One of my favorite assignments is talking with the stars and creators of films I love. This month, I had the opportunity to chat with both Kara Hayward and Liana Liberato, leads in a film called TO THE STARS. The film launched today on digital and is worth checking out. Initially, I’d planned to put both interviews into a single post, but after looking through my notes, I decided it would be better to split them up. i'll post my interview with Kara tomorrow.
Having starred in BANANA SPLIT, a charming film that recently came out on digital, Liana Liberato has another great film, TO THE STARS, that as I just mentioned, launched today. I had a delightful conversation with the actor. We began our chat with talk of self-isolation. I lamented about how challenging it can be for an extrovert like me to not be around any people.
“Oh man. I feel like I kind of switch back-and-forth from introvert to extrovert, but I feel you, though. When I need my time with my friends, I really need it.”
So how are you occupying your time during this isolation phase?
“You know, it’s funny. I feel like my life isn’t actually that different. I mean as an actor, you’re either on set, or you’re auditioning, or are you at home studying your lines or reading scripts or watching movies and stuff like that. I mean, really life isn’t too different for me.”
What’s the first thing you’re going to do when we’re able to get back out into the world?
“Oh my gosh, I think I’m just going to like go to a restaurant and eat something and get a glass of wine. I think that’s probably what I’m going to do. What about you? What are you going do?”
I’m probably going do the same. I’m going to invite a whole bunch of friends over and we’re going to go a restaurant, maybe to go to a movie, and just get out in the world.
“I know it’s just so crazy. The other day I was just craving strawberries and I was like, “I can’t go to the store to just go get strawberries. I have to wait in like a 20-minute line, so it’s very weird.”
How important do you think movies and other arts are and why?
“Oh, I think it’s so important. In many ways it’s a sense of escapism for people, especially for myself. I just had a film [BANANA SPLIT] come out like two weeks ago, and I feel like it’s reached so many more people, especially during a time like this. People need to kind of step out of their normal lives sometimes and become immersed in a fun story, and I think that’s why that exists. It’s a really great experience for people. I think growing up, it was a chance for me to step out of my shoes and step in to someone else’s and see what life is like for them. I think that’s a really important thing to have in this world.”
How did you get involved in TO THE STARS?
“I received the script and fell in love with it. When the script came, it was prompted with, “If you like the script, let us know, and we can arrange a meeting with the director.” So, I read the script really in one sitting, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I begged to meet Martha, and she agreed to meet with me. I basically sat down, and I literally dropped down a notebook full of notes and just started explaining to her how much I cared about my character, Maggie, and the story and where I think she came from and why. I think I just sort of bombarded her with a bunch of my thoughts, and Martha is just the sweetest and coolest girl. She’s very quiet and sort of hard to read at first. I remember walking out of the meeting, and I was like, “I think I just scared her.” But she responded positively to me, which is great. I met Kara a couple days later so that Martha could see how we got along. That went really well, and then next thing I knew, I had the offer for the movie. I was just so excited, and it was a really magical experience getting to do the movie.”
How many scripts do you get sent on a regular basis?
“It varies. You know it depends on the time of year. There are certain times where certain things are being cast. Year round, you’re getting independent films scripts just because they could kind of be made whenever. Then there’s also something called pilot season which definitely stills exists. It used to be a lot more prominent a few years ago before streaming was around, but I’m getting scripts I’d say three or four every week. It’s fun to read a bunch of scripts to see what’s out there, and what’s coming out. It’s pretty cool. Sometimes I’ll be watching a trailer for something, and I’m like” why do I know exactly what’s about to happen?” Oh, I read the script.”
What projects appeal to you the most?
“It’s funny; someone actually just pointed out that I’ve apparently been in five period pieces, which I genuinely didn’t know. I’m like, “Oh cool.” So I guess I’m attracted to those. I just want a good story, to be honest. I think that I’m obviously attracted to character, and I think that if there are a lot of layers to a character that I’ve been sent, that really excites me. But I also just really love to be a part of a good story. I’m totally happy with taking a secondary role if it means I get to be a part of a really cool story and work with a great director and a great cast. I like all kinds of things. I feel like I’d like to explore comedy a little more because I really haven’t done a lot of that.”
To me, TO THE STARS feels like it’s about longing. What do you long for in life?
“Oh my gosh, I long for so much. No one really has this in their 20’s, but I think I just long for a lot of peace in my life. I think in your 20’s, you’re just conditioned to not be that way. I feel like, especially in this day and age, we are kind of conditioned to believe that there’s always something better out there, or something better happening to someone else, and I hate that I feel that way and that other people feel that way. I think that I would just love to be happy with who and where I am in my life and just trust that whatever was meant to be will be.”
Did working on TO THE STARS improve your rock-throwing ability, and if so, how?
“Not really. I’m probably the least athletic person in the world, but I remember my mom grew up a softball player. I sent her the script when I signed onto the project, and she got so excited. She was like, “Oh my gosh, you get to be this badass and throw rocks at boys, and you should practice your throw!” And I was like, “Mom, I don’t think I can. It’s gonna be movie magic.” Hopefully, it looked okay. I didn’t throw my shoulder out or anything.”
