Raquel Laguna/ SUCOPRESS. Actress NICKY WHELAN stars in the movie CRESCENT CITY, directed by RJ Collins. In this interview, Nicky talks about her character and about her love for acting. In the film, when a small southern town is terrorized by a relentless serial killer everyone becomes a suspect… including local authorities. As the body count rises and the dark mystery deepens, the chief detective becomes haunted by the horrors of his past. Academy Award Nominee’s Terrence Howard, Esai Morales and Alec Baldwin also star in a mesmerizing crime thriller about what it costs to catch a killer. CRESCENT CITY, in theatres on August 16th.
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00:00due to this project in the first place?
00:02Well, Raja, the director, has been a friend of mine for...
00:07When I first moved to LA, 15, 16 years ago, even longer,
00:11I did one of my first movies with him, he was producing,
00:14and he kept saying to me, I'm going to direct one day,
00:16and cut to, he'd asked me to be a part of some other projects
00:19which didn't work out, but we sat down over coffee
00:23last year about this project, he told me about it,
00:25and it was really...
00:26She's a great, really cool character to play,
00:29and obviously the cast is unbelievable.
00:32It's really a no-brainer.
00:35I love the twists and turns that she brings,
00:37that was a nice little challenge for me,
00:39and to finally get to work with RJ, who is...
00:43He's so good.
00:43Everyone loves working with him,
00:46he brings this whole vibe to a set,
00:48he's really old school, and makes it very special,
00:51so everyone's families were there,
00:53like it was an experience,
00:54it was like going on a big holiday
00:56with just everyone that you love,
00:57so I really, I mean, it's no-brainer to say yes.
01:00That's very nice.
01:03Tell me about Jacqueline, your character,
01:05how would you describe her,
01:07and do you relate to her in any way?
01:11She has a lot of trauma,
01:13which I think we can all establish
01:14we all have these days.
01:17Now that it's a whole thing, the trauma,
01:19but I think hers is quite severe,
01:23and she comes through,
01:24she's got a lot of trauma from her past,
01:26and I think that is what makes her so desperate,
01:29and makes her,
01:31even though she's a highly intellectual detective,
01:35she's very smart,
01:36it makes her highly manipulative
01:38because she needs to survive,
01:40and so I like her,
01:43I hold space for Jacqueline,
01:44I know she can be naughty at times,
01:46but I think everything is coming out of a desperation
01:50for her throughout this journey,
01:52and I think in life, of course,
01:54there's always moments that we can relate to
01:57in the sense of panic, and desperation,
01:59and trauma from the past,
02:01and how it shapes our future,
02:02and obviously not to the extreme of my character,
02:06but of course, I've been in places in my life
02:07that reflect very similar places of death.
02:11As women, we make poor decisions when we're in pain.
02:15As humans, we do that,
02:17so I think that's in defence of Jacqueline,
02:19I think that's where a lot of her decisions are made,
02:21but I also think, as you see,
02:23she wants to go to the top and expose herself
02:27because she does have a conscience,
02:29there is a heart underneath there,
02:32and I hope that reads through in the movie
02:36before everything happens.
02:37How would you describe Jacqueline and Brian's
02:43complicated relationship in the film?
02:47Yeah, I think when you lose a lot in your life
02:50and there's one glimmer of hope,
02:53I think that will make you make decisions
02:55like to be transferred, to move,
02:58and make massive decisions,
02:59just to find a place of comfort,
03:01something that brings you happiness.
03:04I think she gets very,
03:07I wouldn't say she's obsessed,
03:08but I think there's that,
03:10without giving too much of the storyline away,
03:12I think there's curiosity about what,
03:17that's the naughty side of her,
03:18she selfishly is thinking about herself
03:21when she makes that transfer over.
03:23And so, yeah, I think it's just a woman
03:26in a bad stage of her life making poor decisions
03:29and obviously the only light in her tunnel
03:31could possibly be him.
03:33So I think she follows that.
03:37You are an actress, a producer,
03:40would you like to direct your own movie in the future?
03:44You know, I've been asked so many times too,
03:47and I see what directors go through.
03:50It's an incredible process.
03:52It's big, it's a lot.
03:53It's not that I wouldn't be able to handle it.
03:56I love being an actress.
03:58I love being in front of the camera.
03:59I love playing out these,
04:01but there have been moments in my life
04:03where I've looked at something
04:05and loved the story to the point
04:07where I'd rather tell the story from behind it.
04:09So I think maybe in the future,
04:11if there's something that I've got to be strong about,
04:15I've got to be so obsessed with it to direct it.
04:18I am always obsessed to be the character,
04:21but I've got to be obsessed with something to direct it
04:23because to tell a story,
04:26it's no joke directing to really reflect a story.
04:29And I've watched it for years,
04:3120 years in my career,
04:32people do it all different directors come in
04:34and their take and how they choose to do things.
04:37And it's a huge job.
04:39And I think if I do it, I want to do it so well.
04:42And, you know, being in the business this long,
04:44I think there'll be an opportunity in my timeline
04:46to be able to do that.
04:48But it's funny, a few people have asked.
04:50So maybe eventually we'll see that happen.
04:52Next question.
04:54For this movie, what was more challenging for you?
04:58Prepare physically for the role
05:01on this running and gun drop or mentally?
05:07This was definitely mentally.
05:09I mean, I hadn't trained a lot.
05:11I'd come straight off another movie into this.
05:14Literally from day to day.
05:16So there was no, I had no time
05:17to sort of physically train for this.
05:19I do train on and off in my personal life.
05:22But mentally for this, it was,
05:24I'm working with some fantastic, strong male actors
05:29that have big personalities
05:30and their characters are full of life.
05:33So for me, I always want to show up quite clear
05:36and quite open, not overly prepared.
05:38I want to come in and sort of be,
05:41what are these guys bringing?
05:42What are we all bringing to the table together?
05:45It's such a treat to be in the energy
05:47of these kinds of actors.
05:49So I want to come in with a very open mind
05:51and that in itself needs preparation.
05:54I had a lot of ideas for Jacqueline
05:55but I also like to wait and see
05:58how it feels when you talk to someone.
06:01How's that look?
06:02And then we can, there's so much magic that goes on
06:05in putting these movies together
06:06and working with these guys.
06:07So it was definitely a mental thing for me.
06:10But once we're on set, once you're into your character,
06:12you almost know the decisions she's going to make.
06:15If something happens, you just start,
06:17it's a bizarre process.
06:18I think it's why we all are addicted to it
06:20and love it so much.
06:21It's really fun.