That’s the premise behind Ravin Gandhi’s debut feature film 100 Days to Live, which stars Heidi Johanningmeir as our lead protagonist.

After her fiancé is abducted by a serial killer, Dr. Rebecca Church must race against the clock to discover the identity of the killer and, more importantly, his motive.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Heidi about 100 Days to Live, her career, and what she hopes audiences take away.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Heidi: I grew up in the middle of nowhere on a farm in Iowa. I didn’t have a very easy time in school growing up. I was bullied pretty badly. I found an outlet through my imagination and making up little stories and stuff like that.

As I got older, I found it was a way to be in front of people and have them laugh at the story and not laugh at me. That carried into a big defining moment, which was actually when I was in eighth grade. I did this thing called National History Day. There were all these different platforms that you could choose to present a piece of history. I chose individual performance. I wrote a little one-woman play about Joan of Arc and performed it.

I remember seeing my mom when I finished this very dramatic scene. My mother is the most regal woman. She’s incredibly intelligent. She’s so strong, but she’s also very English and holds everything in. I looked out into the audience and I saw her, and she had tears streaming down her face. I remember looking at the other audience members, and they were crying, too. I remember thinking, “I helped them feel something that they weren’t feeling five or ten minutes ago.” It felt like this communal exchange, and that was it—I knew this is what I was supposed to do with my life.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Heidi: My mom has been so supportive. I quit college midway through. My mom’s side of the family is all educators. My grandfather was even a professor at my college. She never once gave me a hard time for that; she never once said, “Don’t follow your dreams.”

I want to paint this picture clearly for you: people laughed at me when I said that I was going to be an actor. I grew up in a town of one-thousand-seven-hundred people. I was not the shining star, but she always looked at me in a way that she knew I could do it.

There have also been actors who I watched. Robin Williams was just such a special light, and he was always an inspiration to me. No matter what was going on in my life, I could watch a film of his and either be laughing or crying and taken away from it. It’s almost like time travel—we take people who could be having the worst day and we transport them to a time where they want to be.

I also had to rely on myself, be my own role model, and be the person that I always envisioned myself being, because when I moved to Los Angeles, I didn’t know anybody. I’d never been west of Colorado and didn’t have any connections. I didn’t have anybody who could show me the reins or the way to do things. I always had this inner belief to keep going.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout your career. What’s one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you embarked on this journey?
Heidi: Oh, wow. That’s a good question. I wish I would have known that it was going to work out. Don’t we all feel that way in life? If we had the answers of how it’s going to turn out, the journey would be so much easier, because we would have peace about it.

I’ve had projects that I got released from. I was put on hold and I thought it was going to be an amazing opportunity, but I got released from it. Then, I ended up booking something else that was much better. Sometimes we don’t have the answers right in front of us, and we’re impatient as human beings—I know I am. I wish I would have had the peace or the faith that it would all work out.

100 Days to Live

PC: Tell us about 100 Days to Live, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Heidi: 100 Days to Live is a psychological thriller. We shot it in Chicago, which was such a blessing. Chicago is such a beautiful city, so it’s a beautiful film. We had an amazing cinematographer. It follows my character, Dr. Rebecca Church, and as an occupation, I run a suicide support group. I also lost my mother to suicide when I was nine and have managed a life of depression.

You follow my character into this wonderful relationship where she meets the love of her life. Right after they get engaged, he’s kidnapped by a serial killer. I have to help the police figure out how to find him and the motive, all within this time period. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think thrillers are a dime a dozen. What makes us different is Ravin [Gandi], the writer, director, and producer. You really get to see the background of all the characters and what ultimately led them to the places that they’re at. I know as an audience member, I appreciate that. There’s definitely a deeper aspect to this film than just your average thriller.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s very tense. There are a lot of twists. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, but it’s also got a very psychological side to it. That’s what drew me to it. When I read the script, I have to tell you, I was shooting in Ohio doing the Netflix film The Last Summer. I took the script with me because I was going to be there for quite a while. I remember I got to this one part and I was sitting on my bed. I got so upset at what happened in the script that I slammed it down and started crying. To be so emotionally affected by a script, that’s the dream as an actor.

