[Interview] Lauren LaVera Talks ‘Terrifier 2’, Art the Clown, and Halloween
Lauren LaVera is about to become a household name for horror fans, playing the pivotal role of Sienna in the highly anticipated sequel Terrifier 2, introducing the world to a new genre hero for the ages, as she takes on Art the Clown to defend her family, and we recently talked to LaVera about the challenges of making the movie, the surprising early response from fans, and of course Halloween itself.
An accomplished martial artist for many years before beginning her acting career, LaVera tells us that it was actually Bruce Lee who first inspired her to study martial arts, and her favorite part of competitions was always the performance aspects, so coming into acting was really a full circle moment destined from the start.
“I was a huge Bruce Lee fan growing up,” she said. “He’s obviously a huge hero of mine. I just wanted to feel that power and strength. And that’s why I got into martial arts, but then once go into it, there are things called patterns or forms, at least in Taekwando, which is what I started, and it’s like a series of movements that your perform in front of people. And that was my favorite thing about tournaments, was just performing all of those things, so yeah, even when I was a martial artist, the performance aspect, the art aspect of it, was my favorite part.”
It’s not spoiler to say that Sienna experiences a lot, both physically and emotionally, in Terrifier 2, and when asked how difficult it was for her to shake off the grisly events the character is going through during breaks on set, LaVera explains, “I think it’s definitely a challenge to turn it off. I did make the conscious effort to do so. I think otherwise I would have went completely insane. It was very physically demanding, and not only because of the things that I had to do, but we filmed ridiculously long hours. Damien (Leone) and Fay (Emmolo-Johnson), who pulled focus, I think they slept at the Fright Factory for a couple hours before we went back to film the next day.
“I was completely exhausted, so I think a lot of what I did wasn’t acting anymore, it was just like throwing myself in, believing where I was. When we did cut, I might take a nap or something. I tried to turn it off as much as I could, but sometimes I was just like so out of it, I just let my body do the rest, if that makes sense. Â
“It was a harrowing experience.”Â
Fans of Art the Clown have already embraced Sienna even ahead of the movie’s release, and we predict she will become truly iconic over the years. When asked if she’s ready to ascend to that pantheon of all time genre favorites, Lauren tells us, “I’m just thrilled with the love that Sienna is getting, and I love speaking to fans that are writing to me online, but no, I don’t think it has phased me yet. I don’t know, maybe Sienna will take new heights, I mean people have been comparing her to some of the most iconic final girls in history, which is very surreal to hear. I hope that is the case, but I hold these final girls very highly in my heart, so I don’t know, but we’ll see.
“I love Sienna, so if other people fall in love with her, I’ll just be thrilled and my heart will burst, and I’ll just cry at night with happiness.”
You can watch our full exclusive video interview with Lauren LaVera below.
Terrifier 2 will be released totally unrated in over 800 theaters nationwide on Thursday, October 6.
[See all of our Terrifier 2 coverage here.]
For more Halloween news, follow @HalloweenDaily.
