EMILY BRINKS TALKS HALLOWEEN ENDS
"Many have been waiting for the final film"
Daniel John
Though Michael Myers never stays down for long, 'Halloween Ends' is the end of this several-decade long saga that started in 1978. What was it like stepping into Haddonfield?
It was a very unique experience to be a part of such an iconic franchise for multiple reasons. David Gordon Green had really curated such a wonderful cast and crew of people that have been working together since the 2018 'Halloween' film and some of them even before that. I felt very special to be welcomed into such a group of creatives who knew exactly what they were doing, were very passionate about their work, and created a fun and loving environment everyday on set, it makes all the difference in the world when you have a good crew not just through their professionalism, but also their personality. It has now been a new experience entirely to be welcomed by the fans of this community. With forty-four years under its belt, there are so many people that have been waiting for the final installment and getting very involved with our production in the best way. I have only been greeted with interest and excitement from the fanbase, which makes me very happy to see. There was a much larger reaction to me and my work than I was expecting simply because I’ve worked on many other projects before without the attention that I received for my attachment to 'Halloween Ends'. Otherwise, I hadn’t had any other relation to working on the previous films, but I was so happy that I got the chance to work with David, Jamie, Blumhouse, and so many other brilliant people.
You pretty much walked directly from the set of Hulus ‘The Girl from Plainville’ to ‘Halloween Ends’. What was the first day on set?
I had jumped onto the 'Halloween Ends'-set about two weeks into principal filming. Simply because I wasn’t needed any earlier. That’s when they were filming the opening sequence with Corey babysitting. I came in when Jamie, Andi, and Kyle did and my first day on set was off to an exciting start, we were filming the Halloween party scenes with lots of dancing and music and it was a great way to get in and get comfortable very quickly. I worked as Andi’s stand-in for the entire two and a half month shoot, so there are actually a few different scenes that I’ve jumped into to help the crew out and fill in as an extra person in a scene if needed. I was excited when it worked out for me to take the Dead Lover-role and get a featured moment on screen, especially when I’d already been working with the crew for so long and I’m very thankful that they gave that opportunity to me.
It really wasn't that long ago you finished filming it?
This is an interesting experience because of how quickly the film came out after filming it. It was even only in June that we were doing reshoots so it does not feel long ago at all. When I watched the movie, there were so many scenes where I could remember David’s exact notes that he gave the actors for direction during specific takes that were used in the final cut. I could also hear Michael Simmonds, our director of photography, in my head talking about his adjustments on lighting or camera movements and how brilliant the final product looked. I was really blown away to see these final shots on the big screen after seeing them on our small monitors for so long, they were really a work of art. It’s also such a gift to me as an actress to see it so soon after filming and have it fresh in my mind. It helps me see the types of shots that they liked, the moments that clicked, and the directions that made it work out more than all of the other shots that didn’t get used but are still very fresh in my memory as well.
Is this the most recent set that you’ve been on?
The latest set I’ve been on is 'Fear the Walking Dead' which has been insanely exciting! It’s been a great way to jump into a lot more action and a great challenge to take on at the moment both physically and emotionally in a lot of scenes.
Reading through the special skills on your acting résumé, one might think Michael Myers would be an easy match for you, though your character leans more toward being a lover than a fighter. While we won’t see her again, you'll be returning to horror then?
I have definitely enjoyed being on horror sets more than maybe I thought that I would. I have an open mind and I’m always up for everything so it’s fun to step into different genres and creative directions. I also shot 'The Menu' that comes out later this year, and that was another horror, thriller-type of movie that I was very excited to see the inner-workings of. Getting into the psychological aspects of that world was a gift as an actress and even beginning to think like a director as well. Of course, working with the masters at Blumhouse is a whole other level of gore and fear. But it's absolutely fascinating to see how all of the pieces come together and how passionate all these people are about their very unique and exciting jobs.
What kinda roles do you dream of taking on next?
I’ve always loved action and adventure and I would love to try my hand at some big productions in that genre. I’ve always loved how big, yet detailed the world of 'The Hunger Games', 'Harry Potter', or even 'Pirates of the Caribbean' are and how it would feel to be so immersed into a set that makes it feel as real as those do. Or even going the opposite and going into mocap-performance like James Cameron’s 'Avatar' and creating it all in your head, but being fully committed in a space like that with your scene-partners. I’m also in love with the pace of a script and intimate writing with smaller dramas and real-life stories. It is interesting how it can sometimes be a bigger challenge to play a character that resembles someone in our real world but it's such a deep and interesting challenge to face and find the best ways to pull humanity into any character you play. So I’m really up for anything with a good story to tell.
