Your upcoming movie Paying Mr. McGetty - in a few words, what
is it about, and what can you tell us about your character in it?
After
a night of drinking and gambling, Tyrell (R. Marcos Taylor) is awakened by
an angry call from his girlfriend, Meena (Anita Clay) and finds himself in
bed with a strange woman, Cecelia (Alissa Schneider) -- a local mob boss'
daughter. Once the local mob boss finds out, he hires Shota (Wilson) -- a
relentless hitman. To make matters worse, the reward on Tyrell's head has
dozens of others looking for him, too. Adding to Tyrell's troubles, the
worst thing of all... Meena, the love of his life, is put in harm's way.
Tyrell must make a stand by taking on the mob, taking on Shota, and
finding the money to pay their landlord -- Mr. McGetty -- before the day
ends.
My
character is Talia, she is a mob assassin and owns one of the mob bars, she
is one of the right hand men of of the mob boss and is a woman you do not
cross.
What
did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much Crystal
Santos can we actually find in Talia? That
is an interesting question, I drew upon my personal life to play Talia as
I grew up in rough neighborhoods with gangs and a very violent
environment. Since I was raised a fighter I always had a certain advantage
and confidence in protecting myself and others. I am very loyal to my
family and friends, so I incorporated elements of that into the character
as well. How did you get
involved with the project in the first place? I
worked for the producers and director Michael Baumgarten on The Martial
Arts Kid, which is now on DVD and a fun family movie. Anyways, we all just
clicked and they offered me the role of Talia in Paying Mr. McGetty.
with Don "the Dragon" Wilson in Paying
Mr. McGetty |
In Paying Mr. McGetty, you act opposite action movie legend Don "the
Dragon" Wilson - so what was that experience like? Honestly,
it was so much fun, we sat down and did detective work as to both of our
characters motives and what brought each of them here, we mapped out each
move with reason, he is funny in between takes, he has the ability of
going in and out of character, which makes it fun for everyone. He is very
talented and really great energy and a remarkably professional actor to
work with. It was one of my best and most memorable experiences. It was
funny too, Don and I received revisions to our script just prior to our
scene and both of us have the ability to memorize lines quickly, so we
did, discussed it, and off we went. Honestly, we had so much fun. What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Everyone
worked impressively fast and were very professional. Michael
Baumgarten’s team had it down to a science and there was not a lot of
down time. The director, Michael Baumgarten, seemed to know exactly what he
wanted and executed it with great precision. Also, his energy is warm and
he generally has a happy disposition, so that the atmosphere that he
creates is a happy one. I was fascinated how he can keep everyone on
schedule without ever being rude about it, he is truly a gifted director.
And why I am focused on the director in the question, is that you will see
on set that the director sets the atmosphere and pace. Another
very recent film of yours is The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling - so
what's that one about, and who do you play? That
one is a horror action film and it's about six
female atheletic actresses who get cast for being superheroes on a
wrestling show. After hard training and ups and downs in the gym, the
fresh wrestlers board the bus to their first fight in Las Vegas. The bus
get stuck in the middle of nowhere, and the girls end up in a ghost town
together. They must survive a supernatiural slasher named Lisa Turner. I
play the villain of the story Lisa Turner, the pro-wrestler turned trainer
that becomes a supernatural slasher. Again, what
did you draw upon to bring your character to life? I
usually play villains and I look for their humanity, after all, if you
look at every villain, at one time they had the same hopes and dreams as
everyone else and although everyone has dark thoughts, these women
eventually act on them. I researched women killers with mental disorders,
like multiple personalities, and other coping mechanisms that lead to
mental breaks in people. I sat down and examined each of her motives and
developed a root cause and reasoning for each. When it comes to wrestling
and the fighting I was able to draw upon my own skill. Also, I
wanted the audience to see and understand that Lisa was a victim that
snapped, that she did love and connect with someone, but at some point she
simply snapped.
