Actor Michael Kelly joins this edition of EoM Presents to discuss his work on the indie horror film Time of Death, directed by Will Wernick. Filmed on location at a century-old abandoned penitentiary in West Virginia, the distinct Appalachian setting is a foundational element of the film’s DNA. Kelly’s conversation with EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning begins with the pair comparing their respective Appalachian backgrounds.
Michael Kelly as Detective Frank Morley in TIME OF DEATH. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
Thomas Manning: I appreciate your time today.
Michael Kelly: Of course. Where are you at?
Manning: North Carolina.
Kelly: Oh, right on, man. I’m from Georgia.
Manning: Well, I’m glad you mentioned that because that’s kind of where I wanted to start with the conversation. Talking about the connection between your Appalachian roots and then the uniquely Appalachian setting of this film – I think it’s even set in the “Alcatraz of Appalachia” as they say in the film. So I’d like to ask you, how does your background from growing up in Georgia and in the Appalachian region continue to impact the stories that you’re drawn to?
Kelly: I mean, look, it’s funny because I do Lioness with Taylor Sheridan and I just keep begging him all the time, I’m like, “Put me on one of those country shows. Let me go back to play my roots.” You know, growing up in Georgia, I grew up outside of Atlanta in Lawrenceville, Georgia. And then I went to college in South Carolina, at Coastal Carolina. Spent a lot of time in Banner Elk, [North Carolina]. My buddy went to… what was that school…
Manning: Lees-McCrae!
Kelly: Yeah! So, I spent a good amount of time hiking, doing all the fun stuff down there. And I’m always happy when I can get – you know, we shot [Time of Death] in West Virginia – but anytime I get down south, I’m happy.
L-R: Mena Suvari as Dr. Allison Burrell and Michael Kelly as Detective Frank Morley in TIME OF DEATH. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
Manning: And with shooting this in West Virginia, having such a distinct physical setting like this prison – I think this was filmed in a real abandoned penitentiary from what I understand. For you, what difference does that make as an actor when you’re drawing from a very tangible environment like that?
Kelly: I mean, it’s so incredibly helpful. Just stepping into that abandoned prison, you feel shit. You feel ghosts. I’m not saying like literal ghosts around, but it felt haunted because of all the things that happened there, man. I mean, it’s just undeniable. And I don’t mean in the literal sense that I’m seeing ghosts. I just mean like that presence of the horrible shit that probably happened there, you know?
Manning: And with director Will Wernick, you’ve crossed paths a few times over the years. Even going back to a film you did about 20 years ago called Loggerheads that he worked on.
Kelly: Filmed in North Carolina!
Manning: There you go! It always comes back to the Tar Heel State. Can you share a little bit about that evolution of your connection to Will and reuniting with him on a film like this? A couple decades [ago] I guess is the last time you worked together.
Michael Kelly as Detective Frank Morley in TIME OF DEATH. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
Kelly: Yeah, I mean really cool. When he reached out and made the connection that we actually go back that far, and him giving me the opportunity to play a lead role, I was just incredibly grateful. And I liked what Will was doing and it sort of followed along with his path since we had last worked together, and all the great things he’s done. So, it was just a perfect opportunity for us to get back together. And he believed in me and trusted me that I could pull that off. And so, I was real grateful for that as well.
Manning: And I’ve got to say, if I was a character in this film, then I’d probably avoid you at all costs because a lot of a lot of people around you die under mysterious circumstances.
Kelly: Either die, or get pregnant! [Laughs]
Manning: You know, I say that jokingly, but from the very opening of the film, we see that your character is carrying a lot of pain with him from loss he’s experienced in a variety of ways. And the loss just doesn’t stop. So, can you tell me a little bit about uncovering that pain that Frank is feeling and really digging into that as an actor?
Kelly: You know, it’s tough because it’s a dark place to go. And for an actor, for me to go to that place, I kind of just had to really jump into… you know, I got the script not long before we started filming. And this character’s on basically every page. So it was a lot to tackle – on my mind, to wrap my head around the character, what this was, the film, all that. And so I really didn’t have much of a choice. We all stayed in this little… I don’t want to say country club, it was like this resort kind of place. But it wasn’t anything super fancy. And I literally just every day would work out, go to work, come home, memorize. I’d constantly have my scripts with me every meal because I’m just constantly memorizing as I’m going, because it was such a challenge. But that secluded setting, there was nothing around this place where we were staying. So, any downtime that I had, I’d walk the property with my sides and I just sort of tried to stay in it. Not method, really – you know, I did learn that through Actors Studio, my upbringing there – but I could still go to dinner and have a nice time with people, with Dennis [Haysbert] or with Will. But I did sort of just keep to myself in my room for the most part when I wasn’t working. And I just tried to stay in that not-so-happy place. I didn’t go home once. I worked with Will on some Saturdays even while we were filming – and it was actually really helpful, because I just stayed there in that dude’s head space. And you go to those places in your life that are not so comfortable, that have been tragic in your real life – and you just stay in that mindset if that makes sense, you know? It was maybe 30 days that I left home, and didn’t talk to my family a bunch even while I was gone because it was just so… my wife knew when I left, she was like, “All right, I’ll see you.” Sure, I would say hey to my kids and stuff, but it wasn’t a lot, because I really just tried to stay in it.
