Your upcoming film Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich
- in a
few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your character
in it?
Secret agents have recently uncovered a hidden Nazi
base, full of dark evil secrets and massive plans for the world.
The film follows our special agents attempting to
uncover and stop them before they begin their plan to rise!
I play the part of ‘Major Alder‘ who is a pretty
nasty and cold blooded Nazi!
Seriously, when you initially heard the film's
title - Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich
-, what were the
first thoughts going through your mind?
Graham Gill, Melissa Hollett |
I
imagined it to be Nazis coming back from the dead to destroy everything in
their paths! But hey! You never QUITE know with Phil’s films ...
That’s the beauty of them! With Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich
being - among other things - a zombie
movie, is that a genre you can at all relate to? It's
not a zombie movie that zombie followers would recognise. There are tons
of very different twists and turns and some new concepts that will attract
World War 2 fans and the odd conspiracy theorist as well. But there's
plenty of guts and gore... and THEN some!
What
can you tell us about Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich's
director Philip Gardiner [Philip
Gardiner interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like? Phil
is a fantastic director! He says what he means ... and he means what he
says! His direction is easy to understand.
He is very easy going but serious when he needs to be. I find him
great to work with. From what I heard, at least parts of Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich
were shot in an unheated warehouse
during the coldest days of the year - so what can you tell us about the
shoot as such and the on-set atmosphere? Yes!
It was absolutely bloody freezing! But ... how could you realistically heat
a derelict building like that? By the time it would have been remotely
warm it would have been time to finish for the day! The location was
PERFECT... The whole atmosphere added to the tension of the film! We
didn’t care about the cold... we were too busy being ... well NASTY!
And nice of course! (Off set.)
If there ever
was a Dead Walkers II: Since the 4th Didn't Quite Succeed Either, Let's
Raise the 5th Reich, would you be on board?
Definitely! I
enjoyed every moment of filming the 4th... and it’s not
always about success in a plot that makes a film... Or is it? Prior to Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich, you have made Exorcist
Chronicles with Philip Gardiner [Philip
Gardiner interview - click here] - so what can you tell us about
that movie and your role in it?
Exorcist
Chronicles involves an epidemic of possessions across the globe ...
only there is a big and very unexpected ‘twist’ to the story!
Exorcist Chronicles |
I played the part of a
possessed woman who was proving rather difficult to be ‘ridded’ of the
said demon within her! Is it true that
initially, you only sent in a clip of yourself being possessed to be used
in the film (as did I, actually), to then be offered an actual part? Yes
I did! I saw the casting for it and thought it would be great to try it! I
saw that it was going to be used in the film and was then invited to come
up and see if I could do a few scenes for the film. I love horror films
but never actually thought I would get a chance to play a part in one! From
what I've read, Philip Gardiner pushed his cast quite a bit on Exorcist
Chronicles - so did you ever have the feeling of being pushed too far,
and what can you tell us about your experiences on the movie set? On
Dead Walkers, we were all pushed to our limits, from physical acts to
acting. We all enjoyed every moment! Phil can always see ‘who is capable
of what?’ very quickly - which is what makes the filming work for
everybody involved!
Let's
go back to the beginnings of your career, what got you into acting in the
first place, and what can you tell us about your training as an actress?
Many years ago I
gained some acting experience through a drama group based in Lincolnshire
where I used to help write script and take part in plays.
After which I wanted to get
into film acting and modelling but was unable to do anything about it
(long boring ex story), so just over three years ago I decided to look into
it again and joined a casting agency.
It went from there really. I
have been in quite a few films and done some work for the BBC which
includes Holby City, A Touch Of Cloth and soon to shoot for a
new upcoming BBC
drama called The Tunnel.
I have learnt many things along the way over the
last three years through just ‘being there’ to see how things are done
and delivered so I would say that I’m pretty much ‘self taught’. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Exorcist
Chronicles and Dead Walkers: Rise of the 4th Reich?
My
first film was a night club and fight pit patron in a film called Dead
Cert starring Craig Fairbrass and Dexter Fletcher. I then went on to
do similar films such as My Big Fat Gypsy Gangster with Ricky
Grover, Bonded By Blood, Turn Out and the 2012
feature film Fast Girls. I
then played a court coroner in the upcoming feature film The Look of
Love starring Steve Coogan and Anna Friel. I also recently worked in the
New Bollywood film Jab Tak Hai Jaan - which is huge in India
right now. Any
future projects you'd like to share? I have some more filming in the pipeline for Phil and
whatever else that may come my way that is ‘for me’. I like to take
each day as it comes as you just never know! You're also doing a
bit of modeling on the side, right? So what can you tell us about Melissa
Hollett, the model, and how do acting and modeling compare? I started off by doing some modelling for a
photographer that has been a friend of mine for many years - which gave me
the confidence to do more! Acting and modelling both feel a little similar
to me - as with both you need to be imagining yourself in different
scenarios. However, with the acting side of things I tend to forget what
I actually may ‘look like’ in a scene as I’m too busy doing it! How
would you describe yourself as an actress, and what do you usually draw
upon to bring your characters to life?
When I’m told my part I instantly try and imagine
what kind of person this may be... What would my personality really be
like? How would I react in
certain scenarios? I tend to draw on my own imagination. I enjoy switching
off from ‘Melissa Hollett’ for a bit... I know I can bring her back
afterwards... Luckily or I would probably be arrested!! Actresses (or
indeed actors) who inspire you?
I love Joanna
Lumley as you all probably know by now! As I love her work!
John Cleese for
his typical English humour!
I was brought up on
Monty Python humour and such like! I also think Jo Brand is bloody
brilliant! – I seem to love – well comedians mainly! Your favourite movies?
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I do really LOVE supernatural/paranormal and horror films!
I love the way that Japanese paranormal films are made especially!
They have this great knack of making you jump and leaving more to the
imagination than actually SHOWING everything! I also love the British comedy
films - Monty Python and the Holy Grail
and The Life of Brian
- I
could act the WHOLE things out! Love them! I also really like Cast Away and
The
Terminal with Tom Hanks. He is a fantastic actor! There aren’t many
films that I would watch again but these I would and have! ...
and of course, films you really deplore? I can’t bare Final Destination-films! The
first one was ok but then it just got really silly, cheesy and
predictable! Your website,
Facebook, whatever else?
www.awesometalentagency.com
https://www.facebook.com/lissy.hollett Anything else you are dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Just to say to everyone to please check out the
Awesome Talent Agency website! Everyone enrolled is completely brilliant! Thanks for
the interview!
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