The Boom Boom Girls of
Wrestling |
With
your background in stunting, how easy was it for you to get into the
wrestling theme of the film, and do talk about The Boom Boom Girls of
Wrestling's action scenes for a bit! The
wrestling and fight choreography are home base for me, I trained with
Grand Master Gene LeBell in Grappelling, because I had been in stunts for
so long, action sequences are 2nd nature to me and allow me to really
explore the character from an acting perspective. What can you
tell us about your director Carolin Von Petzhold, and about the shoot as
such? Carolin
is a very impressive director, she didn’t have a lot to work with, yet
she managed to make every day work. I remember getting a call the day
before one scheduled shoot day and she confessed that she was praying so
hard, because they still did not have the ghost town. I called a friend
and he arranged it and voila we had the ghost town, but no one else knew
that she did not have that location until last minute. There were many
moments like this, so filming The Boom Boom Girls of Wrestling was like an
adventure. She is a visually great director and works with her talent well
to merge ideas for the character. Also, it didn’t take her long to have
a finished product. Personally, I don’t think Carolin slept, she did an
amazing job. Any other current or future projects you'd like to
talk about? I
am the lead in Jonni Dingo’s upcoming Eyeball, a fun heist comedy,
and a currently untitled fight movie with an legendary big name actor
attached to be filmed next spring, sorry can’t say anymore on that and
yes I am really excited. From what I know, you entered the filmworld
as a stunt performer - so what can you tell us about that aspect of your
career, and how did you train for this, even? I
really got lucky, I started in this business as a stunt car driver, Rick
and Lori Seaman trained me and were my mentors. I obviously love cars and
can do everything you aren’t supposed to do with your car, thank you
Rick and Lori. Eventually, I incorporated my other skills, I was raised a
fighter and I had taken up Kung Fu as a personal life path, I actually
never intended on using it in film, but it really does fit in. I trained
with some amazing stunt legends and they became my mentors, I love stunts
and that will always be home for me and the stunt community is an amazing
family.
What made
you branch out into acting eventually, and did you receive any formal
education on the subject? It
was funny, I never sought out to be an actress, it was a stunt colleague
that told me that based on my look I will rarely stunt double, they will
choose to hire me as an actress to do my own stunts so I should get
trained in acting as well. I took his advice and went to Stella Adler
Academy for Acting. He was right, 95% of my calls were acting stunt jobs
and eventually segued into bigger roles, I am happy I listened to him. What can you tell us about
your filmwork prior to Paying Mr. McGetty and The Boom Boom Girls
of Wrestling? All
of my work is action-oriented so I have worked on many amazing TV shows
and film. Earlier this year I got to play a Colombian police officer on
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so that was a great day for me. I’ve had so many great
experiences like working on the Academy Award winning film Argo and
observing how talented Ben Affleck is as a director and actor, he really can
direct himself, which is not an easy task. I’ve worked with Quentin
Tarantino on Death Proof, Tom Cruise and Stephen Spielberg on
War of
the Worlds and so much more. My career has truly been a good one and given
me some remarkable experiences and opportunities. As a matter of fact, I
recently discussed my very first job in Hollywood, I was an extra to get
my SAG card to be a stunt person and they upgraded me to an acting part as
John Ritter’s character’s assistant on Veronica’s Closet. I had an
entire day of one on one conversations with John Ritter since our scene
started in an elevator, he was so kind, he gave me amazing life and acting
advice, and he loved his family so much, he carried photos of them in his
pocket. I truly have had some great experiences in this business. Actresses, stunt performers, whoever
else who inspire you? Wow
there are so many. When it comes to stunts I was inspired by Jeannie
Epper, after all she doubled Wonder
Woman. As for actresses, I would have
to say Angelina Jolie, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Yeoh, Selma Hayek, to
name a few, there are so many strong women that inspire me. And I am very
inspired by Jackie Chan, he is really an amazing performer both in stunts
and acting. I am also inspired and grateful for my Sifus Grandmaster Eric
Lee and Grandmaster Samuel Kwok, I am fortunate to have two very
incredible Sifus. Your favourite movies?
Kill
Bill 1 & 2, Star
Wars, Kung
Fu Hustle, Alice
and Wonderland (the cartoon), Wing
Chun (Chinese movie), Rock
of Ages, Talledega
Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby, Nightmare
Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Hellboy, Blade
1 & 2.
...
and of course, films you really deplore?
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I
actually walked out of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It was all the
throwing up... yuck! Your website,
Facebook, whatever else?
Website: www.crystalsantos.tv
Facebook:
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Twitter:
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Anything else you're dying to
mention and I merely have forgotten to ask? I
believe that while we are in the process of living we should not forget to
live and love with all of your heart. Everyone is good at something and
there truly is something amazing to find in everyone. Thanks for
the interview! Thank
you very much for the interview Sir :)
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