Bailey Chase and Jesse Hutch are two former Green Berets putting their skills to use to protect their loved ones in an apocalypse inHomestead. Chase has seen a wide range of success since playingGraham inBuffy the Vampire Slayer, with some of his most notable roles since being Branch in the hit A&E and Netflix Western dramaLongmireand Owen Bennett in CBS’S.W.A.T.. Hutch has also enjoyed key roles in a variety of movies and shows going back to the Brittany Snow-ledAmerican Dreams, having starred in the likes ofFreddy vs. Jason,ArrowandBatwoman.
Chase stars inHomesteadas Jeff Eriksson, a family man and former Green Beret who finds his life thrown into chaos when a nuclear bomb is set off in Los Angeles, sending the rest of the country into chaos. Hutch stars in the film as Evan Lee, a fellow former Green Beret who ventures to the titular compound with Eriksson and his family after previously being hired by the owners to protect the land should an emergency like this occur. When they find their efforts to protect their families conflicting with neighboring homes and the owners of The Homestead, tensions reach an all-time high.
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Alongside Chase and Hutch, the ensembleHomesteadcast includesYellowstonealums Dawn Olivieriand Neal McDonough, as well asWalker’s Kearran Giovanni,Jack Ryan’s Susan Misner, Tyler Lofton, Kevin Lawson, Currie Graham, Olivia Sanabia and Ariel Llinas. Based on the bookBlack Autumn, the movie is also being followed by a TV show, which expands on some of the mysteries and drama introduced in the film.
Prior to the movie’s release,ScreenRantinterviewed Bailey Chase and Jesse Hutch to discussHomestead, how it proved to be a happy surprise that signing on for the film led to a larger franchise, their experience working with Angel Studios, the emotional nature of Jeff’s family storyline, and the training they underwent to authentically portray former Green Berets in the movie.
Chase & Hutch Recognize The Rarity Of A Franchise LikeHomestead
“It’s probably 1 in 100 where you get from the feature…to actually going to series…”
ScreenRant: I’m excited to chat aboutHomesteadwith you both. It is such a harrowing movie from start to finish. But I also find it kind of interesting that you guys weren’t just signing on for a film, you were signing on for a full franchise coming into this project. Bailey, if you’d like to start, and then Jesse, what was going through your minds when you were approached with the proof of concept and then the vision for what this would be?
Bailey Chase: Yeah, it was one of those where it was like, “Surprise!” That happens a lot, you know, when you, let’s say, come in from ground zero, and you’re doing a pilot, and it’s always more rewarding to be there from conception. You get to have this creative collaboration with the writers, the producers, the directors and your fellow actors. So, for me, I was like, “Oh, okay, cool. This is the plan, sounds good.” You don’t know that it’s actually going to happen.
It’s probably 1 in 100 where you get from the feature, or the pilot episode, to actually going to series, but we’re there, we’re ahead of the game. So, for me, it’s also my first job for Angel Studios. I’d just seen Sound of Freedom, so they were new on my radar, and I was writing on another show, and I was like, “This would be the perfect home.” I just feel like God’s hands are all over this project. It brought us all together.
Jesse Hutch: I mean, that was pretty good. Other than Bailey being perfect, I don’t know how to cover that. [Chuckles] But no, you’re so right. You don’t know what’s going to work, and not going to work, but everybody was hopeful. And to be honest — we don’t have enough time — but it was such a web of interconnection of people and friendships. And ultimately, it ended up on the project, and I remember from the beginning, I definitely read it and I knew in my heart, I was like, “I have to do this. I really want to fight for this.” That’s kind of what it felt like for a while, it was like, “Okay, let’s get in there, get in the room. How do we connect with the team? But not be desperate.”
I just really felt that this was special, and something really unique and important about it. The more I met the team, and the more I met the cast, and the more it started to roll, and now that I’m watching the movie, I’m going, “Wow, I’m really along for a ride here,” and I’m very thankful to be on it. But there’s something here, like, I enjoy watching it. I can’t say that for everything I’ve done. It really has a meaning to it, and there’s themes, and there’s a discussion to be had here that I think is really important and special for everybody. So, I was in from the get-go. It was just a matter of, like, “Am I in?” [Laughs]
Bailey Chase: [Laughs] “Can I stay? Do I have to go home?”
Jesse Hutch: I mean, we joke about The Homestead, but man, it gets intense. You never know what’s going to happen to anybody.
Bailey Chase: Yeah, ever. And nothing great comes easy, and it hasn’t been an easy road to get [off the ground]. There was a Hollywood strike right before, they were able to get the waiver, and again, like divine intervention, it all came together. And then, we didn’t know that the series was going to happen. The movie release got pushed because of the strike, and here we are. It feels like the perfect movie at the perfect time.
The Eriksson Family Arc Brought Chase To Tears At The Movie’s Premiere
“I feel very blessed, and it’s humbling to be able to pull from that life experience…”
Bailey, one of the things I would love to talk about is the Eriksson family. They have such an interesting dynamic, especially with Abe. I’d love to hear what it was like, finding that rapport and that rhythm with your co-stars on that front as filming went on.
Bailey Chase: Yeah, absolutely. I was able to see the film last night for the third time, and had kind of gotten past the technical beats of being critical of [my own] performance, whatever, and I really took the emotional journey last night, and it was great. The stuff with the family and with Abe — I have three young children. I’m sitting next to my wife at the premiere, and she’s crying, I’m crying. I feel very blessed, and it’s humbling to be able to pull from that life experience, because I love my kids so much, and so I put myself in that situation with them, where I have one job, and it’s to protect them, and I put them in harm’s way. I don’t want to spoil what happens in the movie, but bad things happen, and then you’ve got to work through it.
Hutch & Chase Took Playing Former Green Berets As A Major Responsibility
“…you want to honor the people you represent.”
Speaking of dangerous things happening there, again, don’t want to get into spoilers, but Jesse, you and Bailey here both have a lot of action, so to speak. What was the training process like on that front? Because it does all feel very authentic and very grounded.
Jesse Hutch: Yeah, some movies and TV shows, sometimes you get hired the night before, and it’s like, “Hey, so you’re gonna play a Green Beret now, and you have 25 years' experience.” And you’re like, “I’m an actor, dude. I haven’t been doing this for 25 years.” So, you want to honor the people you represent. For me, the first week, we were kind of getting into it and trying to figure it out, and then they took us out that first weekend after we kind of shot for a week, and actually started training with us. We were out doing live fire, and we’re doing drills.
Bailey Chase: Yeah, we went out there with Jason and the real life Jeff [Kirkham].
Jesse Hutch: We were together, and that changed everything for me. I look back now, and they were like, “Oh, here’s your problem.” I’m like, “No, no, man, it’s cool, I got this.” It’s like, “This is where it goes, this is where my radio goes.” You start dialing it in, and you feel it, and it becomes yours personally. So now, you own it, and you’re responsible for it, and we should be. So, I want to keep going deeper on that. As the series unfolds, I’d love to keep getting better, because, again, I just want to honor people that actually give their lives, that serve, all the men and the women.
So, when they watch us, they can hopefully get caught up in the story and not taken out because we did something that is just foolish or doesn’t make sense as someone who claims to be a Green Beret. And, again, have grace for us, because we also did a photoshoot, and I’m in there, and they’re like, “You’ve got to put the rifle down.” I’m like, “That’s not how you hold it.” And they’re like, “Yeah, but we can’t see your face.” You’re trying to find this sweet balance of like, “Okay, we’re going to be creative, but we want to honor how you really hold the rifle.” That happens every day, but everyone ultimately wants to tell a really good story and do their best to portray them.
Bailey Chase: He also does box jumps. He does a lot of box jumps. You want to tell him about your training routine? [Laughs] This dude’s in shape, and he can jump really high. He was ready, he showed up ready.
Jesse Hutch: [Laughs] I love box jumps. And it helps. There wasn’t any box jumps in the movie, spoiler alert. But hey, we have a workout scene coming in.
Bailey Chase: We got a workout scene coming up in the series. And, as you know, a couple of the other military guys are pretty buff. The guys are all huge, I was off to the side.
AboutHomestead
A nuclear bomb is detonated in Los Angeles, and the nation devolves into unprecedented chaos. Ex-Green Beret Jeff Eriksson and his family escape to The Homestead, an eccentric prepper’s fortress nestled in the mountains. As violent threats and apocalyptic conditions creep toward their borders, the residents of The Homestead are left to wonder: how long can a group of people resist both the dangers of human nature and the bloodshed at their doorstep?
Check out our otherHomesteadinterview with Ben Smallbone & Dawn Olivieri!
Homesteadis now in theaters while the first three episodes of its sequel show are available to stream on Angel Studios' website and app.
Homestead
Cast
Homestead, released on June 09, 2025, is a film about the tensions within a wealthy man’s mountain compound during societal collapse. The story follows the clash between the compound’s veteran operators' military directives and the rural values upheld by its resident families.
