MoviesOnline recently sat down with Alison Lohman at the Los Angeles press day for her new movie, “Beowulf,” directed by Academy Award-winner Robert Zemeckis based on a screenplay by Neil Gaiman & Roger Avary. “Beowulf” stars Ray Winstone in the title role and Anthony Hopkins as the corrupt King Hrothgar, as well as John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, and Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother. Lohman plays Ursula, Beowulf’s young mistress.
The groundbreaking Zemeckis tells the oldest epic tale in the English language with the most modern technology: digitally enhanced live-action. In a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf battles the demon Grendel and incurs the hellish wrath of the beast’s ruthlessly seductive mother. Their epic clash forges the timeless legend of Beowulf.
One of our most exciting and versatile young actresses, Alison Lohman first gained our attention with her acclaimed performance as Astrid in “White Oleander,” in which she starred opposite Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger and Robin Wright Penn.
Lohman has been acting in professional theater since she was nine years old, starting with the role of Gretl Von Trapp in a local theater production of “The Sound of Music.” As a senior in high school, she was a National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts winner and was also offered a scholarship to NYU for Theater, but decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a film and television career.
Prior to “White Oleander,” Lohman starred opposite Mare Winningham in the telefilm “Sharing the Secret.” Other film credits include starring opposite Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell in Ridley Scott’s “Matchstick Men,” opposite Ewan McGregor in Tim Burton’s “Big Fish,” “The Big White” opposite Giovanni Ribisi and in Atom Egoyan’s “Where the Truth Lies” opposite Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth. Lohman was recently seen in Michael Mayer’s “Flicka, Tom DiCillo’s “Delirious” opposite Michael Pitt, and Susanne Bier’s “Things We Lost in the Fire” opposite Benicio Del Toro and Halle Berry.
Here’s what she had to tell us about “Beowulf,” her character, and what it was like working with motion capture technology:
MoviesOnline: That’s a beautiful dress.
ALISON: Thank you.
MoviesOnline: Who is it?
ALISON: Marc Jacobs.
MoviesOnline: What did you think the first time you saw your image in this movie?
ALISON: I thought I looked a lot younger, and more freckles. But that’s part of the deal, you know?
MoviesOnline: Robin’s character is arguably the most emotionally developed, and a lot goes unspoken between the two of you. How did you work out that dynamic?
ALISON: Well, sometimes I think not talking about it can almost work for you more—that kind of unspoken…My character is just reacting. She is completely and utterly devoted to Beowulf and wants to please him and make him happy, and so that’s her focus. And with Robin, there is obviously that tension because she is taking the place of who she once was. So obviously, you know, there’s going to be more for Robin to kind of emotionally deal with. My character Ursula is just doing her job, you know? She’s kind of playing that role, you know?
MoviesOnline: Did you create a back story for her? We get the impression he’s had a succession of lovers over the years.
ALISON: Yeah. I mean, I imagined that she was picked out of a group of girls and they had this connection. And at a very young age. But anything else…I don’t know.
MoviesOnline: How did you like shooting with the green screen in the sequence with the dragon?
ALISON: It was very different for me because I had never done the green screen. So it was a change. But I enjoyed it, because it reminded me of doing black box theatre and having a lot more freedom.
MoviesOnline: So Robin was acting with you, and something was attacking you? Or did you use your imagination with someone saying, “Now the dragon is attacking…”
ALISON: Yeah. That’s how it was. “Dragon is attacking, the fire is on you now.” You know, that kind of thing.
MoviesOnline: So nothing going on?
ALISON: Like fire-breathing, yeah.
MoviesOnline: Did you do any stunts for the battle scene with the dragon? Did you have to jump or swing over things?
ALISON: Ummm… [laughs] No.
MoviesOnline: When your character is holding onto Robin’s, are we supposed to think Ursula hopes the Queen falls and dies?
ALISON: Wow. No, I hadn’t thought about it that way! [laughs] No, I think my character is just not able to hold on at that point. That’s how I saw it.
MoviesOnline: So they have a sisterhood of sorts?
ALISON: Yes, definitely. I mean, they’re kind of in the same hierarchy, I guess, in terms of they’re kind of like the chosen women that Beowulf wants to surround himself with.
MoviesOnline: Do you feel that Ursula and the Queen have more of a bond than a rivalry?
ALISON: Yes. I think there’s a bit of both. I mean, I think my character Ursula, I think she feels…There’s that scene where she goes outside to Robin and she says, “He has these nightmares and he speaks your name in the dreams,” and I think she’s concerned for him. It’s out of concern for Beowulf. You know, it’s not because…I think she’s a very selfless character. I think it’s anything to make him happy, and for him to do what he needs to do, you know?