'Halloween' was a role that changed Jamie Lee Curtis’ life, making her the original “scream queen” forty-four years ago. It had a profound impact on her career. You, of course, shared the set with so many acclaimed actors, seeing them at work, talking with them, acting alongside them. That must have been a "master class" in itself?
That is almost entirely the reason that I have tried standing-in as an actor and I’ve learned so much from it. The best advice I would give to anybody going into film, no matter which department, would be to become a stand-in. I have been able to work with, learn from, and connect with so many other people besides just the actors that I’ve worked with. As a photographer, the camera crew has had so much knowledge to pass to me and how to use it in my acting. I’ve had wonderful conversations with directors or cinematographers and even helped them with ideas if it seemed like we were really stuck on something. I helped Jamie and David rewrite the scene when she gives Allyson her parent’s wedding rings and helped to make that a more intimate moment than originally written. Of course Jamie has given me advice and even little bits of information that really go a long way. A lot of the time though, it’s simply watching them lead by example. People like Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes were absolutely brilliant to just be in the same room as them and how they react to, or manipulate, the environment they’re characters are put into. I really learned a lot, probably a lot more than they even thought that they taught me, from Anya, Jamie, and so many others that I’ve worked with. Especially when I’ve gotten great feedback and words of encouragement from many important people in the business, because it really means a lot coming from those who have seen so many great performances in their career.
Speaking of scary things, how do you handle auditions?
I actually really like auditions. I don’t think I have ever felt any major stage fright at any point in my life. I was actually filming a self tape audition last night and I was thinking that I would actually prefer to do in person auditions instead. I think it’s a huge help when you can have a live scene partner and connect with someone. Although I’m incredibly grateful for my friends facetiming me to help me audition, it’s definitely very different than having someone there and not just picking an eyeline on my kitchen wall. But I always think that any challenge that I’m put in, just helps something become easier for me in the long run. I’ve also been given some great advice from Peter Grosz while we were filming 'The Menu', and he told me to just treat it like you’ve already got the job in the way you approach the character. I like to come in with my own ideas about the character and not just try to please the directors. I try to come up with something new that is sometimes my first reaction to the writing. But of course, I need to be ready if they want to see any changes, it can not already be set in stone, but it wouldn’t be that way either if I had already gotten the job and we were collaborating on set. That’s what Peter truly meant, by coming in ready to go, but also ready to take it to the next level just like when the cameras are rolling.
Growing up, you were a horseback-riding musician, snapping photos between gigs with your bandmates. It was not until high school that you discovered acting?
It’s always been acting, I was just doing other things to get there. I really think that it has always been with me in everything I do, I just did not realize that I would be able to call it acting. Films have always been so fascinating to me in the way that they transport an audience to someone else’s lives and make them feel completely real. I always like making small skits and pretending with my friends, and really just never grew out of it. It really hit me one day when I realized that movies could be a real career idea for me, although I didn’t realize that acting was where my head was really at. I thought that I might go in as a set-designer or a horseback riding stunt rider, which I still have dreams of doing, but when I tried acting, it was really a light bulb moment of realizing that this is how my brain has been wired this entire time. Even with photography, video editing or being a musician it just adds to my skills on set. It just clicked, and I realized that it is what I've been doing forever in my head. I just had to connect it to a piece of writing, improving with another actor. And adding the technicalities of production to it.
What films will you see this Halloween?
I will of course be watching 'Halloween Ends' again and possibly catching up again on other 'Halloween' movies too. It feels really special to embrace that opportunity in my life and have a lot of fun with it this year! But I actually have a tradition of starting the 'Harry Potter' series on October 31st and watching the series in order every week leading up to Christmas. I feel like those movies have a special place in this time of the year with all of these seasons and holidays. It was also surreal to work with Ralph Fiennes, who I’ve basically grown up with as such an amazing villain that brings amazing characters to life. I was also very sad to hear that Robbie Coltrane had just passed away, so I will be watching them in honor of him this year. I do not think I would have the inspiration or the creativity that I have as an actor if it wasn’t for the escapism that those movies have brought me, so I thank them for that.
