PopHorror Let's Get Scared
If you’ve seen Darren Lynn Bousman’s film St. Agatha, (if not, keep your eye out for our review coming soon!) you would swear that the part of Mother Superior was written for Carolyn Hennesy. She definitely is not known for her warm and friendly roles, and that’s because she’s so damn good at playing evil. You could not imagine my excitement when I was given the opportunity to interview Ms. Hennesy (whom I remember as Mrs. Valentine on Dawson’s Creek). St. Agatha is one of the best films to come in the last couple years, and she is just marvelous in it. We discussed how she got the role, her books and animal advocacy, and of course, horror movies.
PopHorror: What intrigued you about the role of Mother Superior in St. Agatha?
Carolyn Hennesy: Well, I had a conversation with Darren Bousman over coffee, and I had not met him yet. I knew his work, but I had not met, and in about 20 minutes, he and I agreed that yes, Mother Superior was mine. I had not read the script, but he told me about her, who she is, what she does, what she goes through, where she comes from and who she interacts with. And I said, “Yes, thank you, I’m on board. Absolutely.”
It’s not everyone who has their first major role in a horror film directed by a horror icon. So I knew I was in very, very good hands. And so the idea of the twisted, the worm-eaten Mother Superior was just such heaven for me to play because it’s big, bad evil with no sense of humor, which is unlike so much of what I am asked to do – so much of what I’m blessed to do, actually – which is evil with a sense of humor, right? So this is a different area for me to kind of explore. And I had a wonderful time doing it.
PopHorror: I thought you were perfect in it. Perfect casting decision, with your facial expressions and knowing your past work. It was just amazing.
Carolyn Hennesy: (laughs) Thank you! Thank you so much.
…kids are so so cruel, and life is just cruel… and you never see that there’s going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. So if we don’t work on healing those wounds, we will take them with us into adulthood, and that’s why so many people behave so badly. Because they just need to sit on couch and figure it out.
PopHorror: So how did you prepare to be such a sadistic nun?
Carolyn Hennesy: I wish I could tell you that I did tons and tons of research, and you know, looked at some of the great, great, great horror icons, but I didn’t. I just went inside my own little mind palace, and that’s where Mother Superior was living. And so I justified ruthlessness, subtlety, nothing ruffles her… what are the characters that I’ve played before with characteristics like this? What can I tap into? I had my own little personal template for her. So I’d like to say it was difficult getting into her head, but it wasn’t. It was just a lot of fun coming back out.
PopHorror: How did you make the jump from actress and producer to children’s book author?
Carolyn Hennesy: Right? That was actually many years ago. My first book came out… I think it was 2006 or 2007. But I’ve been writing since 2004. And I was in a writing workshop, and I just wrote a short story based on the character of Pandora, a classical Greek myth, but my Pandora was a 13-year-old girl. And I was given… a gauntlet was thrown down by a fellow author who said, “You know what? That could be a children’s book.” And I said, “Really? Okay!” So I started writing, and it just kind of gushed out of me. At least the first book did. And it was a story that I think I really needed to tell, because it was very cathartic for my own 13-year-old universal girl.
I think we suffer such slings and arrows in tweendom and teenage years – and even earlier than that – because kids are so so cruel, and life is just cruel, and it’s just agony at that point, and you never see that there’s going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. So if we don’t kind of work on healing those wounds, we will take them with us into adulthood, and that’s why so many people behave so badly. Because they just need to sit on couch and figure it out. Or write a book. And so it was very helpful – invaluable, actually – for me to be able to work out my own through the character of Pandora in my books. It really was a labor of love.
PopHorror: One thing that I really admire about you is your work with animals. I was hoping that you could tell us a little bit about your animal advocacy work.
Carolyn Hennesy: Thank you! And honey, that’s a two day conversation! (laughs) I have spent the last 12 years steeped in it. I will say that I appreciate you using the term “advocacy” because that’s absolutely the correct term. I am not an activist because advocates deal with real world problems in regards to animal conservation and preservation from real world solutions. Not fantasy, not a reality that’s never going to be there and/or happen like some of the activist groups that we are sort of hasten with now. I am very much an advocate for modern zoos and aquariums. I understand the necessity for them. I understand all conservation measures. I believe in spaying and neutering, and if anyone has any interest at all, they can go to my podcast, Animal Magnetism, which is on UBNGO.com, and I think you can also find it on Facebook as an Animal Magnetism webpage. And you will see what I stand for with regards to animals. Thank you so much for asking me about that because, listen. I’ll take animals over people any day! (laughs)
PopHorror: What is your favorite scary movie?
Carolyn Hennesy: Alien… only because it took me six times to see it. I kept having to leave the theater and recompose myself, and then buy a ticket and see it again.
