PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Women In Horror Month is an exciting time!
I’m truly honored to promote local talent Maria Olsen, a true indie actress who has reached beyond her goals and accomplished her dreams. It was a pleasure to talk to her as my first interview for WIHM. Maria Olsen is South Africa’s own star in Hollywood. Originally from East London, Eastern Cape – now residing in Los Angeles, California – Maria is best known for her appearances in Paranormal Activity 3, Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem, American Horror Story and over 200 other projects, including features, shorts and television shows.
Maria first appeared on screen in 2005 in commercials and music videos and worked her way upward, where she has been part of the Sundance Film Festival, Horrorfest and Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors, to name a few.
Pophorror: What inspired you to become an actress/producer, and where did you get your inspiration from?
Maria Olsen: I don’t think that anything inspired me to become an actress; it’s just what I am. What took a while was figuring out that that’s what I was!
I basically became a producer in order to help make more films that I could act in. Although I enjoy producing, I couldn’t JUST produce as I constantly need the type of creative outlet that comes with acting.
Pophorror: You’ve been extremely active in your role as an actress and have been a successful local role model when it comes to reaching for your dreams and successfully achieving those goals. How did your acting career start and did you participate in local talent to being with?
Maria Olsen: Ultimately, my acting career started when I was about 6 years old and started appearing on stage in local dance productions. I started doing plays when I hit high school, and, just after I graduated, I started appearing in musicals. All in all, I appeared in about 50 different productions in East London, South Africa, before I came out to Los Angeles in California.
I spent about a year in LA auditioning for – and working in – local stage productions, and I began to audition for film productions in 2006. I haven’t stopped working in film – and the occasional stage production – since… except for 2016 when I had to take a break for personal reasons.
Pophorror: Do you prefer being an actress or part of the crew in regards to producing? Which is more rewarding for you personally?
Maria Olsen: I enjoy producing, but I would never do it without also being able to act in the film that was being produced. In fact, I produce specifically to ENABLE me to act in more projects. Producing can be fun and exciting, but it cannot compare to the freedom to create that acting gives you!
Pophorror: What has been your favorite project, and how do you personally get into character?
Maria Olsen: I actually make it a point to never choose a favorite project because, not only do I not want to choose one directing/producing team over another, but a lot of my productions stand out as favorites for a variety of different reasons. The projects that I’ve had the most fun on include – and this is by no means all of them – African Gothic, where I had to translate my role into, and deliver all lines in, Afrikaans, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lighting Thief, where I got to work with a ton of A-listers, and I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu, where I was able to be a part of creating the direct sequel to the 1978 cult classic I Spit On Your Grave with the original writer/director, Meir Zarchi, and leading lady, Camille Keaton.
Pophorror: Has there ever been a role that you’d love to play that you haven’t had a chance to yet?
Maria Olsen: There are many iconic roles that I would love to play, but, alas, some of them – like Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show – I’m now way too old for. Others I’m sure I’m still too young for, but, if I’m lucky, my time with them will come.
Of course, I’m taking mainly stage roles now. In film, you have absolutely NO clue about the types of roles that are going to be coming down the pipeline at you!
Pophorror: Apart from acting and producing, you’ve also written the OZM News TV series.
Where did your inspiration come from while creating those projects and do you aim to continue writing?
Maria Olsen: The pieces I wrote for the OZM News TV series were all factually based and were aimed at getting children interested in fun, zombie-related phenomena! I had a great time researching these items and constructing the news segments, and I wish I could have spent more time doing so.
I definitely aim to keep on writing. So far, I’ve written an unproduced feature script and a published short story, and I’m halfway through my next script. Hopefully, if we can get everything together, we can go into production on the feature next year!
Pophorror: You’ve been extremely active in the industry as an actress and you have great talent in getting involved in all aspects of media production – you’ve been involved in both the camera and electrical department, along with costume and wardrobe – which I for one know is a task on its own. What other projects are you working on?
Maria Olsen: I’ve just come back from an 8-day stay in New York where I wrapped principal photography on the horror feature Ghost in the Graveyard. During 2017, I shot the following features: The Bone Box (Los Angeles shoot), Seven Devils (Port Angeles shoot in Washington state), No Knock List (West Virginia/Ohio shoot), All The Creatures Were Stirring (Los Angeles shoot) and Painkillers (Los Angeles shoot). My features, Marrtown and Unspeakable Horrors: The Play 9 Conspiracy, have both premiered, and the short film, Daughters of Virtue, won numerous awards on the festival scene.
In 2018, I’m looking forward to the release of I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu and to shooting the features Creature, Aim, Straight On Till Morning and Wretch among others.
Pophorror: Apart from acting, what other training have you had, such as voice, dance, stage combat, etc.?
