Spring is just around the corner which means romance is in the air. Only this year there’s a ghostly twist with the new tragic love story feature film, “Just One More Kiss.”

The story centers around Abby and Max, a happily married couple torn apart after a freak accident. His ghost returns to help her heal, giving them a second chance to be together. But, saying goodbye a second time might be harder than either imagined.

The ethereal film marks a feature debut by notable romance novelist Faleena Hopkins, who writes, directs and stars opposite her ghostly soulmate portrayed by Patrick Zeller.

“Just One More Kiss” found success on the festival circuit, grabbing Best Feature Film at the Big Apple Film Festival and Patrick picked-up Best Actor at the Aphrodite Film Awards.

If you think Patrick looks familiar, then you’ve probably seen him in the feature films “No Reservations” or “Virgin Alexander.” Of course, it could have also been on the TV shows “Law and Order,” “Medium,” “Kidnapped” or “The Young and the Restless.” The emerging actor has been entrenched in theater for years, gracing stages across the country in a wide variety of productions.

Since “Just One More Kiss” recently hit limited theaters and will be available soon for streaming, it seemed like the perfect time to interview Patrick Zeller:


Tell us about your role in “Just One More Kiss.”

PATRICK: I'm the ghost. He's one of these sweet, fun, everybody loves him guys. He has everything going for him. Whenever I've lost or heard about someone "taken too soon" it's one of these people. Work, life, love, family, etc. just seems so effortless or has all just recently fell into place for them. And then it's gone. I imagine we probably mythologize these people when they're torn away from us like that. So, it was important to me that I keep him human and find all the little flaws. Max is a great guy but he can also be impatient and petty and jealous.

How was it to portray a ghostly figure? Did you need to alter your approach to the character because of it?

PATRICK: There was a lot of discussion about the rules of the ghost. And when you're not spending a ton on special effects, you have to really respect those rules so that the audience will go with you and when/if you break them it really means something.

Faleena also left some really useful bits of information to chew on, like that Max spent months hanging around before she could see him. I mean how exhaustingly solitary that must be?!!! I also loved this idea that it's not like Max is sent back on a mission to earn his wings or fix something. He's just as in the dark as Abby and they're trying to figure it out together.

What would you consider Max’s ‘best’ quality? And his ‘worst’?

PATRICK: Best? Max is so good with people. He's effortless. I'd kill for that. Worst? He doesn't read. I get it. He'd rather watch the movie. But this guy has no excuse: he's got time, money and no kids. I'd be reading like three books a week.

Any interesting stories from the set you can share with us?

PATRICK: Too many to count. It's beautiful up in New Paltz and also being back in New York City to shoot was so fun. The whole experience seemed like one happy accident after another: From me getting cast after another actor's scheduling conflict to most of the locations falling into the producers' laps. So many things have to happen from page to screen. They say it's a miracle that any film ever gets made and it's true. But this one just felt like we were getting a little extra help from somewhere.

What’s the biggest lesson you learned from working on this project?

PATRICK: To keep things in perspective. And I mean that deliberately. It's important to focus and get my work done but it's just a valuable to zoom out and allow for this idea that everything is sort of happening all at once and everywhere so any "control" over it is an illusion. They both have their place.

Do you have anything else coming up we can watch for?

PATRICK: Last Fall I wrote and produced a web series with my buddy Jake Millgard called “Packed.” It's about some struggling stay-at-home dads who connect over a fictional social media app called WulfPak. We're almost out of post-production and having so much fun putting it together. We can't wait for people to see it.

And, now just for fun:

Who’s your favorite actor/actress?

PATRICK: Cate Blanchett

What role from the past do you wish you could have played?

PATRICK: There isn't one specific role but I'm one of those actors who totally romanticizes the old repertory system. There are only a handful of them left in the world- a full time company of actors and stagehands that produce plays year-round for the same city, occasionally touring a popular show. The trouble is it's not an economically sustainable system anymore. But serving one community over generations and working with the same company of professionals for the length of a career, along with the job security, is beyond appealing.

Favorite movie or TV show from your childhood.

PATRICK: From Childhood? The following list of four movies is responsible for my personality and worldview, for better or worse. “Flash Gordon” (1980), “The Beastmaster” (1982), “Real Genius” (1985) and “Grease 2” (1982).

It's full of romance and fantasy even crossing over into camp, but with just enough snark and self-awareness to offend the patriarchy. It dares to imagine a universe where no matter how hostile the aliens, along with a couple of plucky ferrets, a medium-attractive guy in a fanny pack can still save the day and get the girl just by being the smartest guy in the room... and teaching himself to build and ride a motorcycle after class and on weekends.

Tell us one thing that would surprise our readers to learn about you.

PATRICK: Sharing the above answer is further past my comfort zone than I'd like to admit.

How can fans keep up with you?

PATRICK: Facebook: /PatrickZellerActor link
Instagram: @patrickzelleraf link
Twitter: @patrickzelleraf link
Website: www.patrickzeller.com link

Thanks, Patrick – keep returning (ghost or not) and we’ll keep watching!