Alyvia Alyn Lind portrays Little Dolly in NBC's new movie, "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors." The young star talks about wearing the famous coat, the message of the song and getting to sing with Dolly.
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Q. As you started to develop your character, what things about Dolly stood out or perhaps surprised you?
A. It surprised me how sassy Dolly was. I didn't realize at first [how] alike Dolly and I were. We are both really emotional and nothing stands in our way. I liked Dolly more and more as I got to know the character better.
Q. The Parton family is known for their tight-knit bonds. While filming, did the cast develop similar family-like relationships?
A. The cast got so close, so quickly! When I first met Hannah [Nordberg], the girl playing Dolly's best friend in the movie, we had an instant connection! We were BFF's on the very first day. And Jennifer and Ricky felt like my real parents. It was an amazing family - I loved everyone.
Q. Considering everything you have done in your career, where does this role rank in your list of achievements?
A. I would have to say that playing Dolly is the highlight of my career. I've worked with amazing actors - Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig - and I'm so lucky. But this role has been the one I connect to the most. I really did not want to say goodbye to Little Dolly.
Q. After the first movie poster was released, the world got to see you in the Coat. What was it like for you when you first put that coat on, knowing what it symbolizes?
A. I loved the coat when I saw it for the first time. I had no idea how beautiful it would be - and I felt so proud wearing it. It symbolizes accepting people for who they are, and it patches together little bits and pieces of Dolly's life - it also shows how much love Dolly's mom had for her and her family. I felt so much responsibility putting it on because I know how much it means to Dolly.
Q. The song, "Coat of Many Colors" first debuted in 1971, 44 years ago, yet it still has a powerful message for people today. Why do you think people relate so well to this story?
A. Even though the song was written so long ago, it still shows how important it is to be nice to everyone, not to bully or judge, and that all different types of people can get along and love each other. The song still means so much today.
Q. Other than "Coat of Many Colors" do you have a favorite Dolly song and if so what is it?
A. I love "9 to 5" - actually, that has always been one of my favorite movies. My mom loves showing me movies from the 70's and 80's - that one always stood out to me. That is one of the reasons I was so excited to play Dolly.
Q. What was your favorite moment of making the film or your favorite takeaway?
A. My favorite part of being in the movie was getting to sing a duet with Dolly. I still can't believe that this has happened to me and feel so honored that I get to sing with such a legend.
See more cast interviews and tune in Thursday, December 10 at 9/8c on NBC to watch Alyvia Alyn Lind as Dolly Parton in "Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors."
Farrah raved about the fun, off-set activities planned for the stars. However, on-set her professionalism shined.
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Q. As you started to develop your character, what things about Stella Parton stood out or perhaps surprised you?
A. I didn’t really develop until after I met Stella, but I still developed. It's really nice to get stories from actual Partons. So, this one day I was in a scene, I was just doodling in my school book with my right hand, and the day after that the actual Stella, she told my dad that she's actually left-handed. So in the school scene, I started writing with my left hand. It wasn’t that nice, but I still accomplished it.
Q. The Parton family is known for their tight-knit bonds. While filming, did the cast develop similar family-like relationships?
A. Oh, yeah yeah yeah we did! We did so much! First day I got a very warm welcoming from all my cast members. We actually did PE outside. We ran around with all the characters like [Alyvia] who played Dolly and all the other great people. We actually did CrossFit; me and Hannah [Nordberg]. Hannah played Judy.
[Carson Meyer] taught me how to crochet and I do that a lot now. We always go in the pool, we never did a day without pool. When the whole cast was in the pool we had water gun fights. And sometimes I did fight with Blane, [Crockarell] who played Bobby, but we got over it. We had movie night every other night, and that was really fun. We went on dinners a lot, and I had a lot of sleepovers with the cast. We went on field trips such as Stone Mountain, we went to World of Coke, it was really fun. I also went to a CrossFit gym with Hannah, so that was really fun. We made a really tight bond.
