LARA LEMON TALKS WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE ATTACK
"I had to remind myself to keep it grounded"
Daniel John
One can tell that you love what you’re doing now, but anyone seeing you on stage earlier on, starting out in school plays, might have gotten another impression. You were quite shy, perhaps even painfully so. How did you end up on stage despite being shy?
I just loved it. I felt more like myself on stage than I did anywhere else, and although I wasn't getting the best roles. I was once a statue and another time I was stripped of Angel Gabriel in nursery because I was too quiet! I couldn't wait for the school play season, the class assembly or the excellently penned, usually based on the Spice Girls, theatrical gold that we'd put on for parents and their friends.
It would have been easier to get off the stage, but you did not. What was it about performing on the theatre stage that still made it worth staying up there?
The feeling I felt as a child, the sense of play and creation, is something that still sticks with me now. I didn't know there was a place for people like me in the industry but I knew I wanted to do that forever. There were so many moments that made me, and still make me, fall in love with performing and one that sticks out vividly was making an audience laugh in a high school play. If I could bottle that rush I would be high on euphoria twentyfour-seven!
Did the ability to disappear and lose yourself in roles help you be yourself more as well?
Absolutely, I discovered parts of myself I didn't know existed and I found that I had a voice. A lot of actors say it, but I did feel like I really found who I was and what set my soul on fire.
What was it like acting on camera for the first time. Was it different from being on stage?
I had always wanted to try camera acting but theatre was my first love, a shared experience with an audience is something very special, so I was apprehensive to try screen, but I loved it too, it's just telling a story in a different way. I certainly found the lack of rehearsals and shooting out of sequence and the waiting around hard at the beginning but I've learnt how to make it work for me.
Some say that cameras do not like acting, that cameras like authentic reactions. But when so much around you is added in post, that’s a different challenge. What was it like finding truth and making it believable while running around being chased by aliens that wasn't there?
I hadn't done much work with green screen and CGI before so it was a challenge but a huge amount of fun. I had to remind myself to keep it as grounded in reality for me, even if sometimes it had to be pretty technical.
As an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic, 'War of the Worlds: The Attack' isn’t the first to bring the story to life theatrically. It's been made into TV-shows, operas, plays, and most famously, the radio broadcast that convinced listeners Earth was actually being invaded. How did those earlier versions influence the way that you approached this film?
I went straight back to the book to mine it for inspiration and, although the film is set in modern day, there are big parallels. I loved the Orson Welles radio broadcast, a work of genius, and the fallout from that. There was also an excellent play inspired by this broadcast by Isley Lynn, produced by Rhum and Clay which, if it comes back around, I'd really recommend! It's very exciting to play a role in a film with such an iconic title!
What drives you to take a role?
There's a whole host of reasons why I would take a role, but things that are really important to me are the script, the director, the character development, the cast, and a nice location does help too. The kind of roles I want would challenge me, give me a chance to explore and allow the shy little girl in me a chance to play!
