In her latest film Sweet Taste of Souls, cult film star Honey Lauren plays a deranged diner owner who traps four musicians into a painting. It’s a movie with a premise you have to see to believe!
A very interesting character you’ve taken on here. Was it hard to psyche yourself up to play such a character?
Hi! First off, thank you so much for having me!
And… Yes… It is really hard to go to such dark places and sustain it for weeks on end! When I do a role, I have to play it with as much authenticity as possible… I don’t know how to do it any other way… And it takes a toll, to be sure. There was so much sadness at times with this character and it can be exhausting to do!
You’ve done it all – is it funner to play the hero or the villain? Without giving anything away, of course!
Gosh… I love to play it all, honestly. I do find, when playing a villain type character, it’s fun to find and figure out how they came to be what they are… And it brings layers to the role. Doing that with any role is fascinating, but doing that with a person who is “evil”, that’s kind of amazing and fun for sure.
What kind of direction did the director give you in terms of how to play Ellinore?
I love Terry Ross, she was the director and she’s quite the role model… beautiful, smart and talented. She encouraged me to go deep and I love that so much. This character is not just a “bad guy”, she’s also a victim, just trying to survive in the way she knows how, using what she has her whole life to get by and then tapping into her vulnerabilities along the way. Terry directed me to be “real” and I love that. She also gave me quite a bit of freedom to explore. Her and I will definitely be working together again. She’s also an actress and an acting coach so she really knows how to talk to actors… and actors love to be directed.
Was it hard to shake Ellinore off at the end of the day?
Really for me, it was a relief. Some of the really sad scenes did stay with me.
One thing that kind of added to both the sadness and wonderfulness of the whole experience for me was that we shot in Julian, California, a mountain town… and my mom, who had passed away only a year before this shoot, spent so much time with her husband in Julian in the very places we shot. And right before I was cast, I had found one of the very few letters my mom ever wrote me with pictures of her from Julian, again, some of the very same places we shot. It was rather otherworldly and I knew I had to do this role! Her and I were very, very close, two peas in a pod. During the last more than a decade we were together, she often talked of her time in Julian.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working on smaller productions like this? Does it all come down to being able to have more say at the table than you would on a studio picture?
That’s a great question… for me, I approach it all like it’s a huge studio film in terms of my work and commitment.
Time… time is often the thing that you need most and have the least of when shooting an indie film… So that is a disadvantage to be sure. Honestly, I don’t really think budget necessarily determines what I can or cannot bring to the table… But often, a collaborative family is formed when you’re doing a lower budget and that’s amazing and can give an actor more say in a situation. That said, ultimately, it’s up to the producers and editor how your performance will be seen...
For Sweet Taste of Souls, I was hired as an actor, not a producer or writer, director, and so it was very freeing to only have to worry about one job. Perhaps I felt more a sense of intimacy with the core team, because overall we were a smaller crew then say a studio film… And that kind of getting to know people and working together, is so much fun. I really loved the team. I felt so supported all the time and they were all so very kind to me.
I suppose indie films are where one finds out just how much they’re in it for the love of acting, because it’s definitely not about the money? Is it all about the acting, for you?
When you’re doing a smaller project, of course there isn’t as much money. When choosing to do smaller projects, I look at the whole picture and then make a decision… I was really enamoured with the director, writer and producer after meeting them. Bee Pedersen, the producer, is so amazing. She is the hardest working woman I know! And her presence on set was so good for me. Felicity Mudgett wrote something really special! Terry Ross, the director is such a force! So, yes, it’s about the acting but it’s all about the project as a whole as well.
You’re also an accomplished director. So I ask, what still fuels you to pursue acting?
I really love, love so deep in my soul, I love acting. It’s always been my number one job to do and want to do… It’s almost inexplicable but I have to tell you, it’s the one thing in life, I’ve never grown tired of, and that’s saying a whole lot.
And at first when I started writing and directing, I was a little hesitant for fear I would no longer be seen as an actor… not true! So many artists are out there doing different jobs…. I just watched The Queen's Gambit and the actress who played the mother, who was so good, she’s an episodic television director… Wow… Inspiring! So, I feel I can continue to do my acting along with my writing and directing and I’m super comfortable doing it, and here’s the thing, it’s gotten me to a place where I want to be, where I’ve been working so hard to get to.
I imagine it’s a game of ups and downs and you’d have a thick skin?
Absolutely, you have to have a thick skin in this industry. You have to not take it all personally, you have to make things happen, and most importantly, you have to have luck… That’s the thing that people want to discount. They think if you just work hard enough, it’ll happen. Yeah, there’s a whole lot of resistance to the luck factor… But you must work hard and always be ready… I love that quote… “The harder I work, the luckier, I get.”
Is there a role you really wanted, but didn’t get, that still stings a little?
Oh, sure. Yes!
The first film I did for Artist and Director Paul McCarthy, I was up for a role that really, I was just a little too old for. The character’s name was Red… I knew I was so perfect for it and could still do it… but I also knew I was right on the border of what he was looking for in terms of the age. I auditioned, was called back… Brought back months later… I was eventually hired, (I knew I would be working with Paul McCarthy, I knew it the first day we met), but for a different role, which was just fine and for so many reasons was truly the “right” role for me. But when I think of that role, I know it was a missed opportunity.
What do you believe makes Sweet Taste of Souls so scary? What gives it its horror label?
Sweet Taste of Souls is great because it’s not your typical horror film. It’s so refreshing for that reason.
Evil… pure evil, so scary… It’s unpredictable and it’s ruthless and once you’re caught up in it, you are in literal hell. Also, I know for me, not showing everything makes it so much scarier. Like A Clockwork Orange… to me the scariest film I’ve ever seen… and most of it is left up to your own imagination.
For all these reasons, Sweet Taste of Souls is scary and it’s got its own brand of horror… A social horror thriller, is what it’s been called. Why my character does what she does, we unravel and understand her story and see why she is the way she is now, why and how she has become this monster of a person. You kind of feel sorry for her, actually… And that’s kinda groovy.
Sweet Taste of Souls is available now on VOD.