The lovely and talented Alex Essoe was born in Saudi Arabia, but now calls Los Angeles home and is carving out a nice little niche for herself. Armed with a classic beauty that harkens back to actresses like Genevieve Bujold and Geraldine Chaplin, Alex is able to comfortably look at home in any number of modern settings as well as period pieces. Thanks to some big time exposure from one-off roles on such shows as House of Lies, Crash, and Reaper, Alex has shown that she's able to bounce back and forth between screens both big and small. Headlining the new psychological horror thriller Starry Eyes, out today on Blu-ray and DVD, was Alex's biggest challenge to date and she rose admirably to the occasion, turning in a performance of stunning depth. I recently chatted with Alex about everything from her work past, present, and future to her burgeoning music career and her views on nudity. Prepare to fall in love with this stunningly beautiful and endlessly charming young woman!
Skin Central: You seem to be quite comfortable bouncing back and forth between film and television. Do you have a preference for one over the other? SC: Yeah, and some of the ones you’ve done already are great. House of Lies is a completely underrated show. SC: It’s always hard to tell from imdb since they just kind of jumble everything together, but you had 5 credits all in 2008, including Free to Go which you also wrote. Was that your entry point into the business or did that come after you had made some contacts? SC: Okay, so was that something that you had done maybe a year or two earlier and it just didn’t get dated until 2008? SC: Okay. It’s always hard to tell what came first SC: What attracted you to Starry Eyes? Was it the script, the concept, the directors, or some combination of those elements? SC: What is it like to shoot some of those very intense sequences in the film? It’s got to be hard to ever feel completely removed from knowing that you’re on a film set, but do they create an atmosphere on set that lends itself well to doing that creepy stuff? SC: I can’t imagine that any amount of training can prepare you to do a handful of the things that were asked of you in this particular film (Both laugh) SC: This is going to sound like a strange question, but did you actually shave your head for the film, or is that some really good makeup? SC: What was your opinion on nudity prior to accepting the role in Starry Eyes which obviously called for it in the script? SC: Well, I think that’s a very pragmatic way of looking at it, and it’s nice that you have that attitude because it can be a real roadblock for a lot of people. SC: Right, and I think that helps European films to divorce nudity from sexuality in a way SC: What are your thoughts on being immortalized here on Mr. Skin for your nude scenes in the film? SC: Awesome, well you’re in good company on the site, I can tell you that much. SC: Well then, do you have a favorite nude scene from a film or one that stands out to you as being extremely memorable? SC: Yeah, and that was a year or two before Girl, Interrupted, which is when a lot of people took notice of her, but for a lot of us it was Gia because she owned it and she used her sexuality as a weapon. AE: Yes, and that’s her character too, it perfectly fit her character. SC: Is there anything else you’d like your fans to know, or perhaps anyone that’s discovering you for the first time?
Alex Essoe: Honestly at this point, I think that there are really brave things being done on television now that really puts it on par with the place that film has held for such a long time. They’ve been taking more risks and exploring more dark, unaddressed themes than they used to, so there are plenty of TV shows that I would just be over the moon to be a part of.
AE: I completely agree. Even before I got that job I had seen every single episode, and Don Cheadle can do no wrong in my opinion.
AE: That was at a very fledgling stage. I was in acting school at the time and my best friend and writing partner was going to film school, so we just started making short films together and entered them in festivals, and for the level that they were at they were pretty well received. But that was very much the student film phase of both of our careers.
AE: No, that was in 2008, that was when I was going to school in Vancouver which was two years before I moved to Los Angeles.
AE: It is, yeah. There was one thing that I made in 2005 and I think they put it in a 2008. It’s this film calledSurviving Crooked Lakein which I had a very, very small part, I think I was 19 in this movie.
AE: It was definitely the character first because I didn’t really know the directors that well, even after I’d read the script. I read it for my callback and I completely fell in love with Sarah and thought that there was so much to explore. And it was a chance for me to use all the tools that I had been training to use because even in a class you don’t get a chance to utilize all of them, especially when you’re first starting out. And I love genre films, I’m a huge genre film nerd, so it was kind of like the holy grail.
AE: Totally. Everyone was extremely easy to work with, they were extremely respectful of the process, they really went out of their way to help me feel immersed in what I was doing. Especially for those more intense sequences, you have to allow yourself to just get lost in what’s going on and you have to feel safe enough to just take the reigns off and let whatever comes out of you come out of you, and I felt really safe doing that on set.
AE: Yes, that is very true. The training is more to allow you to let go and to allow yourself the freedom and the trust to stare into the void and explore the unknown, and I really love doing that. It’s the most interesting part of acting, to me.
AE: That was just really badass makeup, luckily I did not have to shave my head.Hugo Villasenorwas the makeup artist and he was just a total magician. It was really uncanny when he finished putting the bald cap on, how realistic it looked. I’ve actually gotten that question from a few people, so it’s actually a really huge compliment for Hugo.
AE: My opinion on nudity is that if, like anything else, it serves the story, if it heightens the moment, if it suits the character. We’re representing the human experience, and nudity often a very big part of that. As far asStarry Eyesgoes, there were a few opportunities that they had where they could have nudity in the script like with the second audition or when I go to see the producer, but they saved it for the end. Especially considering where my character was at at that point, I think it’s almost necessary. Without giving too much away, who she isor isn’tby the end of the movie, she’s done a complete 180, it isn’t her anymore. So I think it really makes it a lot more terrifying and unsettling to have nudity there. I don’t find it really titillating or sexy, it’s more like, she’s not a person anymore.
AE: For sure, yeah. And if I had gotten the impression that they had nudity there just so they could get their rocks off, I would have said no (both laugh). But I think that nudity, especially in America much of America still has a very puritanical attitude towards specifically female nudity, but when you look at Europe, it’s just a natural thing. It’s not something that they really focus on as much, it’s not something that would even stand out, it’s justthis is where my character gets naked. This is them living privately in their private world.
AE: Yes, exactly! In America, nudity is always sexualized, it always has to be racy and sexy and titillating, and it’s not always that way. In real life, nudity in our own lives accompanies all sorts of things that aren’t sexual.
AE: It’s kind of an honor. I feel like I’m being inducted into a sexy lady hall of fame or something (both laugh). Plus the thing is that I already did it. It’s not like,how did you find that image of me naked? This is my work and I stand behind it, and if you don’t go to Mr. Skin, you’ll see it in the movie anyways. So I’m quite happy about it to be honest.
AE: Well, yes (both laugh). Believe me, I’ve been to the site.
AE:Angelina JolieinGia. Yup. Hands down. I think I watched that movie on repeat as a teenager. Apart from the fact that she has an absolutely perfect body, she’s so comfortable with herself and with the nudity, and she just commits to it so fully. She’s not self-conscious, she’s fully in herself and grounded, and that’s what is really sexy to me.
SC: What’s next for you? When and where can we expect to see you again?
AE: I finished filming a movie with Chris Sivertson. He had a movie come out last year calledAll Cheerleaders Die, and this is his solo project. It’s calledMaternal Bonds, and I got to work with some really great people, and the story is really cool. It’s definitely something to look for.
AE: Anything at all? Well, let’s see, I play the accordion. Music is a really big part of my life, and I play piano and guitar, harmonica a little bit. One of my old bandmates is encouraging me to release some solo stuff and if I do that it’ll just be on a Facebook page or something. So if anyone wants to check that out, it’ll be up in a little while and it’ll all be free of course.
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