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Your new movie The Pact
- in a few words, what is it about,
and what can you tell us about your character in it?
Without giving too much away, it’s about a group of women united by the
abuse they have received from their partners and the lengths they go to to
take back control and get revenge. There are really important themes about
domestic abuse and women supporting women, as well as the film being a
great thriller. My character is at rock bottom when we meet her because of
the abuse she has suffered for a very long time. She has been left as a
shell of who she once was. But she still has a fire and a strength inside
her that mean she gets herself to a very different place by the end. I
don’t want to spoil anything but there is definitely more to her than
meets the eye!
What
did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much Ellen
Carnazza can we find in her? I would say we’re very different (thankfully!) but I can relate to having
an inner strength and letting that fire, however small, keep you going,
especially through the dark times. How did you get involved
with the project in the first place? I knew director Paul Sutton [Paul
Sutton interview - click here] from doing murder mysteries with him so when he asked me to
join the cast, I jumped at the chance as he’s always such a joy to work
with and I immediately fell in love with the script! What can you tell
us about The Pact's director Paul Sutton, and what was your collaboration
like? He has written a brilliant script and also has such a clear vision for it
as a director, so it is lovely to see his passion for the project as well
as his brilliant ideas. It’s a pleasure to help his story come to life as
it feels so vivid when he discusses it. He is a very multi-talented person,
so watching him on set go from actor to director to producer to fight
coordinator and back again is so inspiring. He’s also just a lovely guy
and, of course, we’ve worked together before so collaborating feels very
natural. He is happy to trust you with your interpretation of the
character and let you play with ideas, which is everything you can want
from a director.
Ellen in Credulity |
Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set
atmosphere! Everyone on the team is genuinely lovely as well as being super talented
so we have a right laugh. Which can be bizarre as it’s quite a serious
film. We’ll be giggling away then suddenly Paul says ‘action!’ and
everyone snaps back into character, bursting into tears or confessing very
dark feelings. I think because the subject matter is quite heavy, we need
that light relief between scenes. It’s also fascinating watching the other
actors and crew work - I’m learning so much from everyone as they’re so
good at what they do. It’s like a masterclass from each of them. Any future projects you'd like to share?
Nothing I can share at the moment but hopefully some fun theatre projects
coming up soon!
What
got you into acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal
training on the subject? I always loved theatre and performing but I started out as a scriptwriter
rather than an actor. While I was studying and writing plays, I performed
in a lot of student theatre and took my own play, a comedy murder mystery
called Whodunnit?, up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival which I absolutely
loved. I caught the acting bug and when I graduated, I did a few short
courses and applied for a few bits of the off chance which led to a few
fringe shows and student films and then things just snowballed from there.
What can you tell us about your
filmwork prior to The Pact? I started out doing a lot of student films then moved into indie films and
I’ve been lucky to have a wide range of roles from being a gun-wielding
survivor in a dystopian world to being a regency-period lady of the manor.
I’ve been doing more theatre recently so it’s been nice to get back into
film with The Pact as I love the naturalistic style of screen acting and
just love being on set.
How would you
describe yourself as an actress, and some of your techniques to bring your
characters to life?
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I hope to be quite versatile as I love performing in all sorts of
different styles from the naturalism of screen acting to the over-the-top
comedy of pantomime. On screen especially, I think my style is generally
quite raw and open as I feel my job as an actress is to find the truth of
the character and the story, so I try to take an instinctive approach and
focus on serving the script and grounding the character in reality.
Although I didn’t go to drama school, I’ve studied a range of techniques
from Meisner to Method acting to clowning so I try to take different
aspects of these techniques that I’ve found useful and take a hybrid
approach when tackling a role, depending on what will be useful for that
specific project. Ultimately, I try not to get too in my head and instead
trust my gut and instincts, but it’s useful to have those tools if there
are particular challenges. Actresses (and indeed actors) who
inspire you? There are so many. I love actors that can make you laugh and cry in equal
measure like Olivia Colman, Sarah Lancashire and Steve Carell. I also
really admire Billie Piper, Florence Pugh, Anna Maxwell Martin, Jo Martin,
Ruth Wilson and Julie Walters. Your favourite movies?
I think a lot of my favourite movies are guilty pleasures. Moulin Rouge
has always been a favourite.
Hot Fuzz is another. Generally I watch more
TV - I love a good series where you can really explore the characters and
see them develop over a longer period of time. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
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I can’t think of one I really despise but I do hate a disappointing
ending. The film Knowing with Nicholas Cage comes to mind as the ending
was such a let-down for me. Your website,
social media, whatever else? I’m @ellencarnazza on Twitter and Instagram. My theatre company,
Flights
of Fantasy, is also @FlightsFantasy_ on Twitter and
@flightsoffantasytheatre on Instagram, or you can find out more on
www.flights-of-fantasy.co.uk
Anything else you're dying
to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I don’t
think so! Thanks
for the interview!
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