Exclusive Interview With Sarah Paulson On 12 Years A Slave

Did you do any research into women of the South at the time?

Sarah Paulson: I didn’t want to do a tremendous amount of research because I felt like this was very specific to Solomon’s experience and I didn’t want to find some sort of generalized notion about a woman. I paid attention to my posture, I had a corset on, so there were things that leant themselves very well to remembering all of that but the more ignorant I could be, I felt it was the better for the character.

Is there a moment for you when you really snap into character? In this case, say, putting on the corset?

Sarah Paulson: It’s completely project specific. But there was no way to walk onto that set, on that plantation with all the Spanish moss dripping down and all the pigs there and the curtain that was on the porch that was blowing and being in this house and being in New Orleans and not be in character. The place infused everything with a great sense of reality. That plus the corset plus the hairdo and the bloomers I was wearing…it all made it very possible. I could taste it.

What’s your most precious memory about the whole 12 Years a Slave experience?

Sarah Paulson: When I first arrived there a few days before I started shooting, I sat and had a juice with Michael and Steve and Chiwetel and then went back to Michael’s apartment and we rehearsed and talked about our characters’ backstory and it was just incredibly creative. It was so collaborative and Steve was so complimentary and encouraging of me that I felt very free to just do it and that really doesn’t happen a lot. People put handcuffs on you sometimes because that’s their creative process. Steve just trusted me. You always do your best work when you feel that the person behind the camera thinks that you’re really right for the part.

Steve has mentioned that he sees his actors sort of like athletes. How does that translate into how he works with you?

Sarah Paulson: He just wants you to do your training, know your lines and do your history. So you come prepared and you do it and you go for it and you don’t hold back. He will tell you as a coach and as a director when your form is wrong or when you need to pick up your pace and here’s why and how. But mostly, you are the vessel. He cast you for a reason. For whatever reason, he knew that I was the right person for that part and with that comes an innate sense of trust. It’s the most freeing way of working because you know that somebody’s got your back but they also believe in you.

Why do you think a movie like this is important?

Sarah Paulson: I think all movies and art is important but with a movie like this, I feel, that one of the most successful things about the movie is how truthful it is. Everything from the images–which are some of the most startling images I’ve ever seen–to the language…I feel like there’s nothing about it that’s fearful. With subject matter like this people tend to dance around it and the reason they do it is because it’s so intricate and complicated and for a movie like this to just be as honest as it is about this particular time in our country’s history is, to me, vital.

That concludes our interview but we’d like to thank Sarah very much for her time. Be sure to catch 12 Years A Slave when it hits theatres on October 18th.