411Mania Interviews Last House on the Left star Riki Lindhome
Posted by Al Norton on 03.13.2009
411's Al Norton sits down for an exclusive interview with Last House on the Left star Riki Lindhome
Riki Lindhome has the definition of a diverse resume: TV appearances on shows like Gilmore Girls, Criminal Minds, Heroes, and The Big Bang Theory, multiple films including twice working under the direction of the legendary Clint Eastwood, stage work as a member of Tim Robbins' theater company, a Nickelback video, and she's also a member of a Garfunkel and Oates, a comedy-folk signing duo. Her latest movie is a remake of the classic horror film Last House on the Left, which opens in theaters today.
Al Norton: Were you a fan of horror films before you got involved with Last House?
Riki Lindhome: I just started to become a fan maybe three or four years ago. I never watched them when I was younger just because I thought I'd be scared but I started seeing good horror movies and it turned my opinion around. By the time I auditioned I was a fan but it took me a while to get there.
Al Norton: Everyone has there own taste but what would you consider to "good" horror films?
Riki Lindhome: The ones I had seen had all been teen slasher or really gory but I love the original Halloween, and Rosemarie's Baby. The first Nightmare on Elm Street. I love Evil Dead.
Al Norton: I know it's a little bit of a stereotype but those movies traditionally don't have the strongest parts for women, usually portraying them as victims. Was this part being so not like part of the appeal?
Riki Lindhome: That was the whole appeal. Ok, not the whole appeal but that's what made me really, really want the part. I personally had never auditioned for a horror movie when I wasn't screaming in a corner. Usually it's always the victim, these thankless women parts, and this was the first time I thought, "this girl is just as bad as the guys." She's unapologetic, she's right up there with them, and I'd never seen that before.
Al Norton: How do you get in the mindset to play a character like that?
Riki Lindhome: It was easier than I thought because we were transported into a totally different world. We filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, they died my hair black, I didn't know anyone, it was a new time zone…The whole world was different and it made it easier to be less myself.
Thinking about the character, talking to the director, working with the other actors…I think we were all respectful of one another and we rehearsed a lot. After that I just had to let it go and see what would happen.
Al Norton: Is this the first time you played someone where you thought, "this person doesn't deserve to live"?
Riki Lindhome: Actually, it's the second time. The first time was my first movie. I was in Million Dollar Baby and I played Hilary Swank's younger sister and I hated myself in that movie. I was like, "god, this person is awful."
Al Norton: I mean this as a compliment but I hated you, too.
Riki Lindhome: Everyone who played the family had small parts but I remember watching it and thinking, "that is so wrong." So it's the second time.
Al Norton: In a movie like Last House on the Left is it difficult to keep up the intensity between takes? Can you chat with someone on-set who you will be torturing two minutes later?
Riki Lindhome: It would depend on the day. The days where the really intense stuff happened I didn't really chat with people. There were lighter days comparatively and those days you could chat. All of the actors in the film had such different processes that it would depend on who I had the scene with. Someone like Martha McIssac will get into the right emotional state and stay there all day. She can chat and come out of it but it's still there. Someone like Garrett (Dillahunt) can turn it off and on like a faucet.
Al Norton: I wanted to ask you about Garrett because he is one of my favorite actors. I mean this in the best possible way but I see him in all these different parts that he is so great in and I have no idea what he is like in real life.
Riki Lindhome: Isn't he amazing? I had no idea what to expect, either. I was wondering what he was going to be like - would he be crazy? - because he's so talented. He's actually a lovely man. He's kind of shy but I think a lot of transformative actors like him are. He's pretty shy but he's also one of those people that is so funny; he won't say anything for a long time and then come out with the funniest line of the night. He can be hysterical. I want him to do more comedy. He's reserved and also very serious about what he does, he puts a lot of thought and work into his characters. He's very sweet and easy to talk to and I don't think anyone could ever have a bad word to say about him.
Al Norton: You've worked with Clint Eastwood twice now (Million Dollar Baby and Changeling); does he live up to the hype?
Riki Lindhome: He does. He does. He kind of ruined everything for me because Million Dollar Baby was my first movie and I thought, "oh, this is what all the movies I do will be like." He does one take – sometimes two but mostly just one – so you have to get it right the first time. He's very easy and calm, the whole set is very peaceful and quiet, he doesn't say action or cut, you just sort of flow into it. It's all sort of pleasant and quick. There is something about him that is so zen and yet so powerful and you feel like you were meant to be there, playing that role. He makes you feel really safe because he trusts everyone to do their jobs.
