NATASHA ESCA TALKS MOTION DETECTED
"I can’t just say my technique is one thing"
Daniel John
Written and directed by Sam Roseme and Justin Gallagher, this film follows a traumatized survivor who soon finds herself in danger once again, this time within her own home. What were your initial thoughts when you first read the screenplay for this?
I thought, "This is a great script! I want to be a part of this story". I wanted to dive in to my character Eva because she has so much life. She’s such a rich character. Justin and Sam were great to work with and building my character felt like a big responsibility for me. Because after having endured what Eva did, I had to be and find a place of truth in order to tell her story and deliver what my character was going through not only externally but internally as well. I did a deep dive in to her psyche and I was so surprised by what I found there. I’m glad it translated well on screen!
It’s a complex role, and you’re fantastic in it. Eva isn’t meant to understand the absurdity around her, she has no answers only reactions. How did you find the truth for a character who’s questioning reality itself?
Thank you, I was fortunate enough to work with amazing actors, directors and crew so we all did our part of creating this story together for it to work so wonderfully. My creation-process for Eva was a delicate one. Creating her backstory, and tapping into my emotional world in order to connect with hers. She’s such a force, and a survivor. I wanted to make sure this is what the lens captured. She’s been through such a devastating and awful experience and at the same time, it feels like she’s struggling for that validation without falling into playing the victim of it. She is looking for vindication while all these chaotic and supernatural events are happening around her. She thinks she’s losing her grip on reality. But she is also self aware enough to trust her intuition. So once again she finds herself in this state where she is fighting for her life. I have compassion and empathy for Eva, and building her was a unique experience.
Eva is trying to start over by starting a new life elsewhere, something you get to do with every new role. Be it Eva or someone else how do you usually approach playing a whole new character?
Great question. I tend to lean on method and naturalism as part of my hybrid-technique. As an actor, when you are in role you learn something about life, the world and discover new layers to your character every day. It’s a process for me that involves multidimensional perception. I can’t just say my technique is one thing. It’s an inventive mix of many things while your explore your character's "truth".
Do you ever use personal experiences to inform a role?
Yes. I do use my own personal experiences in order to create a character and as an actor you are constantly searching for new experiences and figuring out what it means to be a human in this day and age. It’s a deeply personal experience which requires a healthy amount of vulnerability.
This year it's been a full decade since your role in the Mexican film ‘Workers’, a film that also screened as part of the line-up at Stockholm International Film-Festival that year, how do you look back on these years?
Has it been ten years already, well time flies when you’re working your way from the ground up. It’s been a journey, one that I personally would not change. I would pursue it all over again. The path has unlocked new levels of depth in me, and in so many ways. I will admit, it’s been very difficult to stay the course but the rewards when you receive them are just so satisfying. I was doing one-line roles ten years ago. And now, ten years later, I am leading films which was the dream all along, to step into roles like Eva in 'Motion Detected'. I’m very grateful.
What do you think drew you towards acting?
This is something that I have discussed in other interviews, where I thought acting had found its way to me when I was twelve years old. But in retrospect, it was earlier. I fell in love with Spielberg’s films. The magic of watching films like 'Indiana Jones' and 'Jurassic Park' is what woke me up to the possibility of being a part of this industry. I am a huge music fan and music always goes in to my creative process when I’m developing a character, and to have a great original score in a film is part of why I fell in love with cinema and well Spielberg does it beautifully.
Is that still the same for you today?
Acting for me today, is a respite. The place where I go to consult my higher self and higher power. It’s a spiritual and cathartic release for me to be invested in a role. Acting is fuel. It was twenty years ago and continues to be that now. Also, something that I have learned along the way is, "The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit" which I remind myself of probably every other day. It is a long journey where you discover wonderful things, along the way. Acting for me is my Ithaca.
