Inner Demons – An Interview with Lara Vosburgh
Lara Vosburgh at World Premiere of “Inner Demons” at LAFF. Photo credit: Whitney Vosburgh.
Israeli-American actress Lara Vosburgh is mostly known for her starring role on the 45 episode Israeli TV drama “Hazuya.” However, this summer Vosburgh reaches American audiences with her lead role in Seth Grossman’s latest docu-horror feature “Inner Demons.” In the film, Vosburgh stars as Carson Morris, a sixteen-year-old former A-student who is fighting heroin addiction, mental illness and demonic possession.
After the World Premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, IFQ spoke with Vosburgh about landing her first lead in an English speaking film, researching and preparing for her multifaceted role as Carson, and her new stage comedy ‘Hotline.’
IFQ: How did you come on board as the lead character in “Inner Demons”?
Lara Vosburgh (LV): How did I get there literally? By bus. I took a two hour bus to the auditions of “Inner Demons.”
I was fresh off the boat in LA when I got the “Inner Demons” role. It was the end of my annual summer family visit to the US and my last stop was LA. I was supposed to spend time with my family, then go back to Israel and resume my studies at the Tel Aviv University (double majoring in Islamic Studies with Arabic and Theater). But then my wonderful managers at ‘Untitled’ set up the audition for “Inner Demons” and after just two weeks in LA I got the role.
I was so excited to get the role. Especially since I enjoyed the audition process so much and I knew that filming would be even better. The director Seth (Grossman) was a big part of making the audition sessions very challenging yet safe and that allowed me to deliver the best performance I could. He is a great actor’s director and is very good with giving clear directions.
It was not only the most challenging character I had portrayed until then, it was my first lead role in a film and it was my first role in English. Until then I had acted only in Hebrew on Israeli TV and it was a challenge acting in English for the first time. [The producers who knew Hebrew from their days back in Hebrew school noticed that every time I had a scene where I needed to yell, little hints of my accents crept in. It is way more fun being mad in Hebrew.]
My acting career in Israel, especially my work on the 45 episode drama TV series (that aired in over 60 countries worldwide) really prepared me for the challenges of this role. In addition, my training with the wonderful Israeli Director and acting instructor Mr. Ram Nehari really taught me how to be a natural actress and feel comfortable in my own skin.
IFQ: How did you go about researching and preparing for your challenging and dynamic role?
LV: There were three levels in which I prepared for the role.
[Firstly] I had to prepare for Carson’s drug addiction and to do so I attended NA meetings and AA meetings with people who have the amazing courage to stand in front of other people and state out loud their issues. I mean we all have our issues. It’s just that some are more acceptable than others and you don’t see any of us “regular” people admitting to strangers how we are messed up. I find that really admirable.
[Secondly] I studied the performances in films such as “Candy,” “The Shining” and “Trainspotting.” I watched YouTube videos that real heroin addicts posted and read about the drugs in different sources. Seth was very helpful in the research process as he sent footage from the reality TV show “Intervention.”
[Thirdly] I had to prepare the demon. For this, Seth took me to sessions with acting instructor Caitlin Adams who instructed me to study the behavior of hyenas in order to imitate their facial and vocal expressions. My dance background was also very helpful with the demon’s physicality. In addition, Seth got me to open up about certain experiences in my past in order to evoke certain emotions to help me bring out Carson’s darkest sides.
It was challenging preparing for the role—we literally had two weeks from the day we knew we got the role until we were on set filming.
The challenge with Carson was letting go of things that we as adults develop over the years in order to survive in this wonderful yet challenging world we live in. I had to let go of the need to appear strong, sane, in control and put together.
IFQ: What was your reaction when you first read the script?
LV: What I found beautiful about the way Carson’s character was written in the script was that even though her personality was split into four different personalities (that to an extent even created four different, rich and challenging characters), it did not suffer from a lack of depth. I think Glen Gers did a fantastic job in creating enough room in the lost child Carson for the existence of those four personas.
What I loved about Glen’s writing was that not only was it very simple and real, in many places it left words out and left room for the actors responses and emotional state to do the ‘talking.’ That’s commendable as I would think that it would be scary for a writer to entrust so much responsibility in the actors whom he has no control over their performances.
