Interview With ‘Unhinged’s Kate Lister

After viewing the wildly entertaining film, Unhinged, I had the distinct pleasure to interview Kate Lister, the beautiful and multi-talented star of the film. She is an Australian born actress who not only keeps busy starring in films, but also co-founded a production company called Little Fish Films.

PopHorror: Thank you so much for speaking with us today! How did you first get into acting?

Kate Lister: It was a gradual thing for me, I took lots of little classes and then I found myself in a class with a teacher named Lyndelle Green who pushed me harder than anyone else had at the time. She opened my eyes up and made me pay attention to the psychology and responsibility in building and playing a character.

PopHorror: Was acting something you were always passionate about?

Kate Lister: I fell in love with acting at a later stage in my life. I had already been working professionally as a dancer, singer and DJ, and I then started to get some auditions for smaller acting roles. I realized I had no idea what I was doing in these auditions, so I went to some part time classes. It snowballed from there as I took on a full time acting course – it’s nothing like anything I have done before. Acting is truly the hardest yet most rewarding craft I have ever taken on.

PopHorror: Wow! You have done a lot of different things before acting! What was one of your first major roles?

Kate Lister: I had booked a few little guest roles on Australian TV shows, but then I was lucky enough to booked Fox Trap, an English feature film that really opened my eyes to the filmmaking world and just fueled me to work harder and book more.

PopHorror: Is there a particular genre that you enjoy the most when you are acting?

Kate Lister: I absolutely love comedy and drama. I am really keen to work more in these genres.

PopHorror: I just watched Unhinged and it was a lot of fun. What was filming that movie like for you?

Kate Lister: Unhinged was such a fun little film to make. I loved working with all of the female cast, and Dan Allan was a passionate and talented director. The film is a remake of a 1980s horror film. The storyline, for me, was a little flawed, but I was able to do some pretty cool things in the making of it, like fall off a balcony.

PopHorror: That’s so cool!  I noticed that you produced some of the films you starred in. What was that experience like?

Kate Lister: I do believe, after producing a few of my own projects, that producers do not get enough credit. It’s such a hard job, and I have so much respect for every producer I work with now… not that I didn’t before hand.  It’s very challenging to produce and act in a project, but it makes the end result so rewarding when the project is completed.

PopHorror: Can you tell us more about being the co-founder of Little Fish Films?

Kate Lister: I am the co-founder of Little Fish Films Australia, alongside the talented Raei. We met while studying full time acting and realised we both had the same views and thoughts on the industry. Phoenix is an incredible talent. He writes and directs while I produce, so we have created ourselves a strong team. We love being able to create our own projects and tell our own stories.

PopHorror: That sounds so incredible! It looks like you’ve got a lot of films that are in post-production. Are there any in particular that you are the most excited about?

Kate Lister: I am so excited about the film I have just recently wrapped in the UK called Drive Me To The End. This film is a dark comedy that touches on themes like autism, death, unlikely friendships, disabilities and social anxiety. The writer/director/actor is so quirky! This script won my heart, as did my character, Sunny, who is on the spectrum.

PopHorror: What projects do you have coming up in the near future?

Kate Lister: At the moment, I am focusing on a pilot called Murder that Phoenix and I have created. Our goal is to get it made within the next couple of years. We have lots of work ahead of us.

Thanks again to Kate Lister for taking the time to talk to us! I’m certain we will be seeing her in movies in the near future and can’t wait to see what she has in store!