Asta Paredes is a world traveler with a sense of adventure and independence. The Lone Star State babe has spent just as much time in Europe as she has in the United States. After graduating from high school, the ambitious actress quickly headed to New York City to be part of the action the legendary city inherently has to offer. Before earning guest spots on boob tube shows like Smash and Orange is the New Black, she simultaneously made her big screen and nude debut in the Troma flick Return to Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1(2013), where she flaunted her amazing breasts in multiple scenes, including a leztastic romp with her equally-as-sexy co-star Catherine Corcoran. Asta was kind enough to take time from her ultra-busy schedule to discuss with Mr. Skin the cultural significance behind Return to Nuke ‘Em High, about being part of the first ceremony same-sex marriage in France, her take on being nude on the silver screen, and the difficulties of pretending to masturbate on camera.
SC: You were born in Texas, but you were raised in Holland and Spain. It looks as though you like to move around. Tell me how a Texas girl ends up spending time in Europe.
AP: My dad worked for DuPonthe’s a chemical engineer consultant, and because he speaks multiple languages, he helped to open up plants and do consulting in European countries. Originally there weren’t any plans to move back to Texas, but eventually he thought it was best for the family to come back to the United States. I went to college in Minnesota, spent a semester in London, which was awesome, and then I moved to New York immediately after graduation. I wanted to be in New York as soon as possible. It’s the center of the universe in a lot of ways.
SC: Were you a fan of Troma films previous to your role? Do you have a favorite Troma film?
AP: I wasn’t really aware of Troma as a film company or anything like that, but I had seenClass of Nuke ‘Em Highduring a Midnight Movie when I was really young, and I loved it. So when I saw a casting post forReturn to Nuke ‘Em High, I couldn’t help but think it was related and I was eager to audition for it. And then lo and behold I did my research and realized that Troma was this really awesome underground world of truly independent cinema, and now I’m all deep in it. Now my favorite isTroma’s War it’s really good, and it makes me rethink the television showLost, because I think it ripped off the film. I feel it didn’t get the fanfare it deserved, and it really is one of their finest in-house productions.
SC: The Museum of Modern Art called Return to Nuke ‘em High one of the most innovative and influential films of 2013. In what ways do you think the film was innovative and influential?
AP:Well, one thing for sure about the film is that it follows the criteria of the Museum of Modern Art, meaning it created cultural change and/or people reacted to it. They also felt that it was a film that could be a time capsule and it could last the test of time. For us, specifically, we showed the film the first official time at the Cannes Film Festival. When we were at the festival, we did our own form of guerilla marketing that we could get people aware of the film, more aware of independent cinema, and the fact that we were filming a documentary.
One of our marketing approaches was to stage a symbolic gay marriage between my character, Chrissy, and Lauren, Catherine Corcoran’s character. France legalized same-sex marriage, butapparentlyit wouldn’t go into law until exactly the day after Cannes was over. We went to this carousal area to hold our mock wedding. We had the Toxic Avenger and a bunch of Cretins from the film around us, and we were approached by someone who claimed to be with French intelligence, which we think was just Cannes’ security, and they told us that we were prohibited from doing this wedding due to the fear of riots and all the protests against gay marriage in France at the time. They just didn’t want the ceremony to impede on the film festival. So we ended up just doing a press conference because a lot of people came to see the wedding. We were told that we couldn’t even do it, but we were then told that we could have the wedding, but it had to be held inside the convention center, not by the carousal, so everyone will know that it’s not real. So we finally did it. We had a big ceremony.Lloyd Kaufmanwalked me to the aisle. It was great! The French paper Le Figaro, a well-respected publication, noted us as the first symbolic gay marriage in French history!
It’s just been a very polarizing film because people who don’t understand Troma take things too seriously, and they don’t quite realize the shock-and-awe quality of Troma, and it’s not mainstream for a reasonand the Museum of Modern Art recognizes the importance of Troma.
SC: Tell me about the sex scene with your co-star Catherine Corcoran.
AP: It was shot on the first day. It took awhile to shoot, because they wanted to shoot a bunch of different angles so they could have a wide shot, close shot and all that fun stuff. But it’s funny that they cut out the audio for the majority of the scene so Lloyd could yell things like, ‘Grab her right boob’! It’s funny, because I’m underneath the covers grabbing the mattress to make it look like I’m really thrusting intensely. I’m making the bed shake, like, nowhere near Catherine’s crotch. It took awhile, but it was the first day of shooting. I guess it’s good, because I could’ve been more self-aware, but since it was the first day I was getting used to everything. I was able to just zone out and focus on Catherine.
SC: Did you and Catherine hit it off?
AP: Yeah! With all the audition processes, we knew each other for almost three months before we started filming. I think that is part of the reasons why we were cast, because we became friends after the second audition, so they noted a chemistry between us, and they noticed our ability to improvise. It’s nice. Till this day we still have a respectful relationship with each other. We went through a lot together. There’s a five year age difference between us, and it’s interesting that we were both several years removed from high school and we were at different points in our lives, so we were very opposite, just like our characters, which made it easier to get into our roles. Catherine was just really sweet!
SC: What did you parents think of Return to Nuke ‘Em High?
