Jenn Lyon – The Neighbor in the Window

By starrymag | February 8, 2020

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) Your character Lisa is quite the conniver and manipulator master. What is it that really propels and compels her to play this part and put on a facade?

A) I think Lisa has a lot of insecurity and emotional instability which leads her to be highly impulsive and try to connect quickly and completely. She craves an intimacy that she can’t find anywhere and when she gets called out on the lies that she uses to gain that intimacy and attention, she will do anything not to be abandoned. Even turning on the person she originally so desperately wanted to connect with.

 

Q) When you began reading the script, what about the writing and these multilayered characters really stood out to you? 

 

A) I could see a way in, I guess? I could see a way to make Lisa have good qualities and be trapped and kind of go on a ride with her. Also, knowing Jamie-Lynn [Sigler] was already cast made me want to do it. She is dynamite.

 

Q) What did you find the most challenging about portraying this character? What really pushed your acting boundaries?

A) I found it challenging to take the quick emotional 180’s that the script required.

There were some hairpin turns within a scene like getting violent and then collapsing and weeping and then being seductive in like ten seconds. And I’ve never had to do that in such a limited time frame.

 

Q) We see these multidimensional characters that are complex and compelling, who are loving and layered, but also messy, vulnerable, and at times self-sabotaging. What do you think it is about the dynamic of these core characters that will really resonate with the audience with the way that they are written and portrayed?

 

A) It resonates because it is us. We all have our social masks that we are required to live in a functioning society, but we have shadow selves that wish they could scream, hide, screw somebody’s man, make a dramatic rescue, fail, prevail, etc. So, when we watch characters that are boldly drawn doing things we imagine but would never do it’s exciting. Oscar Wilde said, “Moral indignation is just jealousy with a halo.”

 

Q) You get to work opposite of Jamie-Lynn Sigler who plays Karen. Since this is such an intense movie, how did you two handle the suspense and shake it off after a day of filming?

 

A) She is so funny and game in real life. Just the most caring individual. So, it was awful to be cruel to her but then we would just eat snacks and swap theatre stories and sing songs.

 

Q) In today’s current climate, why is it important to put attention and focus on this specific issue “False Victim Syndrome?”

 

A) I think that with the pendulum of identity politics swinging so wildly we have lost our rigor in the pursuit of truth. We want to find blame and cancel people and then on to the next thing quickly and it’s punitive instead of restorative. We must look for the truth and investigate claims. It’s also past time for us deal with mental illness and to stop looking at therapy and medication as punishment.

 

Q) What is interesting is Lisa is a character who is not necessarily inherently bad. There are many areas shaded in gray because of the constant ever evolving circumstances. Please talk about portraying these gray areas and how you were able to make Lisa not just one sided?

 

A) This is my first “villain” and it was important to me that the audience understand why Karen (Jamie-Lynn) liked her in the first place. Also, I had to like her and not judge her. The times in my life when I have been the most hurt and baffled was when I loved somebody first and then they turned on me.

Q) Is there a scene or moment you are most looking forward to fans reaction to?

 

A) I hope they are on the edge of their seat wondering what’s going to happen.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching this movie?

 

A) Close your blinds.

Q) Is there anything else you would like to tease or share about the film?

A) There is a particular Halloween scene that I’m fond of. Watch this Saturday at 8:00/7:00PM central.