The amazing Austrailian born actress Isabel Lucas was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. Definitely, check out our conversation below.
For those who may not know, you can catch her now on the MacGyver series and she was also recently in the series Emerald City. One project she has out right now is Shane Abbess’ The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One.
She was also in Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, Immortals, Red Dawn and has three projects in post-production. I am sure she finds sleep at some point.
RONN!E: First I wanted to ask you about The Osiris Child. You played Gyp in the film. Did you enjoy playing that character?
Isabel Lucas: I loved playing that character, yeah. I loved how much freedom and permission Shane, the director, gave all of us, to inhabit the characters rather than only to illustrate them. Because he’s very trusting with the actors, so I really had free rein to go anywhere I wanted with her, from how she looked physically to how kind of crazy and volatile she was.
RONN!E: I loved your performance in it, it was really fun. Did you have to do any special preparation to get prepared for that role?
Isabel Lucas: Yeah, thanks. I worked with a coach but I didn’t do much. I think it was more–I did a lot of writing, I had a journal, and I collected things that kind of inspire and add layers. I have a whole process that I go through. And then it was, on the surface, physically how she looked and that was another whole process. Like, every tattoo was kind of a conscious story for each one, and connecting them to her so-called brother was… yeah. So it was really fun weaving her together and finding her essence and figuring out how to embody it and play it.
RONN!E: So the film has an amazing cast, between you and Rachel Griffiths, Kellen Lutz, Daniel MacPherson, and Tegan Croft, who also starred on Home and Away, as you did, just about ten years later. What was it like working with this cast?
Isabel Lucas: So fun! It really was one of those where it did feel like a family. Every film crew has it’s own little genesis and feels at its core, so unique, and this particular one was just beautiful. There was so much heart and love, and everyone was just psyched, so stoked to be there, and I think the producer and the director are a big part of what the underlying fabric in the genesis underneath it all, because Shane is a really incredible human. We were all so excited to be a part of the project and because there’s so much play and so much truth and honesty, and it was really the core of why so many actors and creative artists get into film in the first place. It was very rewarding, very fun, and we all have this Whatsapp group where we text on it all the time, not Tegan because she’s probably too young, but we all stay in touch and it’s like a sweet, little family. Shane likes to work with the same people he’s worked with before.
RONN!E: So between Transformers, The Osiris Child, Emerald City…you’re no stranger to special effects. Is it weird doing movies with special effects, where there’s like nothing there and you’re just pretending?
Isabel Lucas: Yeah, Immortals had a lot of special effects too. We were hanging out in heaven, up in this little heaven land, and I had to look down at the earth. There was actually quite a lot on that one. Yeah, it can feel funny. I’m trying to remember what I had in The Osiris Child. I don’t remember it being that much, I think because Shane wanted everything to feel so real. We shot on location as much as we could and when we were on any of the sets it was all very realistic. On the sets, most of the effects would come later. The show I’m working on, MacGyver, there’s a lot of effects on that one, like explosions and so on, that when you’re doing it, it feels really ridiculous. It does feel awkward and silly, but I think you can always find the authenticity in the moment and if you’re working with other actors it really helps, as opposed to being solo in the scene. It looks cool, the effects look really cool in the film.
RONN!E: That actually brings me to my next question. You joined the cast of MacGyver this year as Samantha Cage, right? That’s gotta be fun! Can you tell us anything about that going forward? I don’t want to spoil it for anyone that hasn’t seen it, but can you tell us anything about that?
Isabel Lucas: It’s pretty cool that you’re well researched!
RONN!E: Actually, I’m a fan, so…
Isabel Lucas: Oh cool! The original one was really cool, but my girlfriends were all excited to hear that I was going to do it, because we got like, the end of the original series? And none of them had seen the original. And most of my friends aren’t actors, so they… But yeah, this one has been a ball of fun. It’s been a crazy journey. Really, honestly, the hours in network television are insane, it’s like sixteen hours a day, fifteen hours a day. Sometimes six days a week. And it’s been like three and a half months of doing that. That’s why I get very protective of my weekends because I have so much dialog to learn and have very little time to sleep and be a normal human. I’m finishing really soon and it’ll be sad, but fun, and it’s been a really wonderful ride and I really enjoyed this character. I’m not really sure how much I’m allowed so say, and so I’ll just leave it there.
RONN!E: Okay, so I just wanted to ask you about, you’ll be playing Rose in In Like Flynn, a biopic that depicts the life of Errol Flynn. Can you tell me anything about that? That sounds really fun, actually.
Isabel Lucas: It was really fun. We shot that on the Gold Coast in Australia, actually, earlier this year. Thomas Cocquerel plays Errol Flynn. The cast was amazing and it’s a biopic, and I play a woman who was a love interest of Errol Flynn’s. They kept the character sort of, I guess she represents many different women whose hearts he broke? So it’s not necessarily based on one particular character. It’s loosely based on the earlier years of his career when he was 22 or 23. Before he went off to Hollywood and made movies. It was a delightful experience and I really loved playing this character. I’m excited to see what comes of it. And then before that, I did a film in Sydney called Chasing Comets, another Australian film.
RONN!E: Well, awesome. We’ll definitely make sure we keep people up to date and check those out. We’re already on the bandwagon for The Osiris Child. I want to thank you so much for speaking with me.
Isabel Lucas: You’re cool. You’re awesome, thank you so much.
Huge thanks again to Isabel Lucas…especially for calling me cool. She really did! I have it recorded if you need proof. Make sure you check her out her IMDb page to make sure you keep up o what she is working on.
The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One hits DVD and Blu-ray/DVD combo pack December 5th, 2017. It’s also available now for Digital HD at places like Amazon and iTunes.
*Special thanks to Platform PR and Cheryl Dyson.
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