Eliza Bennett – Sweet/Vicious

By starrymag | November 22, 2016

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What can you say about the premise for the series “Sweet/Vicious” and what appealed to you about taking on the role?

 

A) “Sweet/Vicious” centers around two girls with an unlikely friendship that join forces to fight injustices and sexual assault happening on their university campus. I was so attracted to everything this show has to offer its audience as it is a funny, kick-ass superhero story, but it is driven by a story of female friendship and empowerment and giving a voice to sexual assault survivors. I’ve never seen a TV series that bravely tackles this issue head on and I’m incredibly proud of be a part of it.

 

Q) How was your character Jules originally broken down and described?

 

A) Jules is an incredibly genuine and wholesome sorority girl who has her life ripped apart by sexual assault and channels her trauma into serving justice for other victims on campus. I think Jules heart and fight remains the same from when I first read the script, but our creator Jenn [Kaytin Robinson] has said that after Taylor [Dearden] and I were cast, Jules and Ophelia definitely changed and were written to incorporate any nuances that we may have bought to our auditions and rehearsals.

 

Q) Where do you connect with your character?

 

A) I feel incredibly connected to Jules, I always find it hard to let go of her when I finish filming. I’ve never had this with a role before, but she really stays with me even when I’m not working. We are different from one another in many ways, but I relate to her decisions and to her frustrations and I instinctively feel protective over her. Her story is powerful and I really hope the audience connect with her as much as I have.

 

Q) Did you do any research into the topic of campus rapes before beginning working on the project?

 

A) Yes I did! In fact, the whole cast did to varying degrees. Our cast and creative team definitely felt the weight of the responsibility we had to tell this story right and so we did our homework – we read books, watched documentaries and most importantly spoke to survivors. Missoula by Jon Krakauer was a really invaluable read and The Hunting Ground documentary had a huge impact on me for obvious reasons. The girls in that documentary Andrea [Pino] and Annie [Clark] are a real life Jules and Ophelia, but instead of fighting with violence (which we don’t advise) they are fighting sexual assault in a very real way – with love, education and raising their voices loudly so that we can’t bury our heads in the sand anymore.

 

Q) How does the show being a part of MTV help it to push boundaries?

 

A) First, MTV have been an amazing collaborator on telling this story boldly and bravely. Additionally, being on MTV allows us to have a platform to speak to exactly the demographic we are hoping to speak to; however, I truly believe that “Sweet/Vicious” is not just for college students and teenagers. Sexual assault feels timely now, but it is not a current issue. Sexual assault has been a part of our history since the beginning of time and we are just now starting to listen. There are men and women of all ages who know this trauma, who have been silenced and isolated, and I really hope that they watch Sweet/Vicious and feel less alone and more supported.

 

Q) Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback and response through social media?

 

A) Honestly, the feedback from social media and our reviews has been overwhelming kind. I have messages from sexual assault survivors that I will treasure forever and on a more general front, people have just seemed to have really enjoyed watching our show and falling in love with Jules and Ophelias friendship. And I really can’t blame them, I mean within hours of meeting they duet “Defying Gravity” together and I know the moment I read that scene I was in love.

 

Q) What has been the most challenging aspect of the role?

 

A) I definitely felt a pressure to tell Jules’s story right and for her trauma to feel truthful and real, but the support I felt from my fellow cast and particularly Jenn and Amanda [Lasher] (my creator and show runner) helped to make sure nothing felt too overwhelming. And on a physical level, playing Jules was definitely a challenge! I mean Jules is a kick ass martial artist and I am… well not. However, I say it was a challenge, but really it was one of my favorite parts of the job. I had so much fun training and working with our incredible stunt team so really I have no complaints!

 

Q) What do you like the most about your character’s development and what can you tease about what we will see?

 

A) When you sign onto a show, you only get to read the first episode so it has really been a pleasure getting to uncover Jules’s story as we were filming. When we meet Jules, she is using her vigilante life as a coping mechanism for her own assault so we definitely reach a point where she comes face to face with her trauma. Ophelia definitely challenges her throughout and on a romantic front, she becomes quite tragically intertwined with Tyler (Nick Fink) as the more she falls for him, the deeper her secrets get.

 

Q) What kind of stunt work or preparation did you have to do for the show?

 

A) Taylor and I did a month of training before we started filming, two hour sessions three times a week. It was hard work, but oh did we have so much fun! I think we were a little arrogant about how good we might be at the beginning and we were very quickly humbled. I don’t think I could walk properly the day after our first session. But slowly yet surely we improved and I am so grateful for the training as I felt so much more comfortable learning choreography and kicking butt.

 

Q) “Sweet/Vicious” is described as a dramedy, how will the series keep that balance with a dark topic?

 

A) I think life is a balance between the two and so the show reflects that perfectly. There is no light without dark and the show needs levity so we can talk about this incredibly real issue without it feeling like medicine. There is definitely a lot of humor in Jules and Ophelia’s mis-match friendship and how they try to balance their double lives, but when it comes to sexual assault there is nothing funny about those scenes.

 

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching the series?

 

A) Well firstly, I hope people have an incredible time watching and stick with us on the kick ass whirlwind adventure that is “Sweet/Vicious.” But also I hope that we are able to dig deep into this conversation and help people understand sexual assault trauma better and, hopefully, channel that into supporting survivors in their own communities and universities. And if you are a survivor – we love you, we believe you and I hope that you feel better heard and better represented. It’s on all of us to make change.