PC: Like you were saying, your character is dealing with a lot in her life. How did you prepare to step into her shoes?
Heidi: She wants to be strong, but she’s constantly challenged in the worst ways possible. For me, any time you deal with something that’s real, you need to get as close to that tangible realness.

For me, I wanted to talk to therapists. I talked to therapists. I talked to a psychiatrist. I read some really good books, and I spoke to family members who lost individuals to suicide. I also spoke to people and watched videos of suicide survivors. What I really learned is individuals with depression and suicidal thoughts are some of the strongest people. It’s not a temporary thing; every day, they fight it, they fight it for themselves, and they fight it for the people that they love. As a nation, it’s something that we can overcome if we start to support mental health. That was a goal of this as well. I really did my research and tried to make it as personal as possible, and I hope that was accomplished.

PC: One hundred percent. When you’re working on a project that’s tackling such sensitive subject matter like depression and suicide, does that bring a different weight to the project?
Heidi: Absolutely. For someone who has known people who at times have been suicidal or had to manage depression, I wanted to show their strength. My most important goal was to show that strength because I feel like it’s still this taboo topic. We won’t get further if we don’t start to discuss it. We’re losing twenty-two people a day to suicide. That’s something that doesn’t need to happen. It’s not the fault of the individual; it’s the fault of us as a society.

I found this amazing thing: it’s called Hope for the Day, and they have an outlet through Instagram, and so forth. Their big thing is making sure you know you’re not alone, because you’re not.

PC: This is Ravin’s directorial debut. What was that like getting to collaborate with him and share this experience with him?
Heidi: I have to tell you. As an actor, you get a breakdown. It says the title and who’s going to direct it, and sometimes it says who the writer is. I like to do my research because different directors have different styles. What you’re going to read for Aaron Sorkin is not what you’re going to read for Peter Jackson. The lines could be the exact same, but you won’t read them the same. I looked up Ravin, and I was like, “This can’t be right. He’s a CEO. He’s not a director. What’s going on here?”

I remember saying to my agency, “This could be a dream come true or it could be a nightmare.” Thankfully, it was a dream come true. It’s almost impossible to know Ravin and not put him on a pedestal. He’s such an amazing individual. He’s so inspirational. As a director, he’s was open to anything that I needed. So much of the film is dramatic. Whatever I needed to get there, Ravin would make it happen. He’s a tremendous director. He’s a tremendous person. We’ve become very close.

PC: When you look at the overall experience, what’s been the biggest takeaway for you as an artist? What did you learn about yourself through this project?
Heidi: It’s so funny—I learned to trust in myself. Before I got the role, I met with Ravin. It was just after I had auditioned several times. He said, “I want to ask you honestly: can you do this? There are so many emotional scenes. Can you go there?” I remember saying yes, but in my head being like, “I hope so.” Then, I did.

You have to trust yourself. I remember working on Detroit 1-8-7 and I was working with Tommy Flanagan. He was the main guest star. He’s a huge actor and he was so nervous. It was the day before he was shooting. He was nervous, and we were all nervous. Being scared is being part of being brave. You’re not brave if you weren’t scared.

There were a couple of times that I went in the bathroom and did a superwoman pose. I was like, “Be empowered. Trust in yourself.” I like to remind myself that we don’t get these opportunities by chance. I mean, I’m a farm girl from Iowa. Nobody ever opened a door for me that I didn’t knock on and beat down, and I want to pass that onto other people.

PC: With the film out now. What do you hope audiences take away?
Heidi: I hope they enjoy it. I hope they’re sitting on the edge of their seats. I hope they don’t get half the twists. But what I really hope is that when the film’s done, I hope that they ask themselves, “If I only had 100 days left, what would I do with that?” Take that and multiply it, and multiply it, and multiply it for your life.

Ravin introduced me to now one of my favorite quotes: Confucius said, “We have two lives. The second one begins when we realize we only have one.” It’s true. We have one life, and it’s beautiful. It’s tough, but every moment matters. Embrace that and find your gratefulness. I hope they leave feeling empowered.

To keep up with Heidi, follow her on Instagram. Watch 100 Days to Live today.