What attracted you to play Claire in The Boy Next Door?
I felt that Claire’s vulnerability to her situation and circumstances makes her human. When her husband cheats on her with another woman, she feels unworthy, undesirable and dismissed. Her attraction to Noah stems from his coming in at this time and making her finally feel attractive and wanted. I can relate. I’ve been through a divorce. I’ve been cheated on, just like every other girl in the world. So you sympathise, you understand all the emotions. And I’ve dated a younger guy once in my life, so I could definitely understand that part too — the attraction.
What was it like to associate with a director like Rob Cohen?
Once Rob came on and started adding more elements, it took everything to another level. With his experience on action movies, we were able to take this character-driven drama and create a roller-coaster ride of a movie that’s not only scary and disturbing but also exciting.
How was your experience with Ryan Guzman? You two have a few intimate scenes together.
It was intense. Those scenes are embarrassing. They are uncomfortable, but your job as an actress or an actor is to make it believable. We knew that it was such a challenging role for any young actor but Ryan came in and right away showed us that he knew what he had to do to play this character. We did make him read several times, because going from the boy next door to a sociopath is no small feat for an actor of any age or experience.
You’re a singer, dancer, actress, producer, writer and designer. How do you juggle these various roles?
Timing is everything. It’s all about where we are in our lives and what we have to offer and the experience of coming where we came from. I want to prove to everyone that I can do everything and be a superwoman. But I have to take time for myself. I think a lot of people just don’t understand what I’m about. They see me laughing, having a good time and they may think ‘Oh, she’s so ambitious and everything,’ but the thing is that I’m just a creative person. If I could describe myself to somebody that’s how I would do it — I’d say ‘I’m creative and that’s what drives me.’ People think I’m driven by money and all that stuff. They get it so mixed up that they forget that’s not why I started doing it. I started doing it because I love to perform.
You have plenty of young aspiring artistes who look upto you. Any message for them?
Don’t ever expect anybody to hand you anything. We have to work for everything in this life. It is one thing to sit back and say ‘There is not this and there is not that for us’. If I would have said that, I would not have gotten to where I am now. Be creative — do it for yourself. Just make it happen.