AP:My dad saw it separately from my mom. It was just weird for me. My mom and my brother saw it, and even though she was a bit shocked, she’s really proud. Even though it was shocking for her to see certain things, she understands it. She’s been making scrapbooks of every news article, every review, every photo, so she has four books full of all these pages. She’s been prepping for this, and she’s real proud of me. You know, she’s the first person to ever see me naked, so seeing me nude in a movie is not that huge of a deal. She’s really proud!
SC: Now that you’ve seen yourself naked on the big screen, do you see yourself doing nude roles in the future?
AP:Yeah! If the part calls for it and it makes sense in the context of the film. Yeah. Now that I know how shooting nude scenes work. I trusted Lloyd (Kaufman) with the nudity. I mean, I didn’t know how I looked, what angles I looked best at, or how the scenes would be shot. Luckily we had an amazing editor that edited the scenes so beautifully. You still get what’s going on in the film and you’re just not getting a random sex scene in the middle of the film. You get that the Chrissy and Lauren are really into each other. Now I know exactly how to handle any nude scenes I do in the future.
SC: You would be fine with a full frontal nude scene in the future?
AP:Yeah! If the part calls for it. I always think ofAmanda PeetinThe Whole Nine Yards. If I did full frontal, that’s how I would do itwith a gunin a comedy!
SC: Were you familiar with Mr. Skin before this interview?
AP:Yeah! I knew about the site because ofKnocked Up. That’s how I was introduced to Mr. Skin.com. I actually call it the ‘IMBD of naked girls’.
SC: How do you feel about being immortalized on Mr. Skin.com?
AP:Well, you’re only young onceand with the wayLloyd Kaufman, the director of the film, portrayed my nudity in particular, my breasts will be immortalized for sure, especially my left one. Throughout the film all the other actors and actresses get these classy introductions where you see them in clothes, and when you get to my introduction you see my breasts. I was really shell shocked because it was also the first movie I’ve ever done, so it was really weird to see myself on screen to begin with. But then I realized that I guess I have really nice tits because if Lloyd felt comfortable introducing my character that waythen why not? I wouldn’t have gotten nude if it hadn’t been the right role. My character Chrissy is very comfortable with her body, and she’s very comfortable with being sexual. We did our sex scene with ground rules; we didn’t want anything to be misconstrued as actual porn. We were both wearing G-strings. The scene is very suggestive. My idol, in regards to nudity on screen, isPaz Vega. She did a lot of wild scenes, but my scenes aren’t anything like hers. I’m comfortable with my scenes. My breasts will live in infamy because of Troma. It’s funny, one thing legendary scream queenDebbie Rochontold me to be ready for screen caps. I told her I was ready!
The funny thing is that I’ve had so many conservative people tell me that they can’t believe you guys had sex in this movie. I was like, your mind is wandering because my head goes under the sheets but you have no idea what I’m doing under there.
SC: You’re just that great of an actress that you’ve convinced your audience that you were actually having sex with Catherine.
AP:Exactly! I’m a Scorpio, so I have a very sensual nature and way of moving, and the scene is going to be erotic no matter what! I’m fine with my scenes, and I’m proud of this movie. I’m comfortable with my body, but I wouldn’t do nudity in a film where it didn’t make sense to do nudity, and it makes sense in this film.
SC: Are you equally as nude in Return to Nuke ‘Em High Volume 2?
AP:No, I am not nude in Volume 2. But there’s plenty of nudity to make up for me! Lots of nudity of the femaleandmale variety.
SC: What’s the first movie nude scene that you remember seeing?
AP:Wow, the first one I ever remember, which I actually reference in the film, isGia. I reference it in my masturbation scene.Angelina Jolie’s nude scene was the first one I remember.
SC: Speaking of the masturbation scene, can you give us some details behind the shooting of it?
AP:I got very lightheaded because I was so nervous; they made me do that scene over and over again. I tried to do it withoutactuallymasturbating. I actually had another pair of underwear on underneath. I was just lightheaded! I was breathing so heavily! It was interesting.
SC: How was the topless scene with your co-star Clay von Carlowitz?
AP:Well, Clay and I are living together now! We were secretly dating when we shot the scene, and I just happened to be straddling him while they were fixing the sound, and people were looking at us, asking if we were okay. I was like,I’m perfectly fine!We ended up together, so thanks to Lloyd and Troma for getting us together.
SC: You portrayed an inmate in the first season of Orange is the New Black, are you going to be in the second season of the show?
AP:Yeah, I did some background work on the first episode of the second season, so look for me. It’s a fun show to work on. It’s such an immersive environment, because they want all the background actresses to come back as much as possible to make the show as authentic as possible. They take off all our make up, and we get our own prison uniform. The set is actually the same place they shootSesame Street!
SC: Do you have any projects lined up for the rest of 2014?
AP:There are a couple projects in the air, but sometimes the nature of the business, dates and plans get pushed around. But my schedule is so hectic trying to promoteReturn to Nuke ‘Em Highthat I haven’t had a lot of free time. It’s been great!
SC: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
AP:Make sure everyone checks out my websitewww.astaparedes.com. Also, please check out my Twitter and Facebook. Thank you so much for talking with me!