The movie “Drive” is like that. There isn’t much text, and it’s Ryan Gosling’s eyes that do all the talking. I love that. This is very much the case in “The Shining” with Nicholson whose unforgettable, haunting gaze really helped me create my demon. I guess it’s quite true that the eyes are the gateway to one’s soul, and in some cases even to the demonic and tormented ones.
IFQ: What drew you in, the story or the characters?
LV: I feel that they are intertwined. I loved the fact that “Inner Demons” at its base was a love story. At the end of the day, we all have our own inner demons and love is what helps us overcome that and that’s a universal message. I really want to try and be part of storytelling that is universal.
Also, Carson is a victim and she could have been easily written in a kitsch way, but Glen wrote her in a very real and accessible way.
To be completely honest, basically, as a young actress, even though I am lucky to be working in two industries (Israeli and American) and am exposed to quite a bit of projects, it’s not every day that you get to play a good All-American girl who recites the Bible, is a heroin addict, a demon and a could be mental case. This challenging, four character role really helped me fight my own inner demon which is self-doubt that every artist gets now and then.
IFQ: Speaking of self-doubt, which of your own qualities did you bring to the table in this particular role?
LV: I brought out my vulnerable side that I usually only show to my close friends or partners. I also brought out my personal inner demons. Carson is a fighter and I am a fighter in my own personal life. I fight for what I believe even when the cost is high. Especially in love.
IFQ: What did you take away or learn about yourself by playing Carson?
LV: That one can create an artistic collaboration with little amounts of sleep and get amazing results. I learned that I love roles that are very physically demanding. After all, I spent two years in the military.
IFQ: The film heavily deals with drug addiction, mental illness and possession. While you were on set, how did you distance yourself from the film at the end of the day?
LV: At the end of each day I went back to a very normal life as I was staying with family and friends, and I would study my lines while babysitting. Other than that, I tried to distance myself as much as I could from the rest of the cast and crew and avoid any other means of communication. Whenever I got the chance, I would step away from the set and go on walks to clear my thinking. I would also do physical warm ups that really helped me rechannel certain energies.
IFQ: What’s your opinion on American independent films vs. Israeli films/TV? Can you tell me about your personal experience as an actress working in both?
LV: There is really not much difference between the world of independent film and the world of Israeli Film and Television. Both of them are small and create a lot of meaningful, creative and thought- provoking art that is created within very challenging circumstances and a very limited budget. Israel has had quite a few films nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars in the last couple of years.
Israel’s film industry is very interesting because on one hand you have filmmakers who want to deal with the political conflict, and others [who] want to stay away as far as they can from it and want to deal with regular conflicts that any human being in any human society deals with.
IFQ: Can you tell us more about your new stage comedy ‘Hotline’ that debuts July 2014?
LV: ‘Hotline’ is a dark comedy by Elaine May that deals with the subject of suicide and the help that is given by modern society to this issue in the form of Hotlines and whether they indeed help or rather create more despair. ‘Hotline’ will be performed in English as part of a one-act show festival in July. This festival was created by the stage which is an English-based performing arts community in Tel Aviv.
IFQ: It sounds like you have a lot going on right now in film, TV and theatre. Throughout your life, who or what has helped, or inspired you the most?
LV: One of the things that helped me the most was my mother’s support. She was a single parent and it was not always easy for her, or us. I felt that she always dealt with the ‘Inner Demons’ in her life with such courage and such grace that I learned from her how to face life’s challenges with a brave heart and open hands welcoming whatever comes my way as I know I can handle whatever I get. Most of the time it was my mother who raised me. She taught me that no matter how tough your circumstances are, if you work hard and play hard in the right way, you can do things in your work and downtime that will not only make you want to jump out of bed every day, but that can benefit the greater good. Even though, she was a single parent, who worked at a couple of jobs and as the head of the Israeli MS Society, she still found time to become a certified Chaplin and volunteer in a Hospice in the Tel-Hashomer Hospital. She never complained and worked hard to give me the best education. She wanted to expose me to the arts and to the wonderful diversity this world has to offer. She taught me to always feel lucky and grateful, that happiness is a way of life and not a destination. Most importantly, she gave me the tools and space to be an independent thinker.