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Actress Lydia Hearst (#HORROR, DESIRE, SOUTH OF HELL, Z NATION) stars in “The Haunting of Sharon Tate” directed and written by Daniel Farrands. The film stars Hilary Duff as Sharon Tate, Jonathan Bennett as Jay Sebring, Lydia as Abigail Folger, Pawel Szajda, Ryan Cargill, Bella Pope and Tyler Johnson. Lydia talks about her new film and more with Horrornews.net
Hi Lydia, How are you?
Lydia- I am well. Thank you. How are you?
I am well. Thank you. You did such an amazing job in “The Haunting of Sharon Tate.”
Lydia- Oh thank you so much.
Did you do any type of research to prepare to play Abigail Folger?
Lydia- I did, I did. I think when you are doing a film like this or any film that’s based on a real person and you are playing a true person and not just a character. I think it’s incredibly important to do your due diligence and take the time and put in the effort to learn about who the individual is in order to successfully play the person you were hired to play. So, yes I did everything that I could to find out as much information to find out about Abigail.
Well, I think you did a great job. You did her justice in this film.
Lydia- Oh, thank you.
Is it really different when you are portraying a real person versus a written character?
Lydia- It is. When you are playing someone that is real. You want to make sure that you learn who they were and find out certain characteristics of their life and who they were in their background and what I found out about Abigail is that she was close with her family. She loved her friends, she was well educated and she was just beginning a career in politics and civil rights and was a feminist. She was extremely outgoing and passionate about her friendships and relationships that she had built in her life that she had at the time.
It’s sad because when you watch “The Haunting of Sharon Tate,” it is different from watching the documentaries or the other films based on these events. You get the sense that these people had so much to do and fulfill and they never got the chance to do it.
Lydia- Right. One of the reasons I came onto this film specifically is because it is autobiographical. It is much more psychological and spiritual and the plot itself is inspired by a quote that Sharon Tate had given to FATE magazine a year prior to her death where she revealed having these dreams about nightmares and ghosts that were haunting her house and sort of foreseeing her own death at the hands of satanic cult.
Yes, I actually read about that and when you watch the ending of the movie. You get goosebumps. It is such a different take on this film. You see the friendships, the life and it’s so unfortunate what happened.
Lydia- I appreciate that this film doesn’t trivialize the horrific events that occurred but it doesn’t sensationalize them either. It focuses much more on the relationships of the people in the house and it begs the question of fate and whether or not we have the power to alter the course of our own destiny.
What was it like working with the cast and Writer/Director Daniel Farrands?
Lydia- It was incredible. There were moments where it was extremely emotional and humbling because when you become these characters there are moments when it becomes very real. I think that playing this role broadened me as a human but it also stretched me an actor. I am so appreciative to the rest of the cast. They were all incredibly talented individuals who all worked extremely hard to portray these people. Especially Hilary, I mean she put in so much effort. She is so talented and such a good person.
I think so too. What about working with Daniel? What was his like?
Lydia- I appreciated that he really respected all of the individuals in the home. I know that the film is a horror film but it falls into that genre simply because the events that occurred are so horrifying and he really wanted to focus on the friendship and the relationships and make a much more spiritual film that ends almost in a way that we wished would have happened.
When you do watch the film, you think wow if someone would have done something different. Maybe things could have changed?
Lydia- Right, one small change could have altered everything.
Thank you so much Lydia.
Lydia- Thank you.
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