How do you think Maggie’s story would’ve been different if it had taken place in today’s world instead of the 60’s?
“I guess I can’t say it wouldn’t be as much of a story because I think there are still so many people this day that struggle with the acceptance of others based on their sexuality and who they want to love. I know in so many parts of the world, if you want to be who you are, you are risking your life, and that was the case in Oklahoma in the 60’s. I do think that the story would look a little different, but I think that the emotions and the feeling would probably be very similar.”
Would you discuss your experience working with VEEP's Tony Hale?
“Oh my God, of course. He’s amazing! He’s so lovely and so funny, and it’s interesting because we have such a tense relationship on screen. I mean, [being around] the Richmond family is a very cold environment to be in. I do feel like I sort of made it a habit not to really bring my work home with me or bring it off camera with me because, at least for me personally, it’s not great for my mental health, especially with a story like Maggie’s. Bringing that home would be really hard, and I think that it was really nice because with Malin (Akerman) and with Tony, they sort of turned it on when the camera started rolling, as well, so that was great for all of us. We were able to go to lunch together and kind of ham it up and have a great time and talk about our families and our life at home. Then when the camera started rolling, that’s when all the energy would shift, and we would get into our characters. It was nice to know that we all kind of work similarly.”
How do you transition in and out of character? Are there techniques you use?
“It’s sort of like studying for a test. You’re going to spend an allotted amount of hours before your test studying for it and knowing it backwards and forwards, and then you have to give your brain like a mental break in order to let it marinate and settle. So, before we started filming, I would study my character, and I’d talk to Martha about the role, and then I just trust the process of marination on that. When I do get on set, and the camera starts rolling, I’m sort of trusting whatever is coming out of me and whatever it is I’m exuding, and then I’m able to kind of go off set, go to lunch, and be like, “I’m not Maggie right now, but I trust she will come back when the scene begins.” I think it’s a level of trust in yourself. I mean, it varies from each role, but for this role, in particular, I think I need to protect myself and my mind a little bit because it gets very heavy. For the justice of Maggie’s character, I needed to be in a healthy place in order to play her.”
What type of prep work did you do to understand your character and how did you explore the role?
“I think kind of taking all of her experiences and sort of like making it like a base level observation, similar to kind of what you were saying, like the movie is about longing, so what was Maggie feeling? Was it a lack of acceptance? Was it her self-worth? My experience in my own personal life is in no way similar to Maggie’s, but I can understand not feeling worthy of love. I can sort of understand where Maggie is coming from in certain situations. Also, I think just talking with Martha and creating the backstory for her helped. I actually have somebody very close to me in my life who ran away from home because she didn’t feel excepted with her sexuality, and so getting to talk to her and sort of see how she felt about her experience, that was very helpful for me, too.”
Do you watch your own performances?
“Yeah, I do. I know some people feel a little uncomfortable watching themselves. I definitely do, as well, but I sort of try to dissect why I feel uncomfortable watching myself. I do feel like really the only way to get better is to find out what you did wrong and what you did right in the performances in your past. I think that it’s important, for my process at least, to watch myself. I’m not just chilling at home typing my name up in Netflix. I would obviously go to my premiere and watch the movie. To get to experience a movie that I created with a big audience to see how they react to it and how they feel about it, it’s a really gratifying experience for me.”
You started your career very young. What are the biggest challenges you faced transitioning from a child actor to an adult one?
"I don’t know. Obviously growing up on screen, sometimes you can look back at yourself and be like, “Wow! That was a choice, Liana. Did you have to get those bangs?” Seeing yourself being interviewed at 15, you’re like,”Oh my god, don’t say that.” Sometimes that happens, but I feel like my characters have kind of grown with me. Every year, I sort of set a goal for myself, what type of character or movie I want to do or TV show I want to do. I have always enjoyed the roles that I’ve been given growing up in this industry."
Several years ago, you had mentioned in an interview that you had set an intention to go on a big trip every year with a couple of friends. Have you been doing that, and if so, where have you gone?
“Yeah, I have. The first trip I ever went on was London because I was 18, and it was my first time by myself out of the country. I was like, "Okay, let’s start out a little easy where people can speak my language," so I did London first, which was amazing. Then I did Croatia, which was an incredible place, then I went to Hawaii, which I know isn’t out of the country, but I’ve never been before, so I did that. Work got in the way a few years, and then last year I actually got to go to the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, which is near Prague. Last year, I ended up going to a lot of places. I did Prague, Croatia, and Greece so hopefully, I made up for the couple of years that I missed. This year, way before all of this stuff was happening, I really wanted to go somewhere in Mexico.”
Unfortunately, Liana Liberato won’t be heading to Mexico this year, but hopefully she can get there in the not-too-distant future. If you want to see Liana in her latest film, TO THE STARS, or her last release, BANANA SPLIT, they are both available on digitial now.
