Jennifer Esposito has opened up about the struggles she faced while making her directorial debut.
During her appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark on Wednesday, July 3, the multi-hyphenate star of Fresh Kills detailed her directorial journey.
The 51-year-old actress revealed that she “produced and paid for most of" the film herself.
Opening up about managing finances for the film, she said: "I mortgaged my home.”
To which, Kelly Ripa replied: “Oh, my God, you’ve been busy.”
While addressing the audience, the host added: “Guys, you have to see this movie! It is your moral obligation to see this movie!”
Speaking exclusively about the film, Esposito told Ripa that Fresh Kills “is the first film in the mafia genre where we’re seeing the point of view from the women.”
The filmmaker, who was born in Brooklyn but raised in Staten Island, said that she was inspired by seeing “young women really violently angry.”
She continued: “I realized, it’s really more about choice. I kept going back to [the script] when I would hit roadblocks in either my career or my life and think, ‘That’s where that rage came from.’ It’s about the boxes we’re put in and they didn’t have a choice.”
For the unversed, The Boys actress’ feature directorial debut, which world premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, is a crime drama in which the 51-year-old stars as a household head in a face-off with Emily Bader, Odessa A'zion, Nick Cirillo, and Annabella Sciorra.