A note to those would be journalists reading: always, always, always make sure you know when a project is filmed. Just because it’s released to video in 2002 doesn’t mean that it was made it 2001 or 2002. And, taking it one step farther, while you might think you can assume that a film is made in 1999 or later because the film is listed as being made in 2000 on imdb, and the film’s copyright date is 1999 and publicity people tell you that the film was shot in 1999, there is absolutely no guarantee that the film was actually shot in 1999. As I learned here.

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CHRIS NEUMER: After working on numerous TV shows and the success you had there, what was the attraction of this small, indie film, The Last Man? Did Harry Ralston's involvement have anything to do with it?

JERI RYAN: Actually, we made this film before I was on Star Trek: Voyager–certainly long before Boston Public! But I really fell in love with the script and the characters, and I was extremely impressed with Harry's talent and passion about this project.

CHRIS NEUMER: One of the things I enjoyed about the film was how screwed up the characters were. Alan and Sarah particularly. Did you find this to be a nice change of pace playing a character like Sarah?

JERI RYAN: Absolutely! That's what makes a character interesting from an actor's perspective–the more screwed up, the better. It just gives you more layers and "colors" to play.

CHRIS NEUMER: Was there much improvisation on set or was this shot pretty much according to the script?

JERI RYAN: As far as I know, it was pretty much verbatim from the script, with a few exceptions where Harry just let Dave Arnott play.

CHRIS NEUMER: This was Ralston's feature directing debut, did everything run smoothly on the set?

JERI RYAN: Smoothly?! Oh, God, no! This was truly guerilla filmmaking. We shot out in the middle of nowhere in a place called Delta Flats, where basically every day was some new minor catastrophe. We joked about "The Curse of Delta Flats"–I'm talking poisoned water supplies, bubonic plague warnings, you name it! But Harry really held it together. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat.

CHRIS NEUMER: I'm assuming that given your previous roles, the costuming for The Last Man has to be a big selling point for you.

JERI RYAN: Again, pre-Seven of Nine.

CHRIS NEUMER: You've done TV, small movies and some more high profile movies, did the role of Sarah meet your acting desires? Were you able to sink your teeth into the character and craft something that satisfied you?

JERI RYAN: I really love the character we created in Sarah. The way Harry's mind works is a rare and wonderful (if somewhat twisted!) thing, and the characters he writes reflect that. It was really a pleasure to play someone who's literally pushed past her breaking point repeatedly.

CHRIS NEUMER: This was a very human role (pun not intended). Are you pro-actively looking to get away from the hard-core sci-fi roles or just taking the best roles you come across?

JERI RYAN: The first few months after I finished Voyager, I really did steer clear of the hard-core sci-fi stuff. It was just too soon after playing such a specific, iconographic character for so long. I felt I needed to let a little time pass. Now I have no specific ideas in mind of what I will or won't do; it's all about the roles.

CHRIS NEUMER: Based on the experience of working on The Last Man and the lack of a real theatrical release, is returning to this type of filmmaking something that you are interested in doing in the future?

JERI RYAN: Absolutely, as long as I have a great script to work with. Although I could do without the Bubonic Plague...