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Your new movie Alba Rosa - in a few words, what's it about,
and what can you tell us about your character in it? I play the
central role of Grace in Alba Rosa, and the film follows
the five stages of grief that Grace goes through after her husband is
killed in a terrorist attack while they were away together. She struggles
with any coping mechanism and rejects offers of help as she tries to come
to terms with her loss. What
did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much Nicola
Wright can we actually find in Grace? Thankfully I haven't lost anyone in quite such traumatic
circumstances, however I have lost family members which of course
means I have my own experience of grief, and so I did draw upon those
memories and feelings, and adapt them to how I felt Grace would be
feeling. I don't feel there is much of me in Grace! I like to be
surrounded by friends and family, unlike Grace who chooses to cut
herself off from those who want to help and support her. How did you get
involved with the project in the first place? I auditioned via
Zoom at first and then met with director Bogdan Radu in
person, after which I was offered the role. I didn't know any of the
team prior to that.
To what
extent could you identify with Alba Rosa's approach to drama?
I fell in love with the simplicity of the script, and the way the
story was told as much through what was not being said, as to what
was. It examines an older woman's journey, that is rarely explored on
screen, and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to bring
Grace to life, especially as it is based largely on a true story. I
don't believe Alba Rosa would have ever been green-lit by a studio,
and for me, it is the perfect example of an independent film at
its best, using a small cast and keeping locations to a minimum so
the focus is on the truth of the drama.
What
can you tell us about Alba Rosa's director Bogdan Radu, and what
was your collaboration like? Bogdan is the perfect example of an
actors' director. Charlie Clee
and myself spent time with Bogdon before filming, rehearsing and
building on the mother/son relationship. On set , Bogdan would often
whisper something to us which only 'we' would know, which often
affected our reactions to each other. This kept our performances
fresh, and open to change in the moment, which I love.
Do talk about the shoot as
such, and the on-set atmosphere! WWe shot the film during lockdown, so for most of the day the crew were
behind face masks! Much of the crew had worked together previously,
which meant there was already a camaraderie between them, and very quickly
I was absorbed into that group, especially as for much of the shoot it
was just myself and the crew. When Charlie and I were together in
scenes it was a joy, and there were lots of giggles when the camera
was off! Any future projects
you'd like to share? I recently completed filming a horror feature film,
Bambi The
Reckoning. I also appear in the new series of Trying for
Apple TV starting shortly, and The Creature From Below (feature) is
now finished, and has just begun its festival run. In July I
will be doing another comedy series set in the corporate world for an
American company. What got you into acting in the
first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
My mother was an actress, and acting was the only career I ever
thought of! I trained at IItalia Stage School, and by the time I
was eighteen I was working in weekly repertory theatre. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Alba Rosa?
My first film role was in the film Top Secret (Zucker brothers/Jim
Abrahams) which has became a cult film, I feel lucky to have had that
as my first film job, working with such a wonderful cast and crew at
Pinewood. Over the years I have worked on both big budget and smaller
independent projects, playing across most genres, drama, comedy and
over recent years several horror films, I even did my first action
film a couple of years ago! Having
worked on both mainstream and indie movies as well as serial television,
how do these film sets all compare to one another, and what way of
filmmaking do you prefer, actuallly?
The obvious difference on set between the mainstream and
independent projects is of course the budget and what that extra money
can provide! From expanding the world visually either through the size
of sets and locations and the amount of people in the scenes, to the
amount of crew and all the 'extras' that go with it, such as,
trailers, big teams to do makeup, hair and costume, plus nonstop
food which is hard to resist! I enjoy them both for different reasons
-
with an independent film, because everything is on a smaller scale, it
generally feels more relaxed and less intimidating, it is also often
quicker to bond with the people you will be working with. On long
running TV series, friendships can be made from working with the same
people for a longer period of time, and even after all these years I
still love the experience of a big set either on film or TV, and
seeing the world that the creatives make for the actors to exist in.
The truth is, when 'action' is called an actor's job is the same on
both types of set! With your career
spanning a few years now, how has the film business changed over time?
The changes in the film industry are huge, largely down to the
advances in technology in the digital age. When I started out
everything was shot on film, which was expensive as were the big
cameras, there was no option to shoot a film on a smaller camera or
even a phone! Independent film just was not possible in the way it is
today. VFX and CGI has also advanced in a way that years ago would
seem unimaginable, although I still love some of the old practical
effects! Also thanks to streaming, independent filmmakers now have an
opportunity to share their films which years ago was not
an option. But what hasn't changed is that it is a film business,
and many decisions are made with that in mind!
How
would you describe yourself as an actress, and some of your techniques to
bring your characters to life?
I think I am an instinctive actress and I like to be 'in the moment'
when the camera rolls. I love the collaboration with the
other actors I am working with, and finding the truth in a
scene. I will draw on personal experience if it is relevant, but I
also enjoy researching and getting 'under the skin' of characters that
are very different to me. Actresses (and indeed
actors) who inspire you? There are so many! I am drawn to older female actors who have had long
successful careers and who have embraced growing older in a world that
so often ignores women after a certain age! Jodie Foster, Frances
McDormand, Annette Bening, Helen Mirren, Judy Dench, Meryl Streep are
just a few. I am also inspired by the new generation of actresses who
are also producing so that they can get projects made and retain
a certain amount of control, Reese Witherspoon, Margot Robbie, Sydney
Sweeny, Elizabeth Moss are just a few names that come to mind. Your favourite movies? That is one of the hardest questions, as I am passionate about film, I go
to the cinema every week and I struggle to have a short list! I
love dark tales, and ones that push boundaries like Border,
Sick of
Myself, Titane and
Pan's Labyrinth. Then there are the
classics which I watched when I was young and had a profound effect on
me, Alien,
The Exorcist,
Midnight Express and Apocalypse Now. I also
love every Quentin Tarantino and Yorgos Lanthimos film,
Poor Things was my favorite last year. I could go on and on!!! ...
and of course, films you really deplore? I don't deplore any, I am not so keen on car chase action films,
but I can appreciate the work that goes into them. I suppose the one
thing that frustrates me is huge budgets that are spent
on one very average film with a poor script, and I think of how many
good independent or smaller films that could have been funded
instead!
Your website,
social media, whatever else? Instagram: @nk_wright
Twitter: @_nkwright
Anything else you're dying
to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
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I'd just like to use this moment to ask people to support independent
films wherever they can. It takes incredible passion and hard work to
get a film made without the funding of the bigger budget studios. It
is often hard to publicise them as it is so costly, and without a big
name attached it is hard to do. Therefore if you see something you
like, please spread the word on social media and help give audiences
an alternative to the mainstream big studio films.
Thanks
for the interview!
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