VALERIE MAE FOX TALKS STUTTER

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

Can you walk me through your journey into acting. At what point did you start envisioning a life as an actor?

I always kind of knew that I wanted to be an actor. As a kid, I would rope my sister and cousins into putting on little plays for our parents or teach them my newest choreography to 'Hannah Montana' songs. After high school I took a little detour and did my bachelor in economics. But even while studying something so inherently different, I never stopped dreaming of becoming an actor. It just took me a little longer to find the courage.

Also a trained dancer, how does your dance background influence your work on a film set. Does it inform your physical awareness, help you hit marks, or move fluidly through a scene?

Having a background in dance has definitely been incredibly useful. It’s given me a strong sense of body awareness and control over my movements. I also find that blocking a scene often feels a lot like learning a choreography, only instead of moving to music, you are moving through dialogue.

What was it that "signaled" you to portray Alyssa in 'Stutter'?

It was really fun to play Alyssa, as it allowed me to explore a character who makes you question what’s real and what’s not.

Your collaboration with director Sebastian Matthias Weissbach is one that seemingly goes back a bit. You, for one, also starred in his theatre-production of Jean-Paul Sartre's 'No Exit' in 2022. Is that when your creative relationship started?

Yes, I believe so. He actually sat in on a mock audition at my acting school, but 'No Exit' was the first time I really got to work with him as a director. He’s really determined to make sure you feel safe in the process, and that makes such a difference, especially when you're still finding your feet as a young actor. I’m so grateful for his support and the trust he has in me and my skills.

This production was also your first feature film, was there anything about the experience that stood out compared to your previous work?

I felt really lucky to work with Sebastian on my first feature film. I was definitely nervous, but having worked with him before on 'No Exit', I felt like he already had a strong sense of what I was capable of, and that is why he chose me. That trust made a huge difference. Up until then, I had only worked on short films, and the short film process is quite different. Stepping into a feature film was a big shift, but one I was so excited and grateful to take on.

Set for a release next year, you've already also played a role in his next film as well, 'Crossroads'. I'm guessing that will be rather dark too?

Filming 'Crossroads' has been one of the best experiences I’ve had so far. I really got to dive deep into a character for a month. Aoife, the character I played, was such a joy to portray. She’s so different from me as a person which made it even more fun to step into her shoes. I actually just did some reshoots for it and loved getting back into that character, even for just one more day. And yes, it’s a dark fairy tale, and I can’t wait for the world to see it. It’s actually pretty funny to me that I do not really enjoy watching horror or thriller films, because I get scared so easily and end up not sleeping for days. Yet, both of these feature films ended up being in those genres! But filming them is obviously very different, and not scary at all.

Being based in Berlin, do you actively seek out roles in English-speaking productions to expand your international reach?

Since my acting training is in English, it feels more natural for me to act in English, but I’ve also worked on German productions, and those have been just as fun. Full circle, coming back to my childhood, I used to write film scripts in English because I wanted to be an actor in English-speaking films. So I guess I always knew what I wanted. Even if I tried to push it away for a while.