PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I had the privilege of talking with actress Hannah Emily Anderson about her role in the new hauntingly beautiful film, The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw (read our review – HERE). Learn about her career, her character in the film, upcoming projects, and more.
Synopsis for The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw
Set against the autumnal palette of harvest season in 1973, The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw explores the disturbed bond between Audrey, an enigmatic young woman, and Agatha, her domineering ‘mother’, who live secretly as occultists on the outskirts of a remote Protestant village. As the community is besieged by a pestilence of unknown origin: children, fields, and livestock begin to die — yet the Earnshaw farm remains strangely unaffected. As mass hysteria sets in the village, the townsfolk commence accusations against Audrey and Agatha of witchcraft.
PopHorror – Thanks for talking with me Hannah. What inspired you to get into acting?
Hannah Emily Anderson – Of course! I think I was always interested in acting, thanks to my parents taking me to the theatre, ballet, and the symphony, but I didn’t think it could be an actual career. I thought I would be a surgeon. Fortunately, I didn’t have the marks or attention span for med school, so after a couple of years taking intro University courses and a college creative communications program, I got a job as a stand-in for Clemence Poesy and loved it so much that I quit college and moved to Toronto to audition for theatre school and become an actor. My dad also became an actor when he retired and we took an acting class together, so he was very supportive.
PopHorror – That’s great to hear. Do you remember your first role and what was that like?
Hannah Emily Anderson – My first professional role was a one or two-line part on The L.A. Complex. I remember being blown away at having my own dressing room and all the free FOOD on set. I felt like a damn rock star! I also remember being extremely nervous that I’d forget my one line. I didn’t know what I was doing so I just followed the other actors and stood where I was told. It was totally overwhelming and exhilarating. I was hooked.
PopHorror – That’s super exciting! You‘ve done a lot of horror/thriller type of films/shows. Do you enjoy this genre and if so do you have a favorite horror/thriller film?
Hannah Emily Anderson – It’s funny that I ended up in this genre because I’m absolutely terrified of horror films. I don’t think I truly appreciated the genre at first, but now I love it (I have to force myself to watch through the terror at times). Nothing is off-limits in horror and the stakes are so high. It’s so fun to play both sides of the coin; the one being chased or the one doing the chasing. Two brilliant stand out films are The Wailing directed by Hong-jin Na and Parasite by Bong Joon Ho.
PopHorror – Yes! Those are brilliant films much like your new film. The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw is hauntingly beautiful. How did that role come about for you?
Hannah Emily Anderson – Thank you! Our cinematographer, Nick Thomas, is so talented. I was in LA for a pilot season (after swearing I was done with horror…), read the script, loved it, put an audition on tape for it, and got it.
PopHorror – I’m glad you went for it! You play Bridget Dwyer, can you tell us about your character?
Hannah Emily Anderson – Bridget is a devout and obedient wife and mother who loses her child and is overcome by grief. She’s cursed by a local witch and falls into madness.
PopHorror – Could you relate to your character at all?
Hannah Emily Anderson – I could relate to her grief. I lost my mom 8 months before filming to cancer.
PopHorror – I’m so very sorry to hear that. Do you have any favorite scenes or any scenes that you found challenging to do?
Hannah Emily Anderson – The most challenging scene for me was the scene where Bridget tells Colm she wants an abortion. They fight, he storms off, and she runs after him begging him not to leave her. We shot that one scene on three separate days so we had to try to recreate the feeling and get some momentum going. It took me a few tries but once we were in it, it was fun. Jared Abrahamson was great at keeping it fresh and throwing things at me so that really helped.
PopHorror – I bet. That would be hard. You’ve done a variety of films and roles, is there a particular character you would like to play but haven’t yet?
Hannah Emily Anderson – I would love to play a more comedic character in a rom-com or a badass fighter in an action/thriller. I would also love to completely transform physically for a role. That’s the ultimate goal.
PopHorror – That would be awesome! Any upcoming projects that you’d like to talk about?
Hannah Emily Anderson – I’m working on some personal projects: developing a comedic digital series with my look-alike Elyse Levesque, a dark comedy feature film written by a theatre school friend, and writing a kids book that my dad is illustrating.
PopHorror – That’s great. I look forward to all that you do! The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw had a limited theatre release and is now available on major VOD/Digital platforms!
