Interview with Georgia King - 24th September, 2009

Promoting: DVD release of Tormented
Venue: Premier PR Office, London
Interview type: One-on-one


ViewLondon (VL): I see you're a recent convert to Twitter. How did that happen?

Georgia King (GK): I had absolutely no idea what it was. And I actually like the old-school Judi Dench-types who believe their private lives are their own and keep them to themselves and I feel like it's getting a bit too like, celebrities, let's know every detail about everyone and it's kind of all sort of mashing into one, so I actually didn't want to be a part of Twitter, was going to go off Facebook, you know, the whole works – I was going to start a revolution, with no followers (laughs). But Jon Wright, the director of Tormented said, 'It's really important you go on it, because it's just the way things are nowadays and actually, doing Tormented and doing all the press and doing all the DVD extras, with the flip-video cameras and things, it really is about that – people are really interested to know what the person is like. And I actually wanted to differentiate myself from the characters that I've been playing, because I think people can look at you and go, 'Oh, you're a real mean cow' or 'You must be so gentle and soft because you only ever do period dramas' – someone said that about me, which is very, very far from true. So I went on Twitter, but I literally only just discovered the 'Replies' button the other day and there were all these messages I hadn't responded to! But it's important, because I think the positive side of the public is a very good side to hold on to, because obviously, the negative is huge, to everyone, not just me. So I am slightly, reluctantly, converted.

VL: You are all over the Tormented extras. How was it doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff?

GK: I love doing behind-the-scenes. I have no qualms about appearing in front of a camera, it's just watching the end product! They gave us so much stuff – I was immediately so impressed, on the set, when they came in and told us about all the extras. They rigged up a fake toilet cubicle and I think a couple of people were like, 'No, I will not go in there, it's too personal', but I loved the place (laughs). It's brilliant! It's an interview, but I get to choose the questions, which is amazing and also a real privilege. It's lovely to have people invest their time and energy in very inventive ways of getting extras from us. And then, the flip-video cameras, when we're in character, which a lot of people didn't get on YouTube, originally. So they were watching me going, like, 'Oh, I hate this girl, she's so vain, she's so shallow' and I was kind of tempted to write back under some fake name like George, George Kingdom and reply, saying, 'It's not really Georgia King!' But I think people have cottoned on now, which is great. But yes, the behind-the-scenes stuff was great, we had Alex Tanner, who directed all the extras, he got so much footage and it's a shame he couldn't put more on the DVD, because he had some cracking stuff.

VL: What's the reaction to the film been like? Have you been recognised from it?

GK: I have been. I actually had my hair dyed very dark brown for a role, which made me look so different that no-one recognised me, although someone actually hit me on the head as they ran past and went, 'You're from Wild Child!' (laughs) and just kept running and I was like, 'Yeah! Bye, buddy!' It was a very weird moment, the other day. But now I'm back to blonde, people do give me little comments here and there. With Tormented, I think for those that got it – because it's actually very, very clever and very funny – they loved it. It's amazing – if you understand what it's saying and what it's doing, it's brilliant. It's not meant to be the scariest thing you've ever seen – I think a few people were under the impression that it was just a horror film and it's a slasher-horror, it's a comedy horror. And I'd like to think it's very unique – the cast and the look and the feel of it are unlike a lot of horror films that are made. And I think they took bold choices with their casting that paid off, like with Tuppence, who'd never made a film before. And also, I'm not the skinniest girl and I have that scene in my knickers and I've definitely got hips and a bum, I think we all learned that, watching that film (laughs). And, FYI, the camera adds at least 25 pounds, to me personally. So I'm definitely aware of not being skinny, but that's great, I think that's really important, again, that people aren't just looking for one type of girl, which is tiny, petite, very thin. I'm hoping that more normal women are being accepted in the film industry, which I think they are. And curves are good! Guys like curves! They are under-rated in the film industry. I think film stars have always looked after themselves and been very thin, but I think as a generation we're much bigger now, so the contrast between those size zero actors-slash-models and normal people is that much more extreme. And I'm not saying 'Be obese' but I do think being healthy should be the priority.

VL: What else have you got coming up?

GK: I'm in St Trinians 2, briefly, I just did a small role in that. And then I've got Tanner Hall, which I was downloading my lesbian bath scene from, for my showreel the other day – it's actually one of my best scenes! Also, weirdly, I was in Wild Child, but I just auditioned for another film called Wild Child too. Very strange. But Tanner Hall was my first American film, the first audition I did when I got to L.A. It's about four girls at a very old, run-down boarding school in New England and everything's very still and beautiful. And these girls are at that weird, big gear-change in their teenage years, so one's having an affair with another man, another's not sure about her sexuality and is terrified about it and the other one is so sure of her sexuality that she abuses it. And then my character, Victoria, is the new girl who goes in and destroys them all! But it's quite cool – it's got a kind of Virgin Suicides, dream-like quality to it. And it's directed by two women and if you knew them, it is absolutely a product of these two women – they're the most dream-like, ethereal creatures and I've never met two people like them.