Q. Considering everything you have done in your career, where does this role rank in your list of achievements?
A. Well, I’d probably say number two. "Nanny Cam," a movie that I did that’s on Amazon and Lifetime, I had a slightly bigger role in that. But this movie could also become number one, because it is on NBC. It’s a Christmas movie, and it could also be playing every year for the rest of my life. And it’s also Dolly Parton!
Q. The song "Coat of Many Colors" first debuted in 1971, yet it still has a powerful message for people today. Why do you think people relate so well to this story?
A. Well, the song really tells that you can be rich in many ways, such as love and generosity and that just tells people a lot of things. So you don’t just need to be rich in money, you can be rich in many ways.
Q. Other than "Coat of Many Colors" do you have a favorite Dolly song?
A. My favorite Dolly song is "9 to 5" definitely. I really relate to that song, because every morning I wake up and yawn and stretch and try as hard as I can to get alive. [Singing] I wake up stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition, yawn and stretch and try as hard as I can to get alive!
Q. What was your favorite moment of making the film or your favorite takeaway?
A. I have so many. First of all, meeting the person I play, Stella; Carson and Hannah teaching me how to crochet; movie nights, seriously those were really fun. I liked doing CrossFit and PE with all of my friends. And in the makeup and hair trailer, I really loved getting those bouncy curls in my hair but, of course, they fell out in the humidity.
See more cast interviews and tune in Thursday, December 10 at 9/8c on NBC to watch Farrah Mackenzie as Stella Parton in "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors."
This December, Dolly Parton’s childhood memory that inspired a country music hit and later became a children's book, will premiere as the NBC movie, "Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors." The stars of Dolly's new movie shared stories of how they bonded, much like the real Parton family, over movie nights, pool parties and field trips. To hear them talk about the experience, one might wonder how they managed to get the movie made. However, they did, and their excitement about the finished product is contagious.
Step behind the scenes as Ricky shares a touching note from Dolly, Farrah reveals her favorite Dolly song and see why playing "Little Dolly" is a career highlight for Alyvia Alyn.
Discover more about Dolly's new movie from the stars themselves. See full interviews and MORE!
Tune in December 10, at 9 p.m. EST to watch "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" airing on NBC.
CREDITS
Starring
Alyvia Alyn Lind, Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder, Gerald McRaney
Executive Producers
Dolly Parton, Sam Haskell, Pamela K. Long
Written By
Pamela K. Long
Director
Stephen Herek
Line Producer
Hudson Hickman
Casting Director
Patrick Rush
Produced By
Warner Bros. Television, Magnolia Hill Entertainment, DP Productions
Ricky Schroder plays Robert Lee in "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors." This father of four said he was naturally drawn to watching over the children on set.
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Q. As you started to develop your character, what things about Robert Lee stood out or perhaps surprised you?
A. I wanted to do a good job in my character for Dolly and her family. This movie is so dear and important to her that I really wanted to honor who her father was and their relationship, because she just adored him. Dolly gave me just a few tidbits of information here and there when we were producing the movie that were extremely helpful about him and his nature and his humor; how he didn't like to waste words. He was a man of few words. It was an honor to play him.
Q. The Parton family is known for their tight-knit bonds. While filming, did the cast develop similar family-like relationships?
A. It's very easy to want to be a father and protector and teacher for those kids. They're such sweet kids, the whole clan. You know, you work together with your coworkers so many hours, and you just get to like them. You get to know them a little bit, you get to know their personalities. I have an extra kind of soft place in my heart for those kids, because they have to work so hard, especially little [Alyvia]. She worked so hard. She carried so much weight, so well, on her broad shoulders that you can't help but feel protective over those kids. That was a wonderful time with those kids.
Q. Considering everything you have done in your career, where does this role rank in your list of achievements?
A. Well, I'll let you know when I see it [laughing]. I have every expectation that it's going to be a movie that I'll be so proud of. I had a lot of good feelings making this movie.
Q. By today's standards, with four children, you have a big family. Was there ever a moment while making this film, you stopped to think about the challenges Robert Lee faced raising a family of 12?
