In the interview you’ll find inside, Ferland gives us the details on her character, working with Laugier, trying to put a label on the film and becoming a genre film veteran.
The Tall Man is the story of an isolated, slowly dying mining town where children are vanishing without a trace abducted, the townsfolk whisper, by a mysterious entity known locally as The Tall Man. Town nurse Julia Denning seems skeptical until her young David disappears in the middle of night. Frantic to rescue the boy, Julia lives every parents darkest nightmare.
Shock Till You Drop: You brought a very authentic quality to the role of Jenny. Did you do anything to get in to character?
Jodelle Ferland: Im not the biggest method actor. Im not the type of person who would stop talking for a week to prepare for a role. I definitely did a lot of talking with Pascal [Laugier], and Jessica [Biel] about Jenny, we worked together to figure out exactly how to portray her. Pascal worked with me on rehearsing the scenes until everything was the way that he wanted it.
Shock: Was it challenging to play a character who could not express herself verbally?
Ferland: It was very difficult. It was really quite a challenge for me. As a person who does speak, it is my first instinct for expressing myself. Theres not a lot of room for improvisation when you cant express yourself with words. When youre doing a scene, its quite weird, because you cant put the words and emotions and actions together. There are no words. You have to rely on your facial expressions to show what the character is thinking and feeling. It took it bit of work.
Shock: At times, The Tall Man is an uncomfortable film to watch. Was it a difficult film to make?
Ferland: I think so. Yes. I always like to do movies that are a bit of a challenge, because theres nothing exciting about doing a movie that youve done a million times before. So, I always like to make movies that are different than anything Ive done before. This is definitely different from anything Ive done before and my character is different than any that Ive played before. I think we all really enjoyed it and I think we are all very happy with the result.
Shock: What were your first thoughts after reading the script?
Shock: Its one of the few movies Ive seen recently that you cant really put a genre on. Its a little bit of everything.
Ferland: Yeah. I completely agree with you. I dont even know what to say when people ask what genre it is.
Shock: Youve worked in a significant amount of genre films. What attracts you to those roles?
Ferland: I think my favorite thing about playing the darker roles is that its not me. I love playing roles that are completely different from who I am in real life. Im definitely not The Devil. (Laughs). In The Tall Man, I was on the opposite end. I wasnt playing the monster. Its not so much about the genre as it is about being an enjoyable or challenging role to play.
Shock: Whats up next for you?
Ferland: Its always really unpredictable in the film industry. You think you know whats going to be happening for the next few months and then everything changes. I have been working quite a bit, lately. I should be filming a movie called Red very soon. Its loosely based on the Little Red Riding Hood story and I also just finished work on a short film called The Goodbye Girl.
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