I'm here at South by Southwest with Renee Felice Smith. Good to see you. Renée Felice Smith: Great to see you.

I don't recognize you. You're standing you're sitting still. Last time I saw you was at the on the set of NCIS LA and you were flash mobbing. Renée Felice Smith: I was flash mobbing the yeah, that's right. We did our little duet. And I really wish because I put on the beanie for LL. Yeah. And he put on his beanie. I had I wish I brought my hat. So we could've We could've been. We could've matched.

Is this your first time here? Renée Felice Smith: It is. Not my first time to Austin, but first time to South by. Yes. I'm really excited.

And you were your film was chosen. I know you produced and star in this film. Yes. In your film was chosen out of 5,000 entrance for in the short is it the short category? Renée Felice Smith: Narrative short. Um we are one of 20 narrative shorts um premiering.

20 out of 5,000. That's crazy. Amazing. Renée Felice Smith: It's mind blowing.

What is that? That's ridiculous. So tell me about because I think you know, you said before we started rolling that it was a lot of your friends sort of got together and yeah. How much fun to make a film with your buds? Renée Felice Smith: It was great. I mean, it really was. It was a labor of love. We made this kind of passion project with just our best friends. Yeah. Um most of my friends who I've known for like 10 plus years, which was awesome. You know, the art director was a dear friend of mine from high school. Um the director, writer, director is a dear friend of mine from home in New York. And um Chris, my boyfriend was helping on it. It was just It was good people.

How was it working with your boyfriend? Renée Felice Smith: It's great.

I don't know if I could do it. I'd be afraid if they saw my work mode, they'd be like, I don't want to date you anymore. Renée Felice Smith: Well, we also know each other since we're like 12 years old, so that helps.

Serious? Renée Felice Smith: Yeah. I literally worked with all of my best friends on it. And um and I think it really shows. The story centers around a girl who's in her twenties. Um but she often times feels like she's a 16-year-old.

And is that why it's called Baby? Renée Felice Smith: Yeah. Okay. My mom had sent me a photo of um of her giving me a bath in, you know, like 1989 or something like that. And I said, Mom, you look like a baby in this photo. She and she was like, I was. I was a baby who had a baby. You know? And um I just think that's such an interesting idea.

So wait a second. So were the baby picture? Because I was going to ask you just based on the title. Were you a cute baby? Renée Felice Smith: I think I was a weird looking baby. I actually had big blue eyes just like you. It's you're very sweet. It's wait, your eyes change color.

Yes. Eyes change color, people. Wow. I know you've you've um you've produced before. Yes. And you've um and you're obviously busy on NCIS. What inspires you to sort of produce and make films of your own? Renée Felice Smith: I just have to keep moving. It's just kind of the way I've always been. Not in a flash mob way. Flash mob or no flash mob, I'm going to keep moving. No, I think I've always been that way. I've always been like, you know, even when I was a kid, I was putting on a play or I was creating an obstacle course or that satirical Miss America pageant. Like that's just the way my brain works. I I think I'm a storyteller. I I like telling stories. When I have the opportunity to work on something outside of NCIS LA, um I really tend to take a big departure.

Now, does your NCIS LA cast do they um come out? Do they support? Do they watch the film? Do they Renée Felice Smith: Oh my gosh. Eric Christian Olsen is like a big brother to me. So,

I love him too. He's another person I'm obsessed with. But your whole cast, your whole cast was fabulous. Renée Felice Smith: Yeah, they're just like a big extended family, I feel like. Oh, and Linda Hunt actually is she makes an appearance, well, her voice, um makes an appearance in Baby, in the short that's premiering here. She's amazing and I asked her to do it. Linda, would you voice this, you know, um nature program about polar bears. And she was like, I would love to.

That was actually a good I think the last time you did impersonations of your cast and you're just like spot on with it. Um, it was great seeing you. It was here in Texas. Do you have a flash mob hoedown move? Renée Felice Smith: I would have to go with a tip of the hat. There you go. I mean, since I'm always wearing one. There you go.