In order to figure out what brought Melinda to the point she reaches in the film, did you create a backstory for her? How did you navigate the space of Melinda as a character?
Yeah, that was the first thing I got myself busy on when I got the job was really creating a backstory to help me understand how she got to the place where she was and what parts of myself I could use and what parts of the character I could lean into and find a way to make her the most authentic version of that character. I think that it was really important to find the truth in the quirkiness of her. I think I really leaned into the idea of her being a quite young, innocent, naive dreamer who’s desperate for love, attention, and connection. She’s constantly seeking that from everyone and she’s trying really hard but unfortunately, the way she’s trying never quite works and I think that really fascinated me. The thought of this night, this particular night got a little out of hand. In any other circumstance maybe this wouldn’t have happened. I got the impression that it was just an unfortunate bit of events and she got so caught up in the dream of it and the fairytale of going off with some guy, that she’s lost herself. I think the film became a kind of coming-of-age story about her having to face reality and what it means to stand up and take responsibility or not for all of your actions.
“…definitely a people pleaser and I think, like most performers…”
What would you say the similarities between you and Melinda are? I always like to ask that about these kinds of grey characters, which is what I consider Melinda to be for sure.
I really love getting a gold star. I’m definitely a people pleaser and I think, like most performers, you want people to like you. I’m very good at being a dreamer and I think Melinda doesn’t have the resources or the experience or the people around her to help her process these feelings.
Yeah. I feel like she just didn’t go down the right path as well. Well, right is a subjective term.
Right, there are limits and I think everything just all happened to come out on that night and I think it shocked and overwhelmed her. I think, also, for a woman who has no power–she really has no power– she suddenly gets some and is a bit unsure what to do with it and she doesn’t necessarily use it in the best way at all, but she sort of learns what it is to have this newfound power within her, which I found quite fascinating.
Going in kind of a different direction, I was wondering if you ever worked in the service industry at any point before you started acting.
I did work in a tea shop for years, but I started when I was 12. I grew up working there so I never thought that I would get a job acting in films.
