THE WALKING DEAD actress talks PAY THE GHOST
Graceful actress Sarah Wayne Callies is, of course, best known as the graceful and doomed Lori Grimes on TVs juggernaut horror hit THE WALKING DEAD. As Lori, Callies was mother to Carl and wife to protagonist Rick and while her character met her tragic, wrenching demise near the end of Season 4, Callies herself has never been more professionally vibrant.
While she is currently immersing herself in her latest episodic role shooting the upcoming USA TV show COLONY, Callies can currently be seen in the Uli Edel directed, Nicolas Cage starring supernatural horror mystery PAY THE GHOST, out now in the US in limited theatrical release and VOD.
The film sees Callies playing another mother, this time a broken woman who cannot forgive her equally devastated husband for losing their son at a Halloween street parade a year prior. Fortunately for both parents, said tot is very much alive. Unfortunately for all, hes the prisoner of a very pissed of ghost
Callies took some time on the set of COLONY to talk to SHOCK about her turn in the weird world of PAY THE GHOST.
SHOCK: Ive been a fan Uli Edel since his breakthrough American film LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN and its always a thrill to see him tackling darker material. Speaking as an actor, how was he as a director?
CALLIES: You know Uli is a huge part of why I wanted to do this film. Hes the only director Ive worked with who has been nominated for both an Oscar and an Emmy. Maybe we should do a play together and he can be nominated for a Tony too (laughs). Anyway, he has a very strong vision, which is helpful for me because, ironically, the horror genre is not one Im familiar with. I cant watch them. I hate being scared. I approached this film the same way I approached making a drama, or doing Shakespeare etc. But Uli gave me an education in classic horror and the elements that make them really good, so he was there to guide me through some of this stuff. Hes also hilariously German. Unrelentingly German. What was so adorable is that our DP was a brilliant man named Sharone Meir (the LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT remake), who is Israeli. So you had this awesome dynamic duo, one German, the other Israeli and there they are bouncing off each other and making art. And I thought, if these two can work this well together, then there is hope for the world yet.
SHOCK: The film was shot primarily in Toronto, doubling for New York City. Was this your first time shooting in that city?
CALLIES: Not at all. The first series I was on, TARZAN, was a Toronto based show. I live in Canada. In BC. But Toronto is great. Uli and Shalom went down to New York after we wrapped and shot some authentic locations and matched them to our Toronto footage.
SHOCK: They did a fine job, considering the CN Tower never once falls into frame
CALLIES: (laughs) That is the trick about shooting in Toronto, I know. You have to be careful to stay away from the waterfront and stay away from the CN tower.
SHOCK: So you dont like horror. How do you reconcile your legacy on THE WALKING DEAD?
CALLIES: You know, its funny. I think the whole concept of genre is collapsing. I cant see scary movies. They scare me. I have a copy of PAY THE GHOST but Im alone here shooting THE COLONY so I wont watch it without my husband here with me. But yeah, I think people used to look down on horror and the term was used to signify that the film wasnt as good as a proper drama. But that has fallen apart. People are making scary stories with profound emotional, political and spiritual undertones that are every bit as powerful as a non-scary film. With THE WALKING DEAD, it was story about human nature and morality. It just happened to have a bunch of zombies in it. Which is fine. Doesnt bother me one way or another. Im just grateful to be a working actor!
SHOCK: PAY THE GHOST falls under the parental horror sub-genre
CALLIES: Yes and Nic and I talked about a lot about that. There is nothing more terrifying than losing your child. Thats the draw of the film.
SHOCK: This is Cages best work in a thriller in years
CALLIES: Nic is a doll. I adored working with him. Hes a consummate professional. He even showed up to the table read. In my head theres the two Nicolas Cages. Theres the one I grew up watching. MOONSTRUCK. LEAVING LAS VEGAS. That guy who exists as my experience as a viewer, watching him work. Then theres this dude I got to a movie with who was as humble and dedicated as any day player on a TV show. He never throws his weight around. We collaborated. We worked hard to make characters that werent just generic guy and generic girl. It was a fantastic experience.
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