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P2 debuted this past weekend and as luck
would have it, Rachel Nichols, star of the film was available for an interview.
Rachel has appeared in many roles on film and television. (Alias, Sex
and the City, Shopgirl).
P2 centers on Rachel"s character, a
rising corporate star working for a mid-town Manhattan firm. She finds herself in peril once she gets
accosted in a deserted parking garage by a psychotic security guard (Wes
Bentley) when her car won"t start.
Being
held captive and antagonized for hours, the frightened and blood-soaked woman
tries to turn the tables on her delusional antagonist.
Since there are a lot of bizarre scenes in P2, what was it like coming to the set day after day knowing that you
were going to be put through some tough work?
That was actually something that
was a cross between the most difficult and intense thing I ever did, and yet it
was also something pretty enjoyable in an acting sense. You know, going to work
everyday knowing that, inevitably, the scenes we were shooting would be some form
of torture and I would probably end up bruised or bleeding, that was always a
foreboding feeling. But the people we worked with were great…and the thing that
saved me was actually my friendship with Wes Brantley. We were very good
friends off camera so that helped ease the pain, so to speak.
There is so much torture, and being bound by handcuffs for
long periods of time in the film. How long was the shoot how long did you have to endure the grueling
takes in the garage?
It feels like we shot for 900
years, but I’m pretty sure it was around six weeks.
Coming off a filming where there is a lot of terror, some people might have some nightmares or uncomfortable dreams after doing
the film...
Oh my God, how much time do you
have. Only kidding. You know we were shooting nights as well. Anyone who wants to know what it’s like to
shoot nights they should just stay up all night and run and jump and bleed and
get in fights and do all that crazy stuff and try to sleep during the day when
it’s light out and then get up and do it again.
It adds this challenging element to making a film, but I have to say in
all honesty going back and watching the film, the most painful parts of it when
we were shooting it, are now the things that really give it some intensity, some
true, real feeling, which I’m thankful for, even though I hated them (scenes)
when they were happening.
  What was your reaction after seeing the film
as a finished product for the first time?
It’s very surreal for me because I’m not one
of those actors who hates watching their work.
I enjoy watching the work that I do, because it’s obviously very, very
personal. And I am very critical of
myself, but I still like watching the movie when it comes together.
I have to
admit, it is really hard to watch myself in peril for 90 minutes. I don’t know how my parents are going to do
it. I don’t think my father will be able
to watch it. But it was something I am really proud of. I think we put together a really good final
piece. So I’m happy with it.
Playing a challenging part like the one you had to do
can affect you personally, did it change your outlook on choosing
future roles like this?
I don’t think I’m ever going to
read scripts the same way. Of course when
I read the script for P2 there were dogs and water and bare feet and crowbars
and breaking glass and bleeding, and you know, there were all of these
elements. But I’m reading the script
thinking, ‘God that’s great.’ She really kicks ass. How fantastic is that, and...
oh... I love it, and she does all these great things and nobody comes to save her. She saves herself... how empowering and great.
And all those things are true, but
man oh man, every time I see a dog in a script I’ll wonder...oh gosh is it going
to be a Rottweiler? Is it going to have to jump at me? Is going to have to bite
me? Am I going to have to wrestle it? Am I going to have to run down a corridor
and have it chase me and put me in fear for my life? So I have definitely
started reading scripts a little differently, although anything like this
certainly wouldn’t deter me from doing another film like P2, because in the end
I ended up having a good time shooting it.
But I am definitely more aware of
the different elements. I mean, I wore
handcuffs basically 12 to 13 hours a day for five weeks straight. They actually had to cover up the bruises on
my arms after a while. Instead of enhance them, they had to just cover them up
'cause it looked absurd that I would have such crazy bruises on my wrists.
Most roles are lessons in acting as well, what did you learn from doing this film, and what can you take with you for your next role?
A very good question. This is obviously the first film in which
I’ve ever really played one of the lead characters, and having completed this
film under the pressure and in a stressful situation due to the fact we were
shooting nights. It was crazy. The
film has really given me the confidence that I can take with me for roles like
this, which is really important for me.
I think, and for any actor frankly,
to find that power within yourself and that belief and self-confidence, like 'Hey, I came out of this on the other end and I think I kept my head on
straight through the whole thing,’ which I didn’t know if I’d be able to
achieve. So that was extremely rewarding
for me, actually knowing that I could do a job this strenuous and be happy with
the end results.
Because this is such a tough role to play for any actor, why did you take it in the first place?
You know I read the script and
obviously that thriller genre is a very, very popular genre and there are many,
many scripts that are written in that vein. And P2 kind of stood out. I have a 20-page rule. If I get 20 pages into the script and I am
not into it I stop reading it. But P2
kind of had me right from the beginning and I thought wow this is different.
This is interesting.
I hadn’t thought of
the parking garage aspect, which frankly is a fear for many women, a really
tangible fear. And I like that in a
thriller. I like when the audience watching the movie can potentially see
themselves in the same situation as the lead character. Thinking wow that could be me, that could
happen to me. So the script I thought
was great.
On the set of most films crazy things can happen, were there any funny incidents that happed on the set of P2?
I am so glad you asked me this
question, 'cause nobody has asked me this question and I so have this great
story to tell. There’s a scene where I
get splattered with blood on my face, an extraordinary amount of blood. And
what happens is, after we do that scene we still have to shoot the scenes that
come after that sequentially in the movie.
So my make-up artist (Diane Mazur)
had to recreate the sporadic blood spray on my face every day. She had to paint it on my face. And we had a
very hilarious experience with a Hudson Sprayer, which is this sort of blood
spraying machine.
So
Diane Mazur, poor lady, was recreating the blood on me and she
was using the Hudson Sprayer. She sprayed me once and then stopped, and then
she sprayed my arms again and then stopped.
Then, she accidentally hit the hold button that keeps it spraying
non-stop, so it kept spraying me and spraying me, the white dress I was wearing
in the scene was covered in blood.
Continuity was completely screwed and I got it in my hair, it sprayed
all over the make-up trailer. Diane and
Ethylene, who’s my hair person, and myself, were the only three people in
there. We are laughing hysterically, and
we were all covered in this sticky gelatinous, disgusting fake blood…I had to
shower so they could start all over again.
It was like a 2-hour delay. It was insane and it was one of the funniest
experiences that ever happened to me.
The special effects guys decided that they would no longer let us use
their Hudson Sprayer. They revoked our privileges as soon as they could.
 What advice would you give to aspiring
actors?
I grew up in Maine so actors, musicians and models—they
don’t really exist in the tangible world where I’m from. It’s not like
there’s celebrity sightings all the time. It seems acting is like the
impossible dream I guess I would say. I didn’t have designs on an acting
career.
I went to college in New York
and really thought I was going to end up on Wall Street. I majored in economics and minored in
Psychology. I speak French. That is what I thought I would end up doing
(working on Wall Street).
But, the domino
effect of what happens when you go to New York City, and doors keep opening, and your
life changes dramatically by that effect...I ended up sort of taking a path that
I didn’t think I would take. And I would do it all again the exact same
way...
I feel my college experience, and graduating from
college, really sculpted who I am. So my
advice is: I wouldn’t start working any earlier. I think it’s really important
to go all the way through school even if it is acting school. I’m a big proponent of education. So I feel
that getting an education suited me very well. So I would definitely recommend
that.
The topic in Hollywood
these days centers on the writers' strike, what is your take on
it?
We are currently in the middle of
a writers' strike so that’s changing the face of Hollywood from day to day as you well know.
SAG contracts are up in June so we’re going to have to see what happens in the
business. I’m lucky I’m a good
saver. I invested wisely. I didn’t buy a
house. That’s the one thing about this
business, for the most part, it is very ephemeral and it is always changing, and
it’s constantly moving, and you got to sort of plan for that, because financial
droughts are something that does come along.
Do you have any future projects coming up?
I have a small role in Charlie
Wilson’s War, which is coming out in December with Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts
and Philip Seymour Hoffman. My role is
very small, but I got to work on the film for about a month. For anyone, it would be sort of surreal
especially for an actor. People that I
watched my whole life, to be in a room with them, to have them be as sweet and
gracious as they all were, was a really fortunate experience.
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