Erica-Leerhsen.com

Erica-Leerhsen.com Exclusive Interview

How do you keep your work on the cutting edge?

Acting to me is very much like sports, in terms of emotional sports and staying on the cutting edge requires you to stay alive in your emotional self so staying alert and aware and intellectually stimulated at all times. All that stuff feeds your work and also for an actor, fortunately or unfortunately it's really important to stay in touch with exactly how you are feeling so you can tap into that at any moment. As you get better and after you have been doing it for a long time, that will also get stronger. Some actors worry about crying in a scene but when you have been acting for a long time you can go into any emotion at any time, but it does take a while to get to that point and you have to build it.

If you weren't an actor, what would you dream profession be?

I would probably be a doctor because I'm very interested in the human organism, it's what made me interested in acting. It's how we relate to the world biologically, chemically, emotionally you know all of those things intertwine.

If you could work with anyone, who would it be and why?

The actors I would want to work with would be Vera Farmiga, I really like her craft a lot and I would also say Meryl Streep and Robert Deniro. All the reasons are pretty much the same, is that I really respect their work and I think that anytime you're around someone good they just make you better and it would be interesting to be elevated by working with them, to feel like I was in their playing field. The experiences I have had working with really great actors, that what it feels like, you're just in a whole new world.

How do you feel being named one of the decades greatest scream queens?

I'm grateful for being named one of the decades greatest scream queens (laughs) I'm not trying to be, it makes me wonder the energy I give off but it must seems like I'm always upset or something but no I mean, I've always been interested in dramatic acting so it's sort of a big pay off.

Which film has been the biggest challenge for you so far?

I have to say eqaully all of these independent films that I do that are lower budget where I am in every single scene, they are incredibly and psychically demanding, to then where I have had to a do a bigger budget movie it seems like a walk in the park as everything is all set up for you perfectly but that also makes the fun of independents. I have a special place in my heart for that thing of when you have to make it work and you have to get that shot when you have been working for 12 hours it gets you to a place of appreciation and purity with the art.

When did your interest in films and film making begin?

It really just began when I did Blair Witch 2. I didn't really want to ever do films, I just wanted to do theater, that's all I cared about. Before that I had just done theater and had these incredible experiences and I felt like I played these really cool characters and never show them to anyone and the idea of being able to capture it and capture the experience so the nostalgia really appealed to me and I think film is really about nostalgia.

You are well known for Blair Witch 2, it had a lot of mixed reactions from the people out there but it does seem to have a cult following. How do you feel about the film almost 10 years after it was released?

Well I haven't watched the film all the way through but I was just talking about it with a group of friends who saw it on TV and I asked them their opinion because I'm interested in what people's opinion on it as a film and how it stands up. I have to say compared to other teen movies that I see, it holds up really well I think.

In Texas Chainsaw, did you like the way your character Pepper was portrayed in the script?

Yes, I love the writer of Texas Chainsaw Scott Kosar, who also wrote The Machinist. I think he has a dark insight into human nature in a good way where he's able to get the sadness equalness and get the positive striving of the human spirit across, which is not an easy thing to do. Usually things that are dark can be depressing and Scott has a way of elevating them to an energized level in portraying that struggle.

And how was your overall experience working on the film?

Working on Texas Chainsaw was really really fun and I think the producers made sure that we all had fun and I think that came across in the movie as we really were friends. I tried to bring a new level of depth to it, to where it could be heavier than just the light, campier layer.

What was your most difficult scene to film in the movie?

Any scene where you had to be crying continuallcly is or throwing up those are the hardest scenes for me. When I was younger I used to get excited for these scenes and I couldn't wait (laughs) now I know the psychial toll it's going to take on my body. When you have been crying or throwing up for 12 hours, it has an affect on your psychically, on film especially you have to go there, you have to be really crying because the camera is so close to you it's like a magnifying glass. It's incredibly draining but it always feels great when you nail a scene like that because it is like an athlete trying to make a high jump or something. When you do it you get this rush afterwards and it's probably close to how people feel after they have finished a competitive sport and you're glad it's over but you really wanted to do it well.

Before you film those scenes, is there anything you do to reset yourself such as listen to music?

I've gone through some fazes where I listened to music but I decided to stop doing that because what ends up happening is... I think the way the brain works is we gear into being used to something like a lot of actor techniques are based on that so I didn't want to feel like I needed the music and when I felt like that I realized I needed to be able to get there all on my own and it's also more powerful that way. It's like getting to flex your muscle in a different way, if you have the music all the time your acting muscle doesn't get as strong and to where you could actually get it on your own. I think you can play certain music in your trailer to try and stay in a calm state when you're not acting and when you're on you just have to go.

Wrong Turn 2 got a great reception from horror fans, did you see that much anticipation and good reception coming before you got involved with the film?

No I didn't. I just got the offer for that movie and I was really excited and I thought it was a great oppurtunity to do an action hero and like I said try to bring an extra layer of depth to an action hero. I was trying to do what I guess Linda Hamilton did in Terminator so I'm trying to make that character live longer than just that movie kind of thing. It's always good to have a goal or a challange.

And how did you feel about your look in the film, did you like the blonde extensions?

I really don't care how I look but I have to for this business (laughs) so when I showed up on set I had really short hair and there was a lot of talk about my hair so I came up with that idea as a way to make my character look glamorous and it ended up working. I think sometimes in those kind of movies, especially in Wrong Turn there is a bit of candy coated feeling to it and I think the look of that character really fit with that and she was trying to be your average reality TV contestant so there had to be like an Andy Worhol pop to it and I think that look worked very well for that.

How was it working with Woody Allen both on film and theater?

Working with Woody Allen was a great learning experience. It just taught me most of the thing I know about acting, about taking your time and being able to be comfortable in public and really take your moments as a leading lady, he taught me a lot about that. It was just amazing to go into his world and be one of the characters in his world.

The Guardian was such a great show, why did you leave the show so early on?

I was really excited to be involved with The Guardian. It tuned out that my character had been following the same storyline as the main character in which I was supposed to leave the law firm and work for another legal service and CBS decided it was taking away from the main character. At that point also I think the writers didn't know what to do with my character so they deicded to, like they did with a lot of other characters and write them off and write new ones in. I can see from the writer perspective how you would be stuck sometimes so I think that's what happened with that. Ultimately I think that had to do with the downfall of that show, they did it with a couple of other characters so you ended up not having a regular character base which is usually the secret to most television shows.

Can you tell us anything about your upcoming film The Message?

The Message is a psychological thriller about a woman who is forced to come to terms with her personality flaws, in this case addiction and narcissism. She is visited by a group of angels who attempt to guide her on a path away from her darker side. Have you ever seen a drug addict or alcoholic who seems possessed by the devil, or dark thoughts? It's about battling that darkness.

Whats next for you?

I'm working on a film called The Help, directed by Nathan Adolfson. It's going to be shooting in the Philippines in October hopefully and it should be really interesting. I play a character named Abigail who's a woman struggling to adjust to life in a different country and she has a new marriage and is pregnant and is dealing with all those things in a world which may or may not be very friendly to her. She's trying to sort of figure things out but she may be in a little bit over her head.

©Erica-Leerhsen.com 08/28/2009

Welcome

Projects

Lonely Joe
Playing - Michele Connelly
Release - TBA 2010
Official Site - here

The Message
Playing - Anna
Release - TBA 2010
Official Site - here

First Dates (Short)
Playing - Clara
Release - July 2010
Official Site - Coming Soon!

The Butterfly Room
Playing - Claudia
Release - TBA 2011
Official Site - Coming Soon!