In case you missed Part 1 of my exclusive interview with Scream Queen and now director Danielle Harris, you can read that here!
In her newest home video release Shiver (Read my review here), Danielle is right back again in the arms of yet another serial killer. This time around she’s pursued by the crafty and uber creepy Gryphon, who likes to remember his victims by taking a grisly trophy of each one. Her role in Shiver is one of the finest in her career.
In Part 2 of my exclusive interview with Danielle Harris, we discuss her role in Shiver and what it took to film this emotionally draining performance. We also chat about her appearance on Food Network’s Halloween Wars as a celebrity judge, so take a seat and read on down below!
HS: In talking about your film Shiver; it was filmed back in 2012 and is finally making its way to home video on October 8th. I recently just watched Shiver and I thought it was a great film, disturbing at times. Your role in that as the female lead that gets stalked by the serial killer, the Gryphon is quite amazing. I found it to be some of your best work to date.
DH: Why thank you. It was definitely the reason why I took it. It was a different kind of role than I’ve been playing up till then. It was incredibly challenging and having to shake that off every night was pretty intense. I went into it with the idea that I was going to stay in character and not befriend John Jarratt because I thought it would be too hard to snap in and out of it, then came to quickly realize after day one there was no way I couldn’t be friends with this guy. He’s so awesome and fun, lovely and a joy, it was a nice balance to be able to have some fun in between. At lunch and in between takes, I don’t think I could’ve actually lived in that world of Wendy for the entire month we shot it. I would’ve probably needed more therapy when I got back home after shooting. It was pretty intense to say the least.
HS: Your character Wendy in the film is another strong female lead for you. Does that factor into 
whether or not you take a role?
DH: You know all roles are kind of different. It depends on where I am in my life and what I’m doing and how I’m feeling about things. I definitely wouldn’t take two or three movies that are that intense playing the lead back to back without much time in between because it’s too much for my health. There’s only so much you can put yourself through on a daily basis before you start to see it affecting you. I’m getting older now too, I like to balance it out with vacations or travel and trying to live a normal life in between. Sometimes I’ll want to do the lead, other times the character won’t resonate with me and I’ll want to play a supporting role, it kind of depends on the project, I take each thing as it comes.
HS: You mostly answered my next question. It had to of been emotionally draining for you to play the role of Wendy, especially in the sexual assault scene. Was that the toughest part of the role?
DH: Yeah, it was definitely a lot. I would come home and have a hard time shaking it off. I was exhausted through most of the shoot. It was difficult, but there was no phoning it in allowed. All of the tears, anger and all of that was real, in the moment. We were filming in a shack where he takes me and ties me up, it was freezing and it was really muddy outside with pouring rain. It was a challenging shoot to say the least. It was pretty hard emotionally; it was definitely my hardest role that I’ve had up to that point.
HS: The Australian John Jarratt is such a great actor and he plays such a creepy killer in the film. How great was it working with him?
DH: He’s amazing. He’s so funny and quirky, smart, witty and he’s a really great guy. It’s funny because most of these guys who play killers are the antithesis of what they play which is probably why it’s fun for them to play that. They’re usually the nicest guys ever.
HS: That’s usually how it works. Was it fun working with Casper van Dien?
DH: Oh God, Casper’s amazing. He and I could talk and talk, we got along great.
HS: I thought he was cast well in Shiver and did a great job in the film. In one scene, it looks like it had to be unsettling for you when the Gryphon had piano wire wrapped around your neck. Was that creepy for you?
DH: It was a wire that’s cutting into my neck. It was originally a twelve page scene, which is quite a bit of dialogue. It was pretty intense, and it was one of the first scenes we shot. It was the one I was most looking forward to doing but most afraid to do. I made myself almost pass out so many times on set from hyperventilating. It’s a fine line of really allowing it to happen to your body and then needing to kind of not actually pass out. My heart rate was through the roof, my hands go numb and my face gets bright red. All that stuff is your body’s natural reaction; your body doesn’t know that you’re acting. It was pretty scary to do that scene. The wire was on magnets, it was pretty tightly bound but if I pulled a little bit hard, then it would break away. So if I did feel like I was actually choking, I could break away from it.
HS: How was your experience with being a judge on Food Network’s show Halloween Wars, which your
episode airs tonight (October 6th).
DH: It’s nice to put on a pretty dress and get hair and makeup and wear high heels. I don’t really get to do that very often in movies. I love cooking, that’s really my thing and I was really excited to be a part of that. It’s an art; I think that’s what I love about it. It’s an art that brings everybody together, which is like filmmaking. I had a really good time, aside from the fact the soundstage was freezing because the food has to stay cold. I really enjoyed doing it; it was something that I had never done before.
HS: How long ago was that taped?
DH: It was almost a year ago. We taped it last December.
HS: Wow, that’s interesting. Thank you again so much for taking the time to speak with me.
DH: You’re very welcome.
Watch the trailer for Shiver here:
