A native of Santa Clara County, CA, Larisa Oleynik began her acting career at eight, playing young Cosette in “Les Misérables.” She later appeared in the sitcom, “Boy Meets World.” She is best known for her roles as Bianca in “10 Things I Hate About You” and as Alex in “The Secret World of Alex Mack.” Many also remember her as Cynthia Baxter in “Mad Men” and as Maggie Cutler in “Pretty Little Liars.” In the film “Animal Among Us,” Larisa is Anita Bishop, a park ranger of Merrymaker Campgrounds, where a razor-clawed, black-maned ‘BigFoot’ has been terrorizing campers.
“Animal Among Us” appears to be your foray into the horror/thriller genre. What attracted you to this film and the role of Anita?
Larisa Oleynik: Horror is not my thing. I respect it tremendously, but I’m a total scared-y cat. But I thought this film was interesting and even funny. I understand what (Jonathan) Murphy’s doing with this film. He and I had worked together before so I was familiar with his weird sense of humor. And that’s what locked me in right away. Also, the monster is one I hadn’t seen before, one that makes us ask questions about ourselves. Like who’s the bad guy in a film? And here the film takes us into different twists and turns. The central question raised in this film is, where is the animal in all of us? When faced with your survival, what are you capable of? Anita’s relationship with her sister is also really important to me. Much of what motivates Anita stems from a need to protect her sister. So when the stakes are high, people are capable of a lot more than we think.
Did you audition for the role? If so, what was that like?
Larisa: When they sent me the script, I first thought, no. I gave it a hard pass. But I agreed to give it ten pages, and after page two, I was hooked. I met with Jonathan and John (Woodruff) and they talked about their vision, which convinced me that I was right in thinking it was tongue-in-cheek and campy without being over the top. And they let me do whatever I wanted. Then, when they pulled out the map of where we would be filming, I noticed that we would all be staying in cabins for the next two weeks. And that added a whole other weird element to the project.
You did a lot of running in dark wooded areas. What was the biggest challenge you faced in being in this film?
Larisa: the biggest challenge was also the thing I found most rewarding—staying so communal in cabins. Christine (Donlon) and I shared a cabin. We did a lot of night shooting, and you’re living that weird kind of vampire lifestyle—sleeping all day and getting up at 4 p.m.
What did you draw from to portray a camp ranger? Anything in particular?
Larisa: That fact that she’s territorial. The park is her zone. That resonated deeply with me. She had tremendous pride in the land, the park and the legacy of her family. She’s in the middle of nowhere in the center of the country. Most people lack an understanding of that particular life choice. And we see that the writer pokes fun at her for that. And she rejects his fancy education and lifestyle by showing how she and her family have survived running this camp.
There’s a bit of dark comedy in this film. Do you have a favorite scene?
Larisa: We had a lot of fun when Christian (Oliver) was tied to the chair. He and I worked together on the “Baby-Sitters Club” when I was 13 and he was like 18. We share the same sense of play. That was toward the end of the shoot and the movie. Everything was heightened and Christina and I were improvising like crazy. I really felt sorry for whoever had to edit that scene because we were all over the place.
Are there any similarities between Anita and Larisa?
Larisa: She doesn’t like to be underestimated. If someone doubts that I’m ever up to a task, I’m always ready to prove them wrong.
Had you not become an actor, what career path would you have chosen?
Larisa: I don’t know, probably something creative. I have a hard time paying attention for long periods—for anything that doesn’t involve creative work.
Do you lean toward any one genre in either TV or film?
Larisa: I usually try to find humor in things. My favorite actors are those that blend humor into drama. I love “American Psycho” because it’s so darkly funny, and Christian Bale is so good at towing that line. I love great writing. It seems like the right projects find me at the right time.
What were you like in high school? The girl most likely to…?
Larisa: I was already acting. I attended a regular school and would go back and forth from set to class. I was the girl most likely to be absent for half a year and take her tests a month later. I was always envious of the athlete girls—they were the cool girls in our school.
Any fond memories of your role as Cynthia in “Mad Men”?
Larisa: What a great experience. Everyone should be so lucky to work on a set that is that well run. Every prop, every glance had a purpose. It was so relaxed because, by the time you got on set, you knew exactly what was going to happen. Matthew Weiner would come to the table reads and talk through everything. We got to do a lot of different takes and versions but it was all so incredibly specific.
Alex A. Kecskes is a published author of "Healer a Novel" and "The Search for Dr. Noble"—both now available on Amazon. He has written hundreds of film reviews and celebrity interviews for a wide variety of online and print outlets. He has covered red carpet premieres and Comic-Con events for major films and independent releases.
