Mike Gan’s first feature, Burn, focuses on one fateful night at middle-of-nowhere gas station Paradise Pumps. Tilda Cobham-Harvey plays Melinda, a mild-mannered clerk who just might be able to make a getaway from her boring life with would-be gas station robber Billy (Josh Hutcherson) if the whole night doesn’t end up getting blown to hell first.
I was happy to talk to the actress behind one of the most interesting characters from a movie I’ve seen this summer about her pivotal role in the film and what she’s working on next. Here’s how it went:
“…I wanted to know why she did it all and I wanted to understand her.”
I really enjoyed Burn. It’s such a fun movie. I’m curious how you became involved with the project.
Tilda Cobham-Hervey: So I just got the script sent for the film and I read it and it was really different than anything that I had read before. A really unusual character. I think I’ve always been drawn to characters that are a little bit on the outside. I was really fascinated, I wanted to know why she did it all and I wanted to understand her. That was the first thing that really drew me to the project was the well-written and interesting script. Then I met with Mike (Gan) the director and he had a really clear vision and we really connected creatively about the different things that influenced us and the way we liked to work, so I was just glad he felt the same way.
