Actor, producer, storyteller, and former Miss Turkey, SERAH HENESEY goes in-depth in this exclusive interview talking about bringing her years of film and television experience to the table as an actor and now a first-time producer with her latest film, the nail-biting thriller THE SURPRISE VISIT.
Together with director Nick Lyon, screenwriter Stephen Meier and her story co-collaborator Nathan Cowles, Serah not only stars in the film but flexes her muscles as a first-time boots-on-the-ground producer to bring us THE SURPRISE VISIT.
Starring SERAH HENESEY, Jacqui Vene, Rob Riordan, Eric Roberts, Tricia Hawn, and Johnny Santiago, and based an actual crime which occurred on a remote estate in Virginia, THE SURPRISE VISIT is the story of Juliette and her husband Daniel who make a surprise visit to Juliette’s mother. But on arrival, the surprise is on them as Mom has gone away for the weekend. Deciding to stay the weekend anyway, more surprises are in store when a break-in occurs during the night. Knowing that Mrs. Dixon would be out of town, an old family friend with ties to the estate planned a break-in to steal the matriarch’s jewelry as a means to make some fast cash for himself and his pregnant girlfriend. But the surprise is on would-be thieves Casey and Annabelle when they discover Juliette and Daniel are in the house. Drug-addled, confused, and frenetic, Daniel is accidentally killed, leaving Juliette at the mercy of Casey and Annabelle. With only her wits and knowledge of the vast property as her allies, Juliette must find a way to turn the tables before Casey does something drastic and deadly.
Best known for her work in Turkish television, most notably a blockbuster sitcom for four years with a popularity that rivaled that of “Friends” in the United States, Serah has easily transitioned to one-offs and smaller roles in domestic film and television in the United States, but with THE SURPRISE VISIT, challenges herself and carries the film as Juliette, not to mention serving as producer.
A fascinating and fun conversation with SERAH HENESEY, we delve into all aspects of THE SURPRISE VISIT and her roles in developing the story and taking it beyond real-life events and “Hollywoodizing” it for the second half of the film, serving as producer and as actor, “run and gun” indie filmmaking, shooting during the pandemic lockdown and on the actual estate where the real-life crime occurred, casting, the physicality of the role and doing her own stunts, working with the director Nick Lyon as well as cinematographer Nate Haban and camera operator Ross Headley most particularly with all of the exterior work and chase scenes on foot, costuming, diving into and crafting the character of Juliette as a woman in her 40’s who is a successful and intelligent professional, the learning curve as a producer, balancing “hats”, and so much more.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 01/20/2022