END

Interview with Georgia King, April Pearson, Calvin Dean, Alex Pettyfer and Tom Hopper (stars of Tormented) - April 24th, 2009

Promoting: Tormented
Venue: The Soho Hotel
Interview type: One-on-one (actually one-on-three and one-on-two)



ViewLondon (VL): What's the story of the film and who do you play?

Tom Hopper (TH): I play a character called Marcus. The film starts off at a funeral of a character who killed himself. And we play the characters in the in-crowd and we have a big party and stuff and basically people start getting killed or injured and something is doing it to them. So it's basically how all these people start getting killed off in very grusome lovely ways.

Alex Pettyfer (AP): I play Bradley, who's kind of a manipulative psychopath and the story's basically about revenge.

April Pearson (APn): I play Tasha. She's a bit of a cow, in fact, a complete cow. She's got her two cronies, Kalilah and Sophie, and she's got no remorse, she bullies everyone. She'd stab her friends in the back if she could, she'd probably stab her boyfriend in the back.

Georgia King (GK): I play Sophie. She's one of the in-crowd and she's a total bitch. She's the sidekick of April's character and she follows the in-crowd. She's horrifically mean, she's air-heady, she's slutty, she goes out with the main football guy and she laughs a lot, when she shouldn't.

Calvin Dean (CD): I play Darren Mullet, who's a bit of a loner, a bit of a geek. He gets bullied a lot and through this he commits suicide and comes back as a zombie-ghost-creature thing and takes his revenge over the in-crowd kids.

VL: I was going to ask you about that, because the press notes say Darren's a “zombie-ghost-thing”. How did you see him?

CD: Do they really say that? Zombie-ghost-thing? I see him mainly as a zombie, although he can sort of make himself appear or disappear with different people.

GK: And I think their conscience starts to maybe creep up on them, so he's part of that too. So it's like, is that imagination or is it not and I think sometimes he is a ghost because he appears and disappears and only certain people see him. And he's referred to like Banquo's ghost in Macbeth. But then he's also a zombie in that he's very much real and does sit on people and kill them and swing shovels and so on.

VL: Alex, you're obviously cast against type, since you normally play good-looking hero types. Was it important to you to move away from that?

AP: I just wanted to take the role because it scared me, man. And if I was honest, yeah, I hadn't played anything like this and I kind of am breaking away from that, but I think any actor at one point or another has a choice to break away and if they do or don't, it's really up to them. And I think, you know, breaking away and showing that you're versatile kind of shows you as an actor and going into this role and not knowing what to do was my biggest challenge and my biggest fear and pulling it off was – well, I don't know if I pulled it off, but trying to pull it off was hard.

VL: The press notes say that you originally read for one of the other parts, but you decided you'd rather play Bradley.

AP: Yeah, that's right. I was originally going to play Alexis (the good-looking hero type).

VL: How did you get involved in the film and who was already on board when you came on?

TH: When I came on board, April was already on board, as Tasha and Alex was set to do Bradley. But I got a call about this character called Marcus in a teen horror and I thought 'Okay, cool' and I read the script and thought it was my kind of thing. I did think I was a little bit too out of the age bracket, because I'm 24, but, you know. So, yeah, I went to this meeting with Jon [Wright], the director and Manny, the casting director, had a meeting, had a read-through and then we did some workshops. In fact, in our group, apart from Tuppence and Dimitri, that was pretty much the group that got picked.

VL: So you did workshops before everyone was properly cast?

TH: Yeah, just to see how we all sort of gelled together and what relationship we had. I mean, me and Alex got on really well straight away, so that was really important. And I thought – I don't know if Alex thought this or not – but I thought 'If I get the part, I hope Alex gets Bradley.'

AP: Yeah, I wanted someone else to play Marcus.

TH: (laughs) I knew it! I set myself up for that.

VL: Again, the press notes say that you're a bit of a horror fan. Is that true?

AP: No, they got that wrong. I'm a bit of a wimp, actually. When I watch horror, I'm watching from behind my hands, like this (mimes). But I loved making Tormented and I like making horror movies. And I would definitely make another one.

CD: I wasn't a horror fan before, but I bought around 40 horror DVDs and watched them in preparation and I'm a total convert now.

VL: Was there anything that stood out for you in the films you watched?

CD: I did take quite a lot from the original Halloween, actually. Just the stillness that you get from Michael Myers, which I hope I got a bit into Darren, because I think that works quite well and is really creepy.

VL: Did you see anything in the film that was similar to your own school experiences, in terms of bullying?

GK: Absolutely. I think every school has those crowds, be it like a grammar school or private school or whatever kind of school, you will get groups and you will get bullying and you will get power-play and gossiping and manipulation and what-not. So I think it's pretty relevant to everyone, actually.

VL: Was it weird filming your death scenes?

GK: Yeah, it's weird watching yourself die. Mine's a very open death so you see me stop, like...yeah, it's weird.

AP: Yeah, I had my head chopped off, so that was weird. But even then, I had to lie on the ground as if my head was cut off and they cut my body off in post, even though I did have a prosthetic head made. So that was really odd, to imagine that your head is still working when it's detached from your body. I actually really enjoyed filming my death scene.