MoviesOnline: How did you adjust to the make-up and spandex suit? We hear it’s quite a long, involved process to stick the dots on everywhere.
ALISON: It was. It was different. I took almost up until the last scene, and then you’re done, to get used to it. In the mornings, they’re calibrating the system, you have to do these exercises. And after that, it helped you kind of get into it more. So that helped.
MoviesOnline: What kind of exercises?
ALISON: The exercises are just raising your arms, so then the system can coordinate…I guess it’s coordinating, keeping everything…I think there’s so many different elements that need to be aligned.
MoviesOnline: What visual clues do they give you? Were there drawings?
ALISON: They do. And they give actual, like a diorama, so you can see where the dragon’s coming, and where you’re supposed to be moving, and how it looks.
MoviesOnline: Did they show you moving images for reference?
ALISON: Just in terms of having like a little dragon, and “here’s the dragon,” and then you know, the people move. Here’s you, and you move, you know?
MoviesOnline: You began in theatre and then made the change to Los Angeles. Was that a big decision in your life?
ALISON: I never really intended to do acting, though. I had wanted to be a singer, and I moved to LA to sing, and then to make money, I started doing film, and then I really starting enjoying it, and taking some acting classes, and getting involved in that.
MoviesOnline: What kind of singer were you?
ALISON: More musical theatre, and folk, I guess.
MoviesOnline: Did you enjoy Flicka? You were a big heroine in horse country, and all the little girls showed up for that movie.
ALISON: Oh, that’s great. I enjoyed that film very much, yeah.
MoviesOnline: When we spoke to you for Delirious, you said you weren’t planning on singing for an album. So you have any desire to go back to singing on stage?
ALISON: I would, definitely. I would love to do another musical. It would be great. It would really be great. [laughs]
MoviesOnline: Like a stage musical or film?
ALISON: Oh, both. Both. It would be interesting to do both. But I’d like to do theatre. I love theatre.
MoviesOnline: Have you done any theatre in Los Angeles, or do you have anything coming up?
ALISON: No. No, I don’t. Hopefully soon. [laughs]
MoviesOnline: You got very good reviews in Things We Lost in the Fire. Were you thrilled by that, or were you aware?
ALISON: I know, I heard. I actually was surprised, because I did have a small part, and I didn’t know that…I don’t know, I had never really thought about it, I guess. But I’m really happy with that. It’s great.
MoviesOnline: Were you surprised the film didn’t do better?
ALISON: Things Lost in the Fire… [laughs] I didn’t even know it didn’t do that good. But I mean, it’s a project that it’s more of a, I guess, like a passion project. I just feel that it’s a small…even though DreamWorks did it, I still think that it’s independent in its execution. It’s dealing with issues that you definitely…It’s not accessible to everyone, you know? I don’t think many people want to go see a film where Halle Berry’s husband dies, and dealing with sobriety. I don’t know how many people want to see…how across the board people would be…
MoviesOnline: And your character is trying to overcome drugs?
ALISON: Yes.
MoviesOnline: Your character wasn’t that happy, but she was improving.
ALISON: She was on her way, definitely.
MoviesOnline: Have you had the chance to keep in touch with Halle or Benicio?
ALISON: No. Just do it and you’re on to the next thing.
MoviesOnline: How did you like working with Susanne Bier?
ALISON: Susanne’s great. She’s very specific about what she wants. And I loved her other films. Open Hearts and Brothers. She was one of the directors that I had most wanted to work with.
MoviesOnline: Who are some of the others?
ALISON: Baz Luhrmann, I like…Julie Taymor. I think she’s great. I mean, I loved Across the Universe. Loved that film! I mean, she’s very, very, very talented.
MoviesOnline: You’ve been lucky, you’ve worked with some interesting directors already. Susanne Bier, Robert Zemeckis, Atom Egoyan…
ALISON: Very, very lucky.
MoviesOnline: …and Ridley Scott, of course.
ALISON: I know. And Peter Kosminsky. He’s great, too.
MoviesOnline: So what are you looking for in roles these days? You’re at an age where you’re hopefully not getting high school roles, but you’re getting young woman roles.
ALISON: Yeah. I’m just looking for characters that are interesting — nothing specific that I can think of right now, but something that moves me. Somebody, a situation, whether it’s a character in the story, or some aspect of the film that moves me in any way–laughter or tears.
“Beowulf” opens in theaters on November 16th.