Al Norton: Along with working with Clint Eastwood as a director you've gotten to act opposite Hilary Swank and Angelina Jolie…
Riki Lindhome: When I was working on those movies I literally couldn't believe it was my life. I would drive to work thinking, "this is crazy, this can't be my life" (laughing).
Al Norton: Were there things you took from each of their individual approaches to acting you tried to take and make your own?
Riki Lindhome: That's a hard question. I feel like I took more from watching their final performances than working one-on-one with them. What they had in common is that they are very grounded and very honest; you can see in their performances that they are so rooted and there with you, so alive and yet so simple at the same time. I found that fascinating. I remember thinking, "I'd love to be able to do that." One day I'd like to be able to have that level of emotional intensity and groundedness all at once.
Al Norton: Angelina Jolie has a pretty high level of celebrity; did that make it hard to not think of her as Angelina Jolie as opposed to the part she was playing?
Riki Lindhome: It was, actually. The first day was kind of surreal and then it got easier. She's amazing but it was harder for me to get past Clint Eastwood being Clint Eastwood. It was more crazy that he was standing their directing us than it was that I was standing opposite Angelina Jolie.
When we were on set it was like working with any other actor; she was in costume and was not glamorous at all in the movie. She was quiet and ready to work just like everyone else. She didn't have a million assistants or people surrounding her, she didn't have any of that clutter around her. She just walked up to me and said, "Hi, I'm Angie", and we started working. I was intimidated but she made it very easy to get over.
Al Norton: Your IMDB page has an exceptionally wide array of credits; TV, movies, comedies, dramas, music videos…The first few years of your career have been very successful; do you have an idea of what you may want to focus on the next few?
Riki Lindhome: I really don't. Most of my actor friends have a much better idea about where they fit in show business but I don't, and I think you can tell by looking at my resume. Most people get told where they fit by what they get cast in; they're always the hot girl, or the funny friend. I've been fortunate enough to have my casting be so varied, in so many different mediums, that I really don't know where I fit. I'm excited to take the journey and see what happens next. Maybe a sitcom, maybe an Ibsen play…I'll do anything that's good. I'm excited to see how things unfold but don't have any sort of plan.
Al Norton: Garfunkel and Oates is a great band name.
Riki Lindhome: Thank you!
Al Norton: Does performing that way meet your live audience fix?
Riki Lindhome: It does. It's been the best thing to happen to me because it takes the pressure off in auditions. It allows you to get your creativity out so you're not relying on a random group of producers to choose you to perform; you just go out and do it. The people who seem to like us are fun, silly people who come to enjoy themselves. It's a great release. Everything in my life now I put into a song.
Al Norton: That must make it tough to date you.
Riki Lindhome: It is. Oh man. I just wrote a song called, "My Self-Esteem's Not Low Enough To Date You", about a guy trying to date me who was a jerk, just not a nice person. I was like, "no, no, it's not that low yet. Maybe if I get rejected a couple more times, maybe we can work this out."
Al Norton: You've got a couple of movies coming out later this year with some big cast mates.
Riki Lindhome: I'm excited but I haven't seen either one. Say Hello to Stan Tallmadge is a broad road trip comedy with Jennifer Coolidge and Gary Cole. Last year was just so amazing for me. We were all in an RV for six weeks making this 70's road trip movie. Jennifer Coolidge is ridiculous, she's so funny, and it's always different. She's the hardest person to be in a scene with and not laugh.
Al Norton: Do you ever get anxiety because the last year has been so good, next year will be less so?
Riki Lindhome: Of course, of course. Every actor who tells you the truth is terrified that they are never going to work again. I was just telling you, "maybe I'll do a sitcom, maybe I'll do this or that" and inside I thought, "or maybe nothing. Maybe I'll never work again." Every single actor who is honest with themselves has that fear. I feel so lucky about the things that have happened already, every single job. Sometimes I'm working and I think, "this is going to be the job where they realize I'm terrible."
I'm from this small town south of Buffalo and when I go back I think people's perceptions of my life and the day-to-day reality are so different that I feel like I constantly explain to them that it's much more about not knowing when your next paycheck is coming than it is about being lucky enough to work with Clint Eastwood for three days on a movie.
Al Norton: That must make the live performing that much more important, to be able to work it all out.
Riki Lindhome: It has been the blessing of my life, to take everything that happens and put it in a silly song, and then have people respond to it. We had a big milestone this week because we got parodied on Youtube!
Al Norton: Does your band have a website?
Riki Lindhome: Sure, we've got a Myspace and a Facebook. We've got a Youtube channel or you can just go to Garfunkelandoates.com.
Don't miss Riki Lindhome in Last House on the Left, in theaters today.
