Anne Heche contributed so much to the last film role: Joey Lawrence

Joey Lawrence called Anne Heche a “beacon” after working with the actress on one of her last projects before her death.

Lawrence and his wife Samantha Cope teamed up with Heche on the set of Tubi’s film Frankie Meets Jack, he said in an interview with People this week. The three starred in the new film together, and the couple co-wrote the screenplay.

“She was so good that we really couldn’t even edit too much around those scenes because she was just being at will and making stuff up,” Lawrence told the outlet. “She just contributed so much.”

Heche played the role of Katrina in the rom-com, who is the mother of a friend of Frankie’s (Cope), and acted as a “mentor” character to both the friend and Frankie, according to the outlet. Lawrence played the lead role of Jack.

Heche tragically passed away in August 2022 at the age of 53 after being involved in a violent car accident. She was detained for nearly 45 minutes before emergency services could reach her.

Her new romantic comedy was filmed just weeks before her death in the summer.

Lawrence also recalled Heche’s good attitude and “the level of professionalism” on set.

“She really was there for all the right reasons. And she invested herself and really pushed for it,” the actor told People. “And that’s all you can ask for when someone comes in and does you a favor like this. It was really great.”

Cope added, “You felt like family with her very quickly … She had so much energy and so much love and light.”

The film will be released on the Tubi streaming platform on Friday 3 February.

In fact, it was Lawrence who was pictured in the Six Days, Seven Nights star’s final Instagram post before her death. In the photo, the two were grinning from ear to ear alongside Cope and Lawrence’s brother, Andrew Lawrence, who directed the project.

“It’s so crazy because you never know what journey people are going through or what they’re going to be dealing with. And man, life is so short,” added Joey.

“Your last [Instagram] Post was a picture of us on set. That was her very last post and you would never believe that,” he continued. “So, yes, she was excited to work with us on the film. She talked about it, so it was just really wild.”

Heche’s eldest son, Homer Laffoon, 20, revealed his mother had completed a memoir called Call Me Anne before her death. He revealed more about the project in an Instagram post that was released last month.

“My mother had a finished manuscript for a second book at the time of her death,” he wrote in the caption of the post. “The book is the result of mom’s continued efforts to share her story and help others where she could.”

The post continued, “Call Me Anne is the result and I know she was excited to share it with the world. So mom, here I am sharing it with the community you created, may it thrive and take on a life of its own [sic] possess as you would have wished.”

The memoir is a sequel to her first book, Call Me Crazy, which was published in 2001.