Interview: Actress Catherine Delaloye on horror ‘Welcome to Essex’
Welcome to Essex is a new zombie horror film from writer-director Ryan J Fleming which will have its UK premier at The Romford Film Festival on Thursday 24th May. I got a chance to talk to ask lead actress Catherine Delaloye a few questions about; how she first got into acting, what it was like working on the film and her favourite moments during filming.
How did you first get into acting?
I grew up with a very creative mom who used to encourage my siblings and I to put together little family plays. We would write, act and perform on these little productions. So, I guess I’ve been performing in some way for most of my life. I decided I wanted to start acting in films when I was around 15 years old and living in San Diego. I took a couple of acting classes, but nothing really took off until I moved to London at around 21. I started acting in various short and feature films.
You play Ryley Dunn in the film; can you tell us a bit about your character?
Ryley was originally supposed to be played by a male actor, but you know I thought the role was really cool… so I auditioned for it and got it.
She’s moody, quiet and bossy. We had like one take per scene so whatever you see in the film is pretty damn raw. I loved Ryley… she’s a sweet loner with an interesting past. I was 23 when we started filming… and now I’m old… so it’s nice to look back and see how much I’ve changed.
What sort of preparation did you do for the role?
Well we had some military training, so that was kind of cool. Besides, that I just went for it and hoped for the best.
One of the strength in the film was the balance between the horror and comedy, what was it like working on Welcome to Essex?
INSANE! I mean, our sound guy would fart during the best takes… and we would have to start over again. And the same sound guy did some camera work a few days and let’s just say he had a very artistic way of framing shots. It was also incredibly fun, and I really love everyone involved in the film… except for the farting sound guy. (You know who you are.)
No, but really I’m super proud of this film and wish Ryan Flemming all the success in the world. He really hard on this film and I hope people will receive it well.
What was your favourite moment during filming?
100% the big zombie scene where we had over 1,500 zombies chasing me down Brentwood’s high street. That day was amazing. Unreal. I was literally scared for my life; the extras took their job really seriously. I ran so fast that I wasn’t able to properly walk for like a week, I had injured myself from sprinting so fast without warming up. Lesson learned. Stretch before an apocalypse!
Do you have any other projects which you are working on at the moment?
Yes, I’m working on two feature films that I’ve written and plan to direct. One is a thriller horror called The Dollmaker and the other is a Comedy/Drama called Bad Sister. We are in pre-production for Bad Sister and I hope to shoot it this summer in Texas. Also, my short I don’t love you anymore, is currently being submitted into festivals. And my other short called That Part, is showing at the Brooklyn Film Festival in a couple of weeks.
What advice would you give to someone who is looking to get into acting?
Create your own roles, don’t wait around for someone to cast you into something. We have all the technology in the world available to us so there’s no reason for actors not to be creating their own content.