Chelsea Edmundson – The Black String

By: Kelly Kearney

Q) You play Dena in the new film The Black String. Tell the fans a little bit about the film, your character and how she fits in.

Chelsea: I can’t say too much about it since it’s a mystery thriller, but it’s in the horror genre. Although, it may be more psychological. It’s really exciting and Frankie [Muniz] is back at acting and I think this is one of the first films he’s done in a long time. He was really excited about the script and it is good, probably one of the few scripts I’ve been this excited about. My character Dena is a woman who takes Frankie’s character down a dark path. Dena is a very dark character.

Q) You mentioned Frankie Muniz who stars in the film. What was it like working with the former child star?

Chelsea: I adore Frankie. I know other actors who are former child stars so it’s not weird for me because I am good friends with Jonathon Lipnicki, who played Ray in Jerry Maguire. So, it wasn’t something I thought about. I just wanted to get to know him as a person. We had a few scenes between us that were maybe a little more intimate than I have done before and I was a little nervous about that. Honestly, Frankie has a really great sense of humor. He’s so funny. So, for me, any time I get to work with someone who’s funny or doesn’t take themselves too seriously I know we’ll get along and that’s very much how Frankie is. He’s just very funny, in a totally sarcastic way and just nice and easy to get along with. He just made working so much fun.

Q) How did the role of Dena come to you and what was your audition process like?

Chelsea: That’s a really interesting story! I did a short with Brian [Hanson], the director, about three years ago when he was still in school. We hadn’t stayed in touch in and even though it was a great time working with him, life had gotten in the way. I had done a few films since then and he called me to ask if I would help him with the audition process on The Black String. He was like, “We’re reading all these guys for this lead role and a lot of them have great experience and we wanted a good reader. I know that you will do a good job.” So, I told him sure and I would help him for a few days and I ended up reading with all the guys and it was much longer than a few days. I think I helped for about two weeks as we went through all the guys. I mean, they read a lot of guys for Frankie’s role. He beat out a lot of people, good people, to get that job. So, I had told him that I wanted to maybe audition to play this girl who works at this psychic book store because it was fun and a kind of dry comedy role. He said he definitely wanted me to read for that and then a few days later he called me and said he would like me to also read for Dena. At the time Dena was supposed to be kind of a cougar. Brian said he wanted to maybe see a few younger people read because it could bring more of a vulnerability to the role with them being similar in age. So, I taped it and didn’t expect to get the role at all because I saw all the great women who read for the audition. I just thought I wasn’t going to get it, but I was going to get that psychic bookstore role. I was determined to get that role and when I was out of town with friends they called me and said they really wanted me to play Dena and asked if I would do it. Of course, I said yes because I really loved the script and it was like a dream come true kind of story that I wasn’t expecting at all.

Q) You mentioned Frankie and his sarcastic humor, were there any fun behind the scenes moments from filming The Black String you can share with the fans?

Chelsea: Hmmm…let me think…Oh! Ok, so I am tall, like unusually tall. I’m 5’10 and I wear heels a lot. I mean my whole family is tall. I have sister who’s 6’4 so we are tall people. For the film, it was kind of a struggle to find shoes to wear so that I didn’t look so tall in some of the scenes. Sometimes I would have to take my shoes off and it wasn’t like Frankie was short or something. He’s average height. It’s just that I am really tall. So, he made some jokes about me being tall and I think he was afraid he would make me self-conscious so he made a lot of jokes about himself so I would feel better. It was kind of cool that my height didn’t matter because when I do auditions they often ask how tall I am and wonder how that will work out. So, yeah, he just made a lot of jokes about me being a giant and then a lot of jokes about him being shorter than me. It was a lot of fun and we had a lot of laughs over it.

Q) Did you learn anything from working on the film that you will take with you to other projects?

Chelsea: Oh yeah. Oh my gosh. I learned so much and I know that sounds cliché, but I really did and whether it was just like acting stuff or how to handle a situation or people. I learned a lot. In particular, I learned to never count myself out. Also, anything can happen so stay open to all the possibilities. I mean, I wouldn’t get my hopes up every time because that can be dangerous with this kind of career, but I definitely have more confidence and I think that’s changed my audition process. I also feel like, from playing Dena, I learned how to find my stillness. I watched one of my favorite movies Silence of the Lambs because I love how still Anthony Hopkins is. He’s sort of known for his stillness in that and it was one of the performances that inspired me. Hopkins and Juliette Lewis were my two main inspirations for the role and, of course, I had my own ideas on how to incorporate stillness into the character. That was a cool thing to practice and I realized it can be very creepy, powerful and even unnerving. I felt like if I was to audition for roles similar in the future I would take that with me. I’m not afraid to be typecast and if someone saw my performance as Dena and thought I could play something similar, I wouldn’t be afraid to incorporate those things into another character, especially at this stage in my career.

Q) With films like Daylight’s End, Altitude and now The Black String, Sci-Fi/Horror seems to be your genre. Are there other genres you’d like to try that you haven’t had much experience with yet?

Chelsea: I think Sci-Fi/Horror are really the most welcoming genres for new comers. I have been really lucky with that and I want to do even more Sci-Fi because I feel like if you have Sci-Fi fans you have them forever. It’s like the country music genre of movies, in the sense that you just have awesome fans that care about other films that you’re doing. With that being said, I’ve gotten to play some comedic roles in things like my role in Altitude that has a lot of comedy to it. I would just love to do more comedy. It’s definitely another genre I’d like to get into. I’m obsessed with the shows “Silicon Valley” and “Veep.” I watch all the old episodes of “Parks and Rec.” I just started doing Improv at UCB so I’m trying to get better at it because I would love to do more. It’s just so different than what I have been doing and I think that’s why people want to be actors, to do different things.

