You might know Sean Rogerson from the series Harper’s Island or from his slew of small screen appearances on shows including Smallville, Fringe and many more but now it’s time to see Rogerson in action on the big screen, in a starring role nonetheless.

Rogerson is Grave Encounters‘ Lance Preston. Lance is the host of the ghost-hunting reality show “Grave Encounters” and for his sixth episodes he’s taking his crew into the Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital. Lance starts the day as his hardworking and goal-driven self, determined to top his previous work with this latest episode, even if it means fudging a few interviews. However, once he and his team are locked inside the facility for the night and strange things really do start to happen, Lance is forced to drop the act and do whatever it takes to get his crew out alive.

This is no easy role for any actor to take on. Lance begins the film as a caricature of the standard ghost-hunting reality show host, a bit obnoxious and quite over-the-top, but then Rogerson has to turn him into an honest and caring leader. While it is quite tough to bring this character from point A to B and do it in a believable fashion, Rogerson credits much of his success to his co-cast as well as the film’s writing-directing duo, The Vicious Brothers.

While Grave Encounters celebrated its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Rogerson took the time to sit down and tell us all about making the transition from big-budget TV to indie film, developing his character with the Brothers, filming in an actual rundown mental hospital and much more. Hear it all straight from Rogerson himself in the video interview below.

By Perri Nemiroff