You did a number of your own stunts in this movie, correct?
Sarah Snook: Yeah. I did have a stunt woman with me as well who helped, but I really liked getting into that kind of throwing yourself around. There’s a limit to what you are allowed to do because of the insurance, which makes sense, but being tied to the wheelchair and thrown into the YMCA pool to shoot the underwater stuff, that’s really fun.
Which stunt was the scariest for you?
Sarah Snook: The one that was the scariest in a way was that I had to not breathe underwater for as long as possible, and also not have any bubbles coming out of my nose. Actually, Amber had it a lot more difficult than I because she had to swim and not blink, breathe or have any bubbles coming out of her nose. It’s insanely difficult and you get light headed the more you stay underwater. But yeah, we had the one day where we did the crash scene that actually never even ended up making it into the film. I was lying on the ground and having had my leg broken, I was on an odd angle, but I laid there for so long I ended up getting hypothermia and didn’t realize it. I was rushed off in an ambulance and heated overnight at the Wilmington hospital. So after that they were a little reticent to let me do my own stunts.
Did you have any favorite horror movies growing up that influenced your performance in Jessabelle?
Sarah Snook: I looked at things like Orphan and I really loved The Conjuring, so that and things that you know just go bump in the night. I remember having this great experience watching The Descent with the girls who go caving and they discover these underground people. I watched that with a group of something like 15 girls and guys in a room, and that’s the best way to watch horror films because you all scream simultaneously and straight afterwards laugh at yourself because you realize it’s not real.
Jessabelle reminded me of the times where I really hid under the covers while in bed as a child.
Sarah Snook: Well the scene where Jessabelle is seeing the ghoul or the supernatural being that is taunting her that is classic hiding under the covers or not looking under the bed so that nothing gets in the way. I remember when I was a kid, I slept with the door open. It had to be open because I felt that if like a robber came in at night, I would be able to run out behind him very quickly.
I understand that you were one of the actresses being considered for Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher’s version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. What was it like auditioning for that?
Sarah Snook: That was really amazing. I was very green and young and I hadn’t had much experience, so going in for that was a huge culture shock. We don’t have anything quite like that in Australia in terms of scale. Also, just going in and meeting David Fincher and Daniel Craig takes you out of yourself a bit. I loved the experience. It was something that I’m glad I was able to have.
That concludes our interview, but we’d like to thank Sarah very much for her time. Be sure to check out Jessabelle, as it’s now playing in theatres!