Q) You’re originally from a small town in Missouri called Poplar Bluff. How did you break into acting and what advice would you give other aspiring actors living in small town America?

Chelsea: Coming out here is really hard. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It takes a lot of perseverance because you have highs, but you also have lows and that can go on for a long time. I’m starting to get to the point where I steadily have work and I’m grateful for that but it hasn’t always been the case. So, I would say f there’s nothing else you can imagine that would make you happy and you would be miserable if you didn’t give it a good go, then I would say go for it – one hundred percent. Put all your cards in and go for it. If there is anything else that you could see yourself doing, then probably do that. If there is something you like just as much as acting, then you probably won’t stay in it because it is so hard. If there’s not, then you have to try because if you don’t you will always wonder what would’ve happen if you did. The advice I would give would be to come out here and be very proactive, don’t just sit at home and wait for things to happen, do whatever you can for your career, every single day. A lot of people come out here and just sit, waiting for something to fall into their laps. But you have to do everything you can.  Do improv. Do shorts. I mean, I basically got The Black String from doing a short so it might have been a long road to get to Dena, but it’s still why Brian knew me. Basically, do everything you can and don’t be picky. Save that for later in your career until you get some experience.

Q) You’ve worked with a variety of people throughout your career. Is there anyone that you haven’t worked with, that you wish you could? Possibly a dream co-star or director?

Chelsea: There’s a lot of directors I really like so that’s hard. I guess my number one director, if I could choose, would be James Cameron. I love doing indies films, but I have never worked on a movie that has the budget of a James Cameron movie. I almost think I would feel like I wasn’t acting and in the world of Avatar or maybe not Avatar because of the green screen, but Titanic. He had this amazing set built for Titanic and he has these huge budgets because his films are so technically imaginative that I think it would be such a different experience for me. Also, throughout James Cameron’s career he’s created some strong, iconic roles for women before that was even really done in film. The first Terminator and even True Lies…I love Jamie Lee Curtis’ character in, True Lies. It’s one of my all-time favorites because she’s funny and sexy and smart Then you look at Rose in Titanic, Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 and Sigourney Weaver in Aliens…He isn’t afraid to give women these multitalented bad ass roles. I think that’s why James Cameron would be my first choice. Those roles made such an impact on women in action movies. Even today, when I audition for an action role, in the breakdown they will say it’s a Sigourney Weaver type or a Linda Hamilton type, they use those iconic roles as a frame of reference even now.

Q) I’ve seen you sing and play guitar on your YouTube and Vimeo channel and you were wonderful! If you weren’t an actor, do you think your focus would be on becoming a musician? Any hopes of combining both your acting and musical talents in the future?

Chelsea: Thank you! Well, I use to be in bands all through high school and I was in one out here for a short time. The band I was in out here, I was in mostly because I wanted to write music and I didn’t have anyone else to do it with so we started writing together. As for combining them, I would love to play any role where I get to sing and play guitar. I would totally be down to learn a new instrument for a role. My mom had me play violin for seven years and while I hated it, it really gave me a good ear. I don’t think I would ever want to be the focus, like a tour musician or something, but I do enjoy writing music and if I wasn’t using that skill with a character I’d like to write music for other people. I have a lot of songs written and if there was any way I could give or sell them to other people, I would be so happy to hear a song of mine on the radio.

Q) I know you’ve done some modeling, so what is your latest fashion or clothing trend that you can’t get enough of and why?

Chelsea: Oh, my gosh. I love this question because I love clothes! A lot of people might not know this, but I just cut off all my hair. It’s above my shoulders now, so I’m into anything I can wear around my neck. I feel like it shows the neck more so I’m into the whole vintage handkerchief/ scarf thing around my neck. I wear them constantly and because I’m very fair skinned, it helps keep the sun off my chest, too. It also looks really tomboyish and cute so that’s probably my number one trend obsession right now.

Q) What is a recent movie you have watched and what did you like the most about it?

Chelsea: I just watched 10 Cloverfield Lane and it was well done, I loved it. I thought the music was insanely well done and the acting was so good. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but it’s basically done all in one location and because I want to one-day produce and direct. I find myself obsessed with thinking about making films that don’t cost fifty million dollars. I was so impressed with the storyline. I just watched that last night and I was just really impressed with the whole thing and enjoyed it.

Q) Besides The Black String, do you have any other projects you’re working on that the fans should look out for?

Chelsea: I just finished a run where three movies I did have all been released. I did this movie with Tricia Helfer, many people know her from “Battlestar Galactica” and currently “Lucifer.” Stephen Lang from Avatar is in it. It’s called Isolation and it’s out now. I play a small role, but it was fun to be a part of it and I got to shoot down in Mississippi and that was a lot of fun. So, everything I’ve done is basically out now and I’m back in the hunting game for new jobs. I do have an episode of the show “Casual” coming out that I played a role in. I’m in episode ten in Season Three. That’s coming out in a few weeks so you can look for it on Hulu. That was actually my first TV job and I want to do more in the future. It was a big deal for me to book “Casual” because TV can be really difficult to break into and now I want more! I have a great agent and I’m auditioning more for TV and I hope to go out for a lot of pilots this year. That’s my plan, so we will see…