Michael Kelly as Detective Frank Morley in TIME OF DEATH. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
Manning: You get to do some old-fashioned detective work in this film as well. You’re listening back to tape recordings and interviewing inmates. You bring out a flashlight and look around for clues in electrical closets. What did you appreciate about that aspect of this story and this character, and what that detective angle opened up for you as an actor?
Kelly: You know, having something set in ‘87, in that time period – as an actor today, to go back and do something like that, and like I said stay in a place that had a landline in my room – where we were staying even sort of felt very 80s. It was like 80s cabin-y kind of thing, or even older. But to be without that technology – in general my phone doesn’t come with me to set, and if it does it stays where my chair is, and I don’t really go to it when I work – to stay in that world. That world that I love – that was me in high school ‘87, you know? And I love that era. I love that pre-technology era. I think that was so special. The surroundings, where I was, where I stayed, where we shot, it all felt very 80s. That car I drove, everything lent itself to the project so perfectly. And to be able to do detective work without computers, without cell phones, without Google – that’s pretty cool, man. It was really interesting as an actor to dive into it in that way.
Manning: You mentioned Dennis Haysbert a few minutes ago. You share the screen with a lot of great actors in this film, but in particular, I was really taken by your scenes with Dennis. And I have to imagine that his magnetic presence that we feel as audience members is even more heightened for you as his co-star acting opposite him. Can you tell me a bit about your experience from collaborating with Dennis?
Kelly: When I met him first, we had a meal together at the hotel. And we bonded pretty quickly. He’s a really good dude. He’s a golfer, and was super happy there was a golf course there. But it was that meal that we had together – we, like I said, very quickly bonded and we used that – or I certainly did. I can’t speak for him, but I certainly used that initial meeting, that initial, “Oh, I really like this guy.” In real life, he’s a very kind, gentle man. So I sort of used that, like, “All right, this is the guy I’m dealing with here at the prison.” It’s cool when you can draw from real life and bring that to your work. He’s a good dude, man.
L-R: Dennis Haysbert as Officer Aarons and Michael Kelly as Detective Frank Morley in TIME OF DEATH. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
Manning: Yeah, I think the first time I saw him was in 24, and then of course going back and seeing him in [Michael Mann’s] Heat. He’s awesome – as are you, Michael! I very much appreciate your time and hopefully we share more conversations in the future. We actually spoke a few weeks ago for Jack Ryan. So hopefully this is the second of many conversations.
Kelly: This is a fun one. I’m really glad and proud to do something with Will again. I think we’re going to do something again in the fall if we can work out schedules. Will’s just one of those guys, man. You know, you work with a director that you get on with like that – I remember a fellow actor once told me, “The greatest directors are the best cheerleaders.” And Will Wernick – that dude, it doesn’t matter if you’re on hour one or hour 16 – the smile on his face, the laugh that he gives you, he’s never tired, ever. And so as an actor, you’re forced to never be tired yourself. You’re just like, “Let’s go.” Like I said, he asked me to work on a Saturday, I’m like, “Let’s go, bro.” And we went out and shot some guerilla shit, you know? It was fantastic, man. You can’t help but get behind someone like Will Wernick.
Manning: I think that’s exactly what you want in any kind of work environment. If there’s somebody that’s kind of forcing you to be as energized as them, then you’ve just got to get to their level.
Kelly: And especially on a film like this, on a budget like this. What he pulled off for the money we had… I mean, it’s pretty incredible, man. When I watched the film, I was really impressed. I was like, “Damn!” You never know when you make these things what they’re going to turn out, what they’re going to look like. But to see him do what he did with that budget, I was very impressed.
L-R: Michael Kelly as Detective Frank Morley and Mena Suvari as Dr. Allison Burrell in TIME OF DEATH. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
Official Synopsis:
When a prisoner vanishes without a trace, Detective Frank Morley (Michael Kelly) is sent to a decaying prison on the verge of shutdown. What begins as a routine investigation quickly spirals into a dangerous search for answers.
Available on VOD and digital June 12th, 2026.
Thomas Manning is a member of the NCFCA, SEFCA, and CCA, and also the co-host of the television show and radio program Meet Me at the Movies. He has served as a production assistant and voting member on the Film Selection Committee for the Real to Reel Film Festival. Additionally, he manages his own film review and interview site, The Run-Down on Movies. Manning is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University with a double-major in Communications and English. His passion for cinema and storytelling is rivaled only by his love for the music of Taylor Swift.
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