Tara Lee Dives into the Haunting World of 'The Faceless Lady' VR Series

[00:00:00] .

[00:00:10] Tara, I think you are for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged.

[00:00:13] Yeah, thanks for having me.

[00:00:15] Exciting times. We just had your recent project drop today earlier today,

[00:00:18] the faceless lady.

[00:00:20] How excited are you about this project that's finally out?

[00:00:22] Honestly, it just feels so cool to like,

[00:00:25] it feels different because it's like,

[00:00:27] it's always exciting having something come out that you've been waiting for,

[00:00:31] but to know that it's kind of a different experience.

[00:00:34] The first time that anyone is watching me in virtual reality,

[00:00:38] that's such a weird feeling.

[00:00:40] So yeah, I'm so excited to see the response.

[00:00:43] And I don't know about you, but if I was ever invited for like a contest

[00:00:47] or something to a media old castle, I don't know if I would go there.

[00:00:50] Yeah, it's interesting how like,

[00:00:53] you know, like gung ho everyone is about just throwing themselves in and he's quite like,

[00:00:57] Ned Dennehy who is giving us the castle tour.

[00:01:01] Like he's quite chilling and yet no one thinks to be like something's not right here.

[00:01:06] Like we should leave. I'd be a little freaked.

[00:01:08] I don't know if I'd go like that.

[00:01:11] Yeah.

[00:01:13] So the faceless ladies presented by Eli Roth.

[00:01:16] We have six episodes to premiere earlier today.

[00:01:20] And you know, we mentioned VR and everything.

[00:01:23] Also, what drew you to this project?

[00:01:25] What excites you most about playing this role?

[00:01:28] As soon as I saw Eli Roth, I was like done because he's so incredible.

[00:01:35] And then it was a multitude of things.

[00:01:38] Like for me, the character is always a huge thing obviously.

[00:01:43] And I think Ella changed a lot.

[00:01:45] Every character changed a lot with casting and with how we all kind of played it and choices we made and how we all played off of each other.

[00:01:53] But for me, Ella was somebody who was going through an existential crisis and outwardly knew how to act normal and act fine and act friendly but in her head there's a lot of PTSD and some scary things that without giving away any spoilers are kind of unpacked as the episodes go on.

[00:02:13] And that was really interesting to me.

[00:02:15] And I felt like I'd had quite a few personal experiences that I've been almost like waiting for character to like kind of streamline these things too.

[00:02:26] And horror is just, it's a genre that I love to do and have wanted to do more of.

[00:02:33] For me, it just felt like such a huge like fireball of a project and to also be a part of history in a sense.

[00:02:42] This has never been done before.

[00:02:45] So yeah, it was really like a very quick like oh my God yes absolutely take me.

[00:02:52] What was the description you were given for Ella?

[00:02:55] It was so vague because it was at the time that I was given the breakdown it was still changing.

[00:03:02] So I'm pretty sure it was like she's Irish American.

[00:03:06] She's brave.

[00:03:09] It was pretty vague.

[00:03:10] It was like kind of gave a little bit into her backstory and I can't give anything away about that because it will ruin spoilers for you.

[00:03:19] It was it just gave a little bit of like where she's coming from.

[00:03:23] She's a little bit dubious about this contest, but it was really kind of through conversations with John that I was kind of given the freedom to unpack what's really going on with her.

[00:03:36] You know, she's someone who has been going through a system.

[00:03:41] I'm trying to be careful.

[00:03:43] And so there was some of those things that I was told in advance and it was just kind of how how that affects someone in the long run and how that affects their commitment to people and places and yeah so I knew that she was fucking terrified to be going back to Ireland basically and that was a point.

[00:03:59] Yeah, with a series like this and with the whole VR and everything for you now as an actor any challenges playing this character considering with the VR and everything.

[00:04:08] Yeah, it was. Yeah, there was there was a lot actually all good challenges like I like that.

[00:04:16] But there was things with stunts obviously the camera takes in so much.

[00:04:21] So there was things in the later episodes that you really just had to you have to make it look pretty convincing because you can see so much.

[00:04:29] And you're never off because there's not really the cameras never really focused in on one person it's taking in everyone because it's taking in a whole space.

[00:04:39] So, you're playing it like theater you're on like theater you're never off so that it just meant that you were always very active in every setup and every camera angle.

[00:04:51] And I think that's probably how the cast bonded so quickly because you were you're always helping each other out and always kind of playing off of each other.

[00:05:00] So yeah it was a challenge in the sense that it was kind of like it was acting for stage through your physicality, but with all of the challenges that come with acting for screen so it was like an amalgamation of the two.

[00:05:15] The series inspired by like Irish folklore also with like the rich cultural background how does that like affect like your performance, like to deal with like the like the Irish culture pretty much.

[00:05:27] I think it just I don't know if it affected my performance but I know that it made me feel so proud to like go back to Ireland to hear the accents in the in some of the crew members.

