Your new movie M.O.M.
Mothers of Monsters - in a few words, what is it about, and what
can you tell us about your character in it?
A
mother, terrified that her teenage son might be a psychopath, sets out to
prove that he might be capable of something terrible. I play the son,
Jacob, a volatile and duplicitous teenager who is caught in this insane
game of cat and mouse.
What did you
draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much Bailey Edwards can
we find in Jacob, actually? Initially
Jacob seems like an impossible character to empathize with. Over the
course of the film he’s cruel, sociopathic and at times almost
completely inhuman. But ultimately this is very simply the story of a
broken family. For me as an actor, it was that relationship and working
with the incredible Melinda Paige Hamilton that brought Jacob to life. So
in terms of how much Bailey you can find in Jacob, I’d say it’s in the
powerful and complicated nature of the mother son relationship. M.O.M.
Mothers of Monsters was shot found footage style - so in what way
did that influence your performance?
I
think it really contributed to the feelings of entrapment and isolation
that are at the core of Jacob. With cameras either set up around the house
or in our hands, the shooting process was kind of uniquely naturalistic.
Tucia would call action and it would just be me and Melinda trapped in the
house together. How did you get
involved with the project in the first place? I
actually self-submitted for the film on Backstage and sent in a self tape
of one of Jacob’s monologues. What can
you tell us about M.O.M.
Mothers of Monsters' director Tucia Lyman [Tucia
Lyman interview - click here], and what was your
collaboration like? Tucia
and I immediately hit it off. She is such a great director to work with,
knowing just how to push me to go that extra mile. As coincidence would
have it, we also live a couple blocks away from each other. So we could
rehearse in her living room and after the shoot I could pop over to watch
an edit. During post production, she also let me in on the whole process
which really turned into a masterclass in filmmaking that I will forever
be grateful for. A few words about the shoot as such,
and the on-set atmosphere?
When
dealing with subject matter this intense, you need to have a set where in
between you can laugh, dance and shake it off. We were not only lucky
enough to have that but also an amazing team who made sure between the
stunts and prosthetics and ANIMALS, everyone felt safe and secure. Any future projects you'd
like to share? Well
I’m writing a feature with Lili Peper who I met on the set of M.O.M.
Mothers of Monsters and
am currently pitching a pilot I wrote with Mark Indelicato. What got you into acting, and did you
receive any formal training on the subject? Well
my dad is an actor, so I grew up on set. But acting really was something I
felt like I had to go and figure out for myself. During college, I was
lucky enough to go train at RADA and LAMDA. I also started training in the
Suzuki method with the SITI Company, before going on to train with Kameron
Steele and the Suzuki Company of Toga in Japan. What can you
tell us about your filmwork prior to M.O.M.
Mothers of Monsters?
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Acting
for me really started in a very theater-centric world, but before M.O.M.
Mothers of Monsters I’d done a number of shorts as well as small parts in
My Dead Boyfriend
and Netflix’s
Bright. How would you describe
yourself as an actress, and some of your techniques to bring your
characters to life? I
would describe myself as utterly devastating. Kidding. I think I’d
describe myself as a collaborator. Maybe it’s because of my theater
background, but it’s a team effort and I always want to dive in and see
what we can all make together. In terms of technique, I’m all about
doing something physical to get me out of my head and into my body. Actors (and indeed actresses) who
inspire you? Olivia
Coleman, Ben Wishaw, Regina King, Mark Rylance, Mahershala Ali, Taylor
Mac. Your favourite movies? Force Majeure,
Harold and Maude, Ratatouille. ...
and of course, films you really deplore? American Sniper. Your website,
Facebook, whatever else? www.instagram.com/bailedout Thanks for
the interview!
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