Interview with Adelaide Clemens (Complex)Date published: 2012.10.03 Complex: What has the pressure been like to be able to bring this character to life in such a huge movie? Adelaide Clemens: It hasn't been a pressure as much as a privilege. I mean, you know, knowing that there are all these amazing fans out there, and you know, people kind of say fans are dodgy, but really they're just so—so welcoming and heartening and it's a really beautiful thing. A really, really beautiful thing. The ending of the first Silent Hill movie is pretty ambiguous. What's your read on it, and does the interpretation by Michael Bassett (the new writer/director) mesh with that? Obviously there's a huge time lapse. I think it was so ambiguous. You can read it in so many different ways. I really saw it that Mitchell's character, Rose, was trapped in Silent Hill. I thought that was the end of the series, you know what I mean? So I think it's really amazing that he did pick it up and developed such an interesting plot line with it. And I know, on that basis, Rose is trapped in Silent Hill, and that's what we go in there for. To find her. So you're playing the same character from the first film, the little girl, Sharon, and she's changed her name and moved to a new town? Can you confirm that? I don't know if I can say that. I'll just smile [laughing]. Well then the question is did Sean Bean magically get a new daughter somewhere? Yeah, yeah, no, just watch the film! It's coming out soon. Yeah. One of the things about Silent Hill that's amazing to me is the art direction. What was it like experiencing that in real life—seeing the setting, the way they designed the enemies—did you really feel like you were in Silent Hill? Absolutely! I mean, literally I—I virtually worked every single day of a four-month period on that film. And I would just show up every day to work and go, "What am I going to have to deal with today?" [laughing] You know, like, the nurses were completely and utterly gross, and I mean, these costumes were all in real life. Most of them—I think there's only one monster that was, you know, digitally made. But yeah, and they all smelled, you know, like Red Pyramid, eight or nine feet tall, literally smelled like this strange plasticine rubber that they made it out of, was carrying this knife that was probably double my height. I mean, and how can you not be petrified? And then they're going action and I'm like "You want me to fight that?! Like, what the hell?!" But yeah, so [laughing] it was a whirlwind. There were some great blooper reels. Have you played the Silent Hill games or have they shown them to you? What was the game like to you, seeing that, and then seeing yourself on screen? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Apart from the fact that the buttons are really confusing [laughing]—I kept pressing the screen, and nothing happened, I don't—anyway, no, it was really scary. Really, really scary. I think, you know, I think aesthetically, Konami has done the most incredible job with making, I think, well, of the games that I've ever played (and my brothers have ever played), I can say on behalf of them, the scariest games they've ever played. What was it like filming in 3D? It was amazing. I mean, you know, it's time-consuming, and it's—physically, it's a very different dynamic that you have, and a very different relationship that you have with the camera. Obviously everything that you do has, like, kind of got another dimension to it. So you kind of have to be wary. You can't do stupid things like go really up close to the camera [laughing]. Yeah, no, it was a challenge. It was great. Do you think it adds to the horror element? Does it make it scarier? Oh yeah, absolutely. I think it just makes sense with video gaming. Because, as a gamer, you control your journey through the game. And in this, 3D gives that other dimension, of where you can immerse yourself in a game. I think it just makes complete sense with the way technology's evolving. What's your next role coming up? I know these companies are looking at you for other games that they probably would want to make into a movie… I haven't got any gaming films coming up, but I have a British period series done actually on the BBC called "Parade's End," which just aired in the UK, and on the BBC, and it got wonderful reviews, and I'm just so happy with the production. And then I have another series on the Sundance channel from the makers of Breaking Bad—they're an amazing team—and it's coming out, it's called Rectified. It's coming out next year. It's on the Sundance channel. And I have The Great Gatsby coming up, so, you know, that's coming out in—I play Catherine, a New Jersey…outrageous corruptor [laughing]. When you were filming Silent Hill, it was after Kit Harrington and Sean Bean had filmed Game of Thrones, but it was before it aired. Were you aware of that series and did you get to chat with them about it? I was aware of Game of Thrones. I'd read the script and was aware of the series. I didn't know the gravity of the series itself. But I knew that—I was very aware of Sean Bean, and, like, what an incredible actor he is. And then Kit, I mean, Kit speaks for himself, you know? He arrived on set when we started working, and he is a phenomenal actor. So, you know, I think when you see, you can kind of put it together, when you're in that situation, like, "Alright, alright, they've just finished up a series, they're amazing actors, they've got great tastes, so I think this is going to be something special." So it's no surprise to me that, you know, Game of Thrones has done as well as it has. Sean's not on the show anymore, but Kit's still in there—have you convinced him yet that you need to get a part on Game of Thrones? Clemens: [Laughing] No, I haven't tried that yet. I think I—maybe I should, you know? If this maybe doesn't get rolling, maybe I'll give him a nudge. |