Exclusive Interview: Days of our Lives’ Paul Telfer Is Xander Unleashed In New Flick

If you want to see Xander Cook Kiriakis as you did before he found love and his tender side (but still without losing his roguish tendencies), then you don’t want to miss Days of our Lives star Paul Telfer’s new movie, Green Rush. The actor wrote and stars in the film, bringing to life a villain who seemingly knows no bounds.

Paul Telfer In Green Rush

Green Rush is based on a ripped-from-the-headlines story of a robbery gone wrong on a legal cannabis farm in California. A young couple expecting a child started growing cannabis and cultivating their business but always had cash on hand. That is due to federal laws still preventing the growth and sale of marijuana in the United States so cannabis farmers and dispensaries in states where it’s legal cannot put their earned money in a bank.

Telfer and a creative group of friends had been looking to make a movie for a while, but could never get the funding. They got tired of waiting for a big star to come along and work with them and just decided to find the right topic and go for it on their own.

“[We were] so close and never quite making it happen,” Paul Telfer tells Soap Hub. “But [director Gerard Roxburgh] decided ‘Let’s not wait for the money or the right star to say yes.’ So, we decided we’ll work with the actors we know and whatever money we could scratch together and see if we can make something relatively inexpensive, a self-contained film that could be shot quickly in California.”

Then the story of an incident in the state’s Emerald Triangle, where cannabis is grown, jumped out at them. The couple trying to do everything legally and then being ambushed “was the jump-off point for the film, but there’s a whole lot of fiction and drama… We extrapolate a lot of it to talk more about the complexities with what’s going on with legalization but for the most part, it’s a home invasion thriller.”

Telfer plays the part of Ticker, the film’s main violent villain who has a mission to get the money, but the actor describes him as “not a cerebral villain” so he easily gets distracted. “Some of what makes him scary is his unpredictability,” the actor adds.

Telfer is especially proud of a scene about 10 minutes into the film that really gets to the heart of Ticker. “It was me terrorizing the other criminals, but done in a seductive, creepy, grooming way.” He admits he added some bisexual undertones to the character, but never outright addressed Ticker’s sexuality.

The Best of Both Worlds

Green Rush is truly the start of Telfer’s dream come true — being able to have a “secure, enjoyable acting job” like Days of our Lives and writing and creating fascinating films on the side. With Lionsgate distributing the film, he’s been able to pitch more offers, and hopefully, DAYS goes back into production soon so Telfer can have the best of both worlds.

You can currently find Green Rush on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes, as well as Redbox. You can see the trailer here at IMDB. Other streaming services are also set to pick up the film soon. Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.