'There are some really disturbing things in it...'
Sam Parsonson is the 20 year old star of Australian thriller Coffin Rock, in which he plays a disturbed youngster with some worryingly unorthodox views on parenthood and animal welfare. Adam Boult spoke to him when he was in London for FrightFest 2009 ...
How’s your week been going? Are you a fan of horror films?
Well, everyone’s seen the big horror films over the years, but I wouldn’t say I’m a big fan, no. But saying that, I’ve met some really good people at Frightfest, which I guess you wouldn’t maybe expect from the genre, and I’m definitely planning to check out loads of horror movies.
What are my favourite films? Well, I saw Inglorious Bastards the other day, that’s up there now. Saving Private Ryan, an unbelievable film. And Shawshank Redemption. Those would be my top three.
Tell us a bit about Evan, your character in Coffin Rock.
Evan is a kid in his late teens, from Ireland; he’s run away from home and come to Australia to start a new life. He’s working in an IVF clinic and he falls in love, or lust rather, with Jess, who comes in with her husband as they’re trying for a baby.
Any trouble getting into character?
Not at all, as it was all put down on the page for me by Rupert (Glasson, the film’s writer/director). It was all so simple, and I had a ball doing it. I hope it doesn’t sound arrogant, but I found it easy to do because of the people involved.
Any trouble mastering Evan’s Irish accent?
When I first auditioned for the part the character was Australian, but when I was asked in for the call back, they called me up the day before and said be Irish – I was like, “Yes!” I love doing accents – always have. I grew up in south east London, and my mates used to ask me to do accents all the time, and I went on from there.
So how was Rupert Glasson to work with?
Amazing. Anything he wanted from me as an actor, I’d give it to him. But it was all so simple, because he was so relaxed, I was so relaxed, the cast and crew of about 50, so that not that big at all, was quite like a family.
In the first week of filming, down the bottom of Australia – it was COLD down there man – we all lived the same small hotel together, all ate together every night, like a family, which was unlike any other set I’ve been on.
Coffin Rock features a fair amount of violence. Did you find that problematic at all?
I found it more fun than anything! I don’t have a problem with the violence in the film, but that’s because I’m in it I guess. There are some really disturbing things in it...
Yeah, the bit with the kangaroo comes to mind
Yeah, it’s fucked up right? That’s probably the most disturbing thing in it. But then I know it wasn’t really a kangaroo I was doing it to.
[NOTE: Details of what happens to the kangaroo omitted for the sake of the squeamish]
Who do you think Coffin Rock will appeal to?
Anyone who likes a horror film, but doesn’t just want to see a slasher. Anyone who likes a deep storyline, ‘cos that’s what it’s all about really. At its heart it’s a story about a man and a woman trying to get pregnant.
So you’ve worked on The Pacific (a WWII miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, coming in early 2010) – could you tell us a bit more about that?
It was just an amazing experience to work on. I was 17, left school to do it and then went up to paradise; it was filmed in Port Douglas in North Queensland. I play a character called Private First Class Lucas H Le Point – I smaller part than I was initially given, which I maintain is because I fucked up in the first read-through!
It was the biggest thing I’ve ever seen. The money in it was unbelievable; words can’t describe how big this thing was. There was a cast and crew of 1500, and we took over the town. And I met Tom Hanks, that was cool!
As someone who’s quite early on his acting career, are there anymore established actors who you aspire to be like?
I wouldn’t say I’d like to be like anyone else, but if i could follow the career of path of someone, I guess it’d be someone like Ed Harris or Johnny Depp. Ideally, getting parts I could have fun with, at the same time as working hard at it; ‘cos if you can have fun while working hard, well, there’s no better recipe.