Your new movie Sweet
Madness - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell
us about your character in it?
Sweet
Madness
is a glimpse into the mind of Harley Quinn, as she
executes a plan to gain her independence. Hopefully viewers will gain
insight into how her mind works. What did you draw upon to
bring Harley Quinn
to life, and how do you prepare to play such a character even? And quite
honestly, can you find anything of yourself in her? To
prepare for the role, I watched a couple of clips of the old Batman
cartoons on YouTube just to see how she spoke. I quickly realized that
this character speaks awfully similar to how I talk to my dogs. Yes, I
have full on conversations with my dogs in a high pitched voice. After I
got her cadence down, which I wanted to be somewhat more subtle than the
annoying voice I use to talk to my dogs, I just let myself be free and
organic and in the moment within the parameters and context of the scenes.
Playing a character like Harley, you can't try to "play" her
like she's crazy. Harley doesn't think she's crazy - so I had to just live
in her reality, her truth. Her perception of things. Before
you accepted the role in Sweet
Madness, to what extent were you even aware of Harley Quinn
the comicbook character, and would you at all call yourself a comicbook
geek? Prior to auditioning for the role, I didn't know who Harley Quinn
was, or anything about her. I grew up primarily overseas, as
I'm German, and wasn't exposed to the same pop culture growing up as the
typical American. I've never been much of a comic book geek, just a
regular geek, period. I have a new found affinity for it now, though. I
would love to do a rendition of Catwoman next!
How did you first get involved with the project,
actually?
I first got involved with the project because Peter (the director) [Peter Dukes interview - click
here]
reached out to me on Facebook. I then read for the role. Honestly, I
think I got it because Peter liked the squirt gun I brought as a prop to
the audition. Ha ha ha.
What can you tell us about your director Peter
Dukes [Peter Dukes interview - click
here], and what was your collaboration like? Working
with Peter was great, because you really had the sense that this was a
true collaboration, and everyone involved really approached it as a labor
of love. He gave me free reign to just have fun with the character! What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Everyone
on set, from the makeup, the director, the camera crew, sound, the other
actors - everyone was top notch and very professional. That's hard to find
on a low budget shoot, but no one was there for the money - I mean, we
were all there because it was a fun project that we really wanted to do,
and everyone gave it their all. Any
future projects you'd like to share? Future projects coming
out that I'm really excited to share: I have a role in the new Terrence
Malick flick Knight of Cups. It's a tiny role, but I'm excited
nonetheless, because it's Terry Frickin' Malick! And, I got to work
opposite Christian Bale, so that was pretty cool. It'll be in theaters in
the US in December. Boone: The Bounty Hunter should be
releasing in a few months, and it's a really funny action comedy. I play a
party girl opposite Jonathan Lipnicki (yeah, the "kid" from Jerry Macguire).
As far as I know,
you initially entered "show business" if you may as a model in
Korea and Japan - so how did that come about, and what can you tell us
about that aspect of your career? And how do modeling and acting compare,
actually? And what got you into acting eventually, and did
you receive any formal education on the subject? I did get
my start as a model in Asia. I have to say, that really worked against me
when I started acting. I was so aware and conscious of what I looked like,
so that I was afraid of looking stupid. As a model you have to be aware of
what angles of your face and body the camera is catching. So, I had to
learn to let go, take chances, really live in the moment as an actor, and
not "mug" for the cameras. Acting is very different from
modeling. Boy, was I awful when I started out! You have to gain practical
experience and technical knowledge as an actor, such as finding your
light, cheating your eyeline and hitting marks, but the most important
thing is honestly feeling and thinking what the character should be
feeling and thinking in that moment. It took me a while to learn that! One
of my best acting teachers was Sal Landi, with whom I studied with for a
good 10 years. What
can you tell us about your film and TV work prior to Sweet
Madness?
When I was first starting out, I did some cheesy low budget, straight to
VHS (lol) horror stuff. But it was an invaluable learning experience.
We all have to pay our dues in any given field. So I did my share of
student films and low budget crap. Then I started getting some cool
network TV shows and films. It's still a struggle to find my next
acting job. There are literally tens of thousands of cute blonde women
in my age range in LA all vying for a handful of roles. I'm always
extremely grateful for roles I do book and do the best job I can.
How would you describe yourself as an
actress, and some of your techniques to bring your characters to life? Every
project and character is different, so I can't tell you of a specific
technique that works every time. You just have to do whatever works for
that particular role. I've had to overcome a lot of adversity and
emotional hardship in my life, so I'm lucky in the sense that I have a
deep emotional well from which to draw from, just below the surface of my
subconscious. You really just have to use your personal experiences to
make a character come to life. Actresses
(and indeed actors) who inspire you?
I have huge admiration for Cate Blanchett. I mean, here's an actress
that's like a chameleon. She can do a ton of different characters and
just nail it every time. Daniel Day Lewis is another actor like that.
It's always inspiring watching a film in which the actors totally
transport you into their world, and you're just swept away watching
their performances.
Your favourite
movies?
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I'm a sucker for historical period pieces. It's nice
to get swept away to another place and time! Also, I used to love horror films growing up, but after acting in so many low
budget ones, the genre isn't as fun for me to watch anymore. It kind of
ruins the viewing aspect when you're privy to the insider details of how
they do special effects.
Your
website, Facebook, whatever else?
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0511983/reference
www.facebook.com/MadeleineWadeActress
Thanks
for the interview!
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