A. Sure, enormous challenges to feed 12, plus yourself and your wife, 14 people. I'm not going to discount the challenges that parents today face either. There's just massive challenges and pressures on today's parents, maybe not providing the basics as what Lee needed to provide... [but] enormous responsibility for sure.
Q. The song "Coat of Many Colors," first debuted in 1971, yet it still has a powerful message for people today. Why do you think people relate so well to this story?
A. Because of Dolly, I think. We all want to know where she came from. She is so special and unique. That's really what this movie shows people, where Dolly came from and who loved her and who was with her and helped nurture her.
Q. Other than "Coat of Many Colors" do you have a favorite Dolly song?
A. Probably one of my favorites is the duet with her and Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream."
Q. What was your favorite moment of making the film or your favorite takeaway?
A. I'm so proud of so many people who worked so hard on the movie. My favorite takeaway... probably a note that Dolly wrote me one day when we were in production. She said she had been watching the dailies, you know the work from the previous days. She was so glad she chose me to play her father. That was a pretty special moment to get that letter from her.
See more cast interviews and tune in Thursday, December 10 at 9/8c on NBC to watch Ricky Schroder as Robert Lee Parton in "Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors."
Jewel's latest project, "Picking Up the Pieces," is her 12th album. This self-produced recording is a collection of what the artist calls a throwback to her first album, "Pieces of You." She says she abandoned all she had learned from the music business over the past two decades in order to achieve her goals with this album. In doing so, she called on Dolly Parton to join her on the album's first single, "My Father's Daughter."
Jewel was kind enough to talk about why she chose Dolly for the song. Much like Dolly's "Coat of Many Colors," this song is an autobiographical telling of Jewel's family and childhood. She says her unique lifestyle, growing up on a remote Alaskan homestead, is part of why she looked up to Dolly, both musically and as a role model. She said,
"I loved that Dolly always was very unapologetic about who and what she is. She was just very proud of who she was and where she came from, and that gave me a lot of courage as a young woman to say and speak my mind and to be exactly who I was and to be authentic."
In the official video, a young Jewel dances to Dolly's 1972 album, "Just the Way I Am." Fittingly, this particular song is about proudly accepting unique personality traits, especially free-spirited ones. Dolly is a big Jewel fan and has been for a long time. She said,
"I've loved Jewel from the first time I saw her and heard her. She's like a little sister to me. We have so much in common in how we grew up poor girls, how we feel about God, family and music. I am so proud of this duet with her. I think our voices blend like family. We hope you love it as much as we loved doing it."
Watch the official video of "My Father's Daughter" by Jewel (featuring Dolly Parton).
Jewel went on to talk about releasing this album along with a new book, "Never Broken," while maintaining her primary role as mother to her four-year-old son. She even offered some tips to other moms who face similar challenges when balancing family and work. She said,
"Go slow and see what works for you. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a mom that's actually going back into the workplace, both are really great and really noble things, and you have to find what works for you and what works for your family."
Most Dolly fans are aware of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which is a book gifting program that has sent over 72 million free books to children in four countries. The program is active in Telluride, CO, where Jewel and her son live. It is also present in Homer, AK, near her family’s homestead, the setting of the Discovery Channel’s "Alaska: The Last Frontier." Jewel says the Imagination Library is wonderful and even talks about the importance books have played in her music and songwriting. She shared,
"As a young child it meant the world to me to be able to escape into books, and I learned everything I know about writing from books, by reading great authors."
"Coat of Many Colors," originally released in 1971, was the first of Dolly’s songs Jewel remembers hearing. She says it resonated with her because of her own humble upbringing. Knowing NBC plans to release the film version of the song this December and more movies based on Dolly's music in 2016, Jewel says, if given the chance, she would like to play Jolene!
With the release of "My Father's Daughter," Jewel joins a long and distinguished list of Dolly's duet partners. Surely, she found gold while picking up the pieces.
Recording with Dolly
"Raising my son is like writing a song that lasts forever." --Jewel
The first time she heard Dolly
Jewel on achieving success in multiple musical genres
