In her own words, Gabriela Hersham is an, “Actress, foodie, film fanatic, adrenalin junkie, obsessive instagrammer and competitive ping-pong player.” JD Gillam was on hand to interview the up-and-coming actress.
Tell us a little bit about Millie, your character in Crying Wolf.
GH: Millie is the leader of a pack of werewolves who have descended upon the quiet English town of Deddington. She’s controlling, manipulative and gets what she wants. She’s the type of girl I would have hated, but underneath she has her own fears, insecurities and motivations that drive her.
On top of Crying Wolf, you have appeared in two other horror films – When The Devil Comes and The Burningmoore Incident. What attracts you to horror roles?
GH: I had such fun filming the first one that I wanted to do the second and the third. When I filmed When the Devil Comes we were a cast of about 40 on set at any one time and had a lot of fun. Maybe there’s something about the tension of filming a horror film that makes the cast and crew even more fun! But the truth is that I like the action. In Crying Wolf there are lots of fight scenes – so we have to do combat training beforehand which I’m excited for. Then there’s the option of doing our own stunts which my inner adrenaline junkie is gagging for.
Purely from a horror perspective, did anything happen on those sets that freaked you out?
GH: There were a couple of moments in The Burningmoore Incident where I was confused about whether I should be scared or not. We were filming in an abandoned compound that the NYPD and FDNY use as their training ground. Beautiful and massive abandoned old houses in a deserted complex. It was really creepy.
Is horror your favourite genre?
GH: No! Horror scares the life out of me.
What is your favourite genre and why?
GH: Action. Actually all I want is to be a comic book heroine.
What is your earliest horror related memory?
GH: Watching It and Childsplay with wide eyes. And then not sleeping for days.
What scared you as a child?
GH: Fred West. My best friend would try to frighten me by pretending he was hiding under her bed.
What scares you now?
GH: Insects. Never got used to them.
We understand that you were born from Iranian-Iraqi descent, have you found that the industry has been difficult to break into?
GH: Of course it’s difficult to break into. It’s impossible. But that’s why I enjoy it. It’s hard work, but every little breakthrough feels really good. The years of hard work and rejection make them so much sweeter and make me even more determined.
Have you experienced any specific issues in the industry due to your ethnicity?
GH: No. When I was auditioning and filming in America, I was just English. Now that I’m back in England, I’m English with a weird ethnicity, but that’s pretty much everyone in England these days. I’ll never be an English rose but I can play a convincing terrorist. No one can be everything.
What is your dream role?
GH: Mata Hari or Xena Warrior Princess. Boom!
JD GILLAM
