Jena Sims – Kill The Messenger

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I did a Cartoon Network show called “Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell” and it is on Adult Swim. They haven’t said when it will be released, but it could be any day now.

Q) We recently saw you in Kill The Messenger. What was the premise for the film?

A) It is based on a true story of the journalist Gary Webb. In the 90’s he worked for a small journalism newspaper and uncovered the CIA for bringing drugs into the United States, where the US government was profiting off of it. He ended up committing suicide. It’s a tragic film and it gave me chills. I think it will get people talking. It’s dark and tragic. Jeremy Renner does such a beautiful job of portraying the character. I play the girlfriend of one of the supporting characters, played by Robert Patrick. I’m a part of a separate vignette in the beginning that sort of sets up Gary Webb’s character.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the film?

A) I have done a lot of B-comedies and independent films. So any time I get the chance to be in a feature film…Once I saw that Focus Features was the one behind this and Jeremy Renner was attached and I had a scene with him, there was no turning back!

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that may not have originally been scripted for you?

A) The original description of the role and what I saw right after filming were completely different! She was sexy, grungy and like a drug addict and then we shot all of it. When I saw it on Monday, they completely took the sex appeal out. She became a more serious part and I am so pleased with how it turned out. I have the most epic horror film scream in the film and it’s really high energy. I had no idea though that’s what I would be in for when I showed up that day.

Q) Did the chemistry between you and costar Robert Patrick come naturally or was there no time to bond?

A) There was no time! When I met him, he was so sweet. I knew who he was and had seen a number of his films. He is from Georgia and I’m from Georgia so we immediately started talking about The Falcons and UGA. We share so many common interests because we are both Georgia locals and we stay in touch. We follow each other on Twitter and when ever I share anything about The Falcons he will retweet. He follows me on Instagram too and we kind of talk via social.

Q) What kind of advice did director Michael Cuesta give you in regards to your role?

A) He really just kind of let me roll with it. He pretty much just went over the scene and what he envisioned. Jeremy was the one that really worked with me. He was so charming and hospitable. I met him in the hair and makeup trailer and he said, “Let’s talk about the scene.” I showed up on the first day and nobody really knew each other. We figured out how everything was going to go and Jeremy really, really helped me. Some of the things he said I will take with me forever.

Q) What were the words of wisdom that he imparted on you?

A) It’s all of these things they teach you in acting class, but you kind of brush it off. When you hear it from a working A-list actor, it kind of makes it more relevant. He basically said we should talk about what drove my character to be in this position. We cut a lot of this out, but initially I was hooking up Robert Patrick’s character for drugs. Jeremy wanted to talk about what brought my character to this point in her life. We just kind of wanted to flesh out the entire character so that by the time we were shooting it had more life to it.

Q) What else would you like to share with the fans about the film?

A) The film ends so abruptly and I think it ends with leaving the viewers wanting more. I would love to hear what the fans think of the film.