[00:05:41] And it just I guess there's a sense of pride you know Irish folklore is renowned worldwide because it's such a like mystical country to people obviously I grew up there and I'm like no it's not that's just you know that's bob down the road.

[00:05:56] But there's something about this specific story that having heard it growing up and it now being considered quite a modern feminist tale.

[00:06:06] It just, it was just it just made me proud, you know.

[00:06:11] But in terms of, you know, in my performance I guess Ella doesn't really want to be going back there so this is just nothing to her. Yeah.

[00:06:20] Horror is a huge thing like where the fans love these type of movies shows you know everything like what can the viewers expect from the first episode, you know without giving any spoilers what do you hope they get out of the first few episodes they tuned into.

[00:06:34] I think the first episode is going to ask you're going to have some questions you're going to be like what the fuck is going on sorry I don't know if I'm allowed to curse.

[00:06:45] Yeah, you're even like what is going on. What's happening. I know, you know it had been a lot of time since we shot it and when I watched the first episode I was like I forgot that that's where it ends and yeah you're like what I don't get it like what's happening but you want to know and

[00:06:59] Episode two begins to answer.

[00:07:02] And so you're you're figuring things out as you go and the good thing about it being VR is that you can kind of watch it multiple times and pick up on different people and different things and try to figure out who's thinking what who's doing what who's suspicious who's like not got a clue what's going on.

[00:07:18] So, so yeah I think the first episode it's it's chilling I think is the word for it. And I think Ned Dennehy, the actor does such an incredible job, especially in that episode at just giving you like the creeps you're like you're nice but something something's happening.

[00:07:39] Yeah.

[00:07:41] So, Eli Roth has made a, but his name is getting bigger and bigger in the horror genre to like how was it working with him did you get a chance to talk to him any pointers for being in this series.

[00:07:52] But Eli wasn't on set but afterwards he, he's been pretty, pretty vocal about how happy he is with how it's turned out and pretty sure like I chatted to him a little bit.

[00:08:04] And he said to me what he said publicly which is he thinks it's the best thing that crypto TV has ever made and he thinks it's really scary, which is the ultimate compliment from Eli Roth.

[00:08:14] He thinks it's, you know, absolutely terrifying and he's really he's really proud of it so now he wasn't on set but he's been pretty pretty hands on in terms of post production and I think he's really proud of it.

[00:08:26] Now have you had the chance to watch any of this with the VR world.

[00:08:30] I haven't not yet need to get myself a headset.

[00:08:33] Do you know anybody that has watched like that will has been their reaction with it.

[00:08:37] I've been doing this since it's come out so.

[00:08:41] So I haven't but I know from you know the crew and the whole team that it blew their mind when they watched it.

[00:08:49] And I think there is, I think that Hugo who plays Dion watched it with a headset and was like whoa.

[00:08:57] So, so yeah I've heard that it's it's a whole other thing with the headset.

[00:09:02] What was your favorite part about being in this series, you think.

[00:09:06] Getting to play a getting to play a human brave person and and John was really helpful in in this as well like he he was very clear he was like,

[00:09:22] Ella is not like nothing phases me like nothing scares me like let's fucking go.

[00:09:29] She's she's she's scared, but she's brave.

[00:09:33] And he made the reference of Ripley an alien as you know a human who's in this world who's like what is going on I'm really terrified but I'm still going to persevere and I'm still going to figure this out.

[00:09:45] And that to me is more there's more complexities to that there's it's more of a challenge to play.

[00:09:52] And it's more human and more grounded. And so, and I wanted to play a really strong horror heroine like that's just that's something that I've dreamed of doing.

[00:10:03] So to get to do that and do it with these complexities with these mental health themes playing in.

[00:10:09] And there's some there's so much physicality as well as it goes on.

[00:10:14] So yeah it was for me it was really the whole package of what I've wanted. Yeah.

[00:10:19] So we have six episodes to drop today is it a weekly one by one after that or is it two to two.

[00:10:25] No so it's yeah to today and then each week we're going to have one more which I love because I feel like so often they just get the whole drop and then you just don't really like pay attention you can kind of just watch it and zone out but yeah this.

[00:10:36] This is good because it's like one episode at a time.

[00:10:39] And you know you can actually like think about it and make some predictions and actually get mentally involved.

[00:10:44] And then you know if you're watching it with the headset then you can watch it multiple times as I've said and actually like chime and figure things out because it's really a different experience every time you watch it.

[00:10:55] If you had last question one word to describe this show what would you say.

[00:11:03] Hmm.

[00:11:04] What would I say immersive.

[00:11:08] Immersive but also terrifying it's really fucking scary and I think that's that's what you want.

[00:11:14] You want to be scared and you want to be like in it like you're actually in this castle and you've got things coming at you from all directions and yeah it's the to me it's the perfect genre horrors the perfect genre to to take this step with.

[00:11:29] So yeah.

[00:11:31] Amazing.

[00:11:32] Tara want to thank you for giving me permission is just great and hopefully we see a continuation in the series.

[00:11:37] Yeah, thank you so much for taking the time and yeah I can't wait to see what people think of it.