In recent months, you have starred in quite a few movies by
"mysterious" director Aquinas [Aquinas
interview - click here] - so how did this ongoing collaboration
come into being? And turning the question right onto its head, what draws
you to the strange visions of Aquinas?
The films directed by Aquinas involve very brave
actors and actresses, so I suppose my history in horror films has proven
I’m far from timid so I guess being one of very few British actors who
is prepared to take on such extreme roles set me in good stead for Aquinas
films. I suppose I see every film I’m asked to do as an opportunity
regardless of the content and I don’t have the attitude that if I do
this then I won't get a role on Eastenders, because my ambitions are so much
higher than that so therefore I need to be prepared to stand out and I
believe these roles do that, they're not your everyday sort of films,
definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but what they are, they're shocking and
talked about.
More often than
not, you are the sole actress with any kind of sizeable role in Aquinas'
films - so what kind of a strain is it to carry a whole movie on your
back, and to what extent does that influence your preparation for your
given role?
Massive!! I get extremely frustrated
with myself if I struggle with any of it too. A lot of Aquinas' films is
improvisation and as much as I love improv, I do struggle because of my
lack of imagination on the subject, although I research the roles, go into
extreme depths for the character, it’s very hard when realistically I
don’t have an evil sick brain, so when I’m asked to think up some sick
and weird way to do something then yes it’s very difficult, so I ask a
lot of questions. Luckily Aquinas has got the right imagination for these
types of situations and helps me a great deal.
Aquinas' movies do tend to go quite far when
it comes to nudity and sexual content - so is there a line you have drawn
regarding that aspect of your movies, and was this line ever questioned
during a shoot, by others as well as by yourself?
I’ve only ever had one diva request and that’s no shots of my lower
private region, I’m prepared to do what it takes to get the right shot
and to make it look as real as possible but that’s where I draw the
line, some things I would like to keep to myself and that’s one of them,
there is one film that gets very close to that line and crosses it a few
times and that is Ancient
Demon Succubi, but I knew what the film entailed and I knew
there was to be no holding back so I will forgive myself for this time, but
that will be the first and last time I do cross that line, and as awesome
as the film is and I really do think it’s one not to be missed I’m
very proud of it, but it did show me what I was comfortable with and what
I wasn’t in regards to what I can see on the final edit. I guess I
needed to learn my boundaries, and for that I have no regrets, especially
when the finished product is what it says on the tin, pure shock, horror
and gore.
Let's
start with your very first collaboration with Aquinas, Anna: Scream
Queen Killer, on which you also have a co-writer and co-director
credit - so what is it about, and what can you tell us about your
character? The story goes that Anna auditions for a role in a horror film with a
series of bizarre and highly erotic screen tests. The Director is totally
silent and shoots alone as he slowly makes Anna do more and more sick and
twisted roles. From being kidnapped by aliens to bursting out of a strange
man sized balloon naked, Anna takes it all in her stride until one thing
pushes her beyond her limits. Anna, a young actress, is desperate to make it
in the movies, she wants the role so badly and is torn, she pushes herself
to do what is asked of her but it all becomes too much.
Given the film's theme, I bet at least to
some extent Anna: Scream
Queen Killer was based on your own
experiences within the industry, on shady industry characters, and on
anecdotes you've been told - so to what extent did you base your character
on yourself, and where do the similarities end? Well to be honest I’ve been lucky enough to not have experienced
auditions where I have been made to feel uncomfortable, every audition I
have attended has been completely professional so I couldn’t base Anna
on myself or experiences that I have had, I could of course use audition
experience to a great extent but not the content of the auditions.
Dark
Satanic Magick - once again, what is it about? The story line is very simple and
that’s - Alone. No memory. Just a room. And a dream. A slave to he who
protects, feeds. Reach within to find that inner strength. Explore the
energy. Will it. Become it.
According
to my information, Dark Satanic Magick was filmed on a single day
in a single room - so what was it like to play a sex-slave for a day, and
what did you draw upon to make your character work? Ha ha, very interesting because these
rituals and situations are very real even in this day and age, so I
engrossed myself in research for this role, it was the only way to find my
character. Each action, prop and sacrifice had a reason and a meaning and
I had to learn about every one of them - so yes even though it was shot in
one day it was a massive eye opener to what does actually go on within
certain cults and beliefs.
Ancient Demon Succubi - the story and your character in it?
A woman finds herself alone with a
strange man. No comprehension of what came before or what will happen. An
ancient evil takes hold and suddenly life changes. The Succubi are here.
Prepare for a mind bending trip into the darkest recesses of your mind;
prepare to witness a body taken, a soul eradicated, a human become evil
itself. One by one the men will fall victim to the sickest of deaths.
My character to start was a
fun, flirtacious party girl who is soon taken over and basically becomes a
sadistic evil torturer of men. In Ancient
Demon Succubi you play a homicidal sex demon - now without wanting to come
across as indecent or something, how much of yourself could you find in
the character, and what did you find appealing as well as repellent about
her in the first place? My role as the Succubus was pretty dam intense, probably the most
demanding role I’ve ever played. There is as usual not an ounce of
myself in my character which I’m quite relieved to say, her character
however was extremely appealing as she has multi personalities during the
film and this to me is always a great challenge, I suppose I would have
been more repelled against her if the situation was based on truth rather
than myth so I didn’t have those feelings towards her, I just had to
embrace her as if she were true and feel what it was she was supposed to
feel and find her passion for revenge against man!! What's working on an Aquinas-set
usually like? Random!! He is always throwing in a few surprises along the way and you
sink or swim, hopefully I swim but I’ll leave that opinion to the
viewer. I’ve learnt to expect the unexpected when filming with Aquinas!
Based on these three experiences, will you
ever be working with Aquinas again? And other future projects you'd like
to share?
Of course - in fact the next project is lined up for next year called Alien Invasion
starring a very famous musician so I can’t wait.
Of late, you've starred mainly in horror
movies, often of the erotic variety, but I just happen to know you're also
an extremely gifted comedienne - any chance you'll share your comic talent
with your audience again any time soon?
Oh I hope so, I love comedy in fact I think I’m better at it, which is
bizzare as they are two completely different genres. The last comedy I
acted in I also produced and that is A Killer
Conversation, written by
yourself Michael Haberfelner and directed by David V.G. Davies [David
V.G. Davies interview - click here]. The script
was the funniest thing I had read in years so it was a blast to do, the
film is currently in post production and will be released 2014, so watch
this space!
|
Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
|
|
|
Anything else you are dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I have just recorded a single written by some very big names so watch
this space for more details. Thanks for
the interview!
|