Maria Olsen: I took singing and voice lessons when I was in high school, and I had many years of dance classes where my training included tap, ballet and a bit of Highland dancing.
Interestingly enough, I’ve never taken acting classes, although I did take a few speech and drama classes, also while I was in high school.
Pophorror: Have you experienced any real-life actress’s nightmares?
Maria Olsen: Not really… I believe that almost any nightmare that happens on stage or on screen can be resolved quickly if one is prepared enough.
I do get the occasional nightmare at night where I dream that I’m on stage or on set and I don’t remember my lines, though. From what I’ve heard, I believe every actor has these terrifying dreams once in a while!
Pophorror: Have you ever forgotten your lines, or a prop, or choreography during a performance?
Maria Olsen: Forgetting your lines on a film set is not an issue as the director will just call cut, and the scene will be shot again. Forgetting your lines on stage is a little more complex, especially in productions where you do not have a prompt sitting in the wings waiting to sing out your missed line.
I’ve only ever spaced out completely on a line while performing on stage once in my life, and this was during a performance of Marat Sade where I was sharing the huge role of The Herald. All of The Herald’s lines are in rhyming couplets, but, for the life of me, I could NOT remember which couplet came next in the middle of one of our longer speeches. Fortunately, the actor I was sharing the role with – we alternated couplets – realized I was not going to spit out the line and jumped in and saved the day!
Pophorror: Have you ever sustained any injuries while on stage or on set?
Maria Olsen: Too many to remember! I can’t count the times I’ve been bruised black and blue, so much so that the makeup department has had to cover the bruises with a ton of makeup so as to preserve my un-bruised continuity. Other fun things included lights falling on me, scratching my elbow on a wall until it bled – dragging my elbow against the wall was the only way I could keep my balance while walking down some basement steps without holding on to anything, being hit in the face on stage, tripping and falling over absolutely everything (including shadows!) and being burnt by curling irons!
Take up acting, they said… it’ll be glamorous, they said… HA!
Pophorror: You’ve had the opportunity to be on the other side of the table at an audition and have been involved in directing when casting. What did you learn from that?
Maria Olsen: I would recommend that any actor who has the opportunity to be “on the other side of the table” and involved with casting to jump at the chance! Being able to learn what goes into the casting process – and why actors book/don’t book work – is invaluable and can only add another weapon to an actor’s arsenal.
I also think that everyone who is contemplating directing actors, either on stage or on screen, should take an acting class or two to see what it’s like to BE an actor. I think that the great directors are those who know what it’s like to be an actor and who, consequently, know what an actor needs in order to be able to perform at his or her best.
Pophorror: Have you ever experienced anything embarrassing or unexpected in your career as an actress?
Maria Olsen: I’ve been in a few embarrassing situations, but the trick to dealing with them is to learn to laugh at yourself. There are two things to remember here (1) don’t sweat the small stuff and (2) it’s all small stuff! There was also the fun time during a stage performance of Annie that the zip on my pants broke. Because I couldn’t turn around and face the audience, I performed the whole number with my back to the audience! There was also the time when I bumped into someone backstage and apologized profusely! When the lights came up, I saw that I had been apologizing to a fire hydrant!
Pophorror: What are the negative and positive parts of being an actress?
Maria Olsen: Negative parts: sometimes you don’t get the parts you’re going for, sometimes you’re replaced on a project due to factors beyond your control and sometimes you’re not brought in for that audition you want. In all of these instances, though, I would say concentrate on the projects you ARE a part of and just keep swimming!
Positive parts: you’re involved in one of the most magical processes on earth and you get to do what you love!
Pophorror: Do you have any advice for those aspiring to become actresses or performers and those wanting to get involved in the media as a profession?
Maria Olsen: I’m going to repeat my usual Words of Advice because I think they are forever relevant:
“If you think you may want to be an actress, DON’T go into the business because you will not be able to cope with the hardships, almost constant rejection and frustrations you will, no doubt, face. However, if you cannot live without acting, then let nothing stop you from pursuing your dream.”
Pophorror: You own your own production company, MOnsterworks66. What are the challenges of running a media company? Could you tell us a bit more about this venture?
Maria Olsen: At the moment, MO66 is dormant as, unfortunately, I do not have the huge amounts of time needed to produce short films and feature films. I enjoyed producing very much, however, and I hope to re-instate the venture in the future. Currently, you can enjoy the films I co-produced on Amazon (Faraway and Consumption), Vimeo (Something Sinister) and YouTube (Another Bleeding Love Story), and the multiple-award-winning feature Consumption is also being released world-wide through Wild Eye Releasing.
Be sure to keep an eye out for more projects that Maria Olsen is working on. She is dynamite in a small package!
