Anna Shields Interview

Anna Shields is a film actress, and she talks to us about her role in "First Contact".

What's your character like in First Contact in terms of personality?

In First Contact, I play Casey Bradach, and I'm a young scientist. My father had just gone missing, and no one really knows what happened to him. I have like a strange relationship with my brother, who I haven't talked to for a while. And she's the one who's been very close to the father, and she kind of takes after his footsteps in terms of science and research and stuff like that. So, when she finds all this incomplete work that he's done that kind of hints towards maybe alien life, she's the one that's really wanting to delve into it.

What do you think viewers will like about the storyline of the movie?

I think, for the movie, it is an alien movie, but it also has a lot of heart. It's a lot of a family drama kind of too. So, I think it can be something for not just specifically horror or sci-fi fans as well, but there are some fun scares and fun alien stuff too.

What were the inspirations behind the storyline?

Well, the director, Bruce, he wrote this one. He actually had this idea, I think, several years ago. It was an entirely different script back then. It was so long ago, I can barely remember what it actually was back then. I think he might have changed some of the characters and everything, but it still just had that whole family drama deep down. So, I think he just loves sci-fi a lot, too. So, this is right up his alley.

Did you do any preparation for the role?

Yeah, I mean, since I had read the early scripts from years ago that Bruce did, I think I kind of already knew about the role and talked to him a lot about it. But it's funny, James, who plays my brother in the movie, so we all did a rehearsal just over zoom, because we're in different areas, and he and I realized that we actually live a couple blocks away from each other, and we had zero idea. So, then, yeah, we were able to do more rehearsing together.

Were any scenes particularly challenging to film?

So, a couple. During the climax - I don't know if people have seen it, but during the climax, it's this big thunderstorm at night and everything. Actually, I think that whole sequence took about three days to film, because we had to get like, the golden hour at twilight or whatever, but was freezing, and we were just using rain from a hose. So, the entire scene, we're all just freezing cold, and there is no heat connected to the water. Nothing. So, it was just - I forget what time of year it was. It was like uncharacteristically cold, and it was on the east coast, but we made it through it, and I really felt bad for James in that scene though, because I at least had a raincoat, and he was just in a T-shirt in the freezing, with water poured on him, but we made it. We got it done, and I'm glad it was raining for the scene. I think it added a lot.

Do you believe in aliens?

I definitely believe in aliens. Yeah, I don't know. There's no way it could just be us. Like, I don't know what kind of aliens they are, or if they even did have the ability to get here. I think there must be some smarter being out there. It seems unlikely that we would be the only like intelligent life force anywhere. So, yeah, I 100% believe it.

What would you say to an alien who clearly was friendly and spoke English?

Oh, God, I think that I’d clam up at first! God, that's such a good question. I think I would say - I think I’d just be curious about them. I would try to find out what's up with their species. What do they think in comparison with ours? Do they have any tips on how to make our world better or how to stop ruining it? Things like that, I guess; advice. I'd ask for some advice.

Which actors inspire you?

I really, really love James Spader, like back with all the the 80s and everything. I mean, he's still great, of course. I actually love Killian Murphy. I love him in Peaky Blinders. I think he's just so great. He has such a good way of just acting and staying just completely focused on the other actor instead of kind of queuing it up or hamming it up for his own scenes. I think he's really great at just doing that focus and not being narcissistic at all. I love him a lot. Yeah.

How did you get into acting?

So, I grew up in the Berkshires, in Massachusetts, and there was a lot of theater around there. So, I actually started when I was younger, just doing the regional theater in the area and just little plays here and there. Then, I really liked it, obviously. Then, in college, I went in upstate New York, in Troy, New York, and there was just this little independent film community there, and I started to meet people there. Then they were all kind of just making these independent movies either for like, no budget, or just tiny budgets. Then, I figured out I just loved film acting a lot more than theater, because I get super anxious being in front of a group of people and everything. So, this was much better. We can cut. It can be on the screen. But, yeah, I think even literally, even back in preschool, I've just always liked to act and to write too.

How do you get into character?

I think it's probably different for every role, but I definitely, I mean, this seems very basic, but definitely the first thing, I make sure that I am 100% good at memorizing my lines. I know a lot of actors can just show up and kind of memorize them right before something, but, for me, I think I have a lot of anxiety sort of, but so as long as I know my lines, then I can sit there, and I can get into the character and everything and feel fully prepared and everything. But I also tend to I try to find like, similar characters in other movies or TV shows. I find little relatable things through them, and then I'll kind of watch them just to get ready or even just similar movies to the one I'm about to do kind of to get the tone and everything.

What do you like about the horror genre?

Ah, god, it's my favorite genre. So, I love it. Again, it's just I've always loved horror. Even since I was really little, I would sneak R rated horror movies to watch. I just always really loved them. And I think I am a huge scaredy cat of everything in the world, and I'm terrified of ghosts, all of it. So, I think through me watching the scariest stuff I could find, I think at the end of the movie, I always felt like, “I made it out, okay,” and it prepares me for any bad case scenario in the future. And I also think this might be weird, but I do think it can help people kind of just empathize a little more, because you have to root for somebody in these terrible situations. It's usually literally life or death or something, and I think, in a weird way, it can bring out the best in an audience, because you're really hoping for somebody to make it through this. You know?

What is your favorite role that you played?

I think I did a Bigfoot movie with the same director of this, Bruce Wemple. This movie was called Monstrous. We did it maybe five or six years ago. It was a few years ago, but I loved that part. It was this girl who's looking for her friends that disappeared, and then she finds this weird link through this woman that gave her a ride somewhere. It starts out kind of as this like psychological thriller thing, but then it turns into this Bigfoot horror movie. But I really liked playing her, because I think a lot of times with horror, at least in the ones I've been [in], sometimes the acting can get, you know, sort of big and over the top a little bit, but for this one, we really kept it grounded. So, I think that was a lot of fun to do, just keeping it grounded when there's something as fantastical as like a Bigfoot costume running around.

Where can people follow you?

I'm on Instagram. I'm hibananaanna. It's just a H-I and then banana and then Anna, two n’s. That's sort of all I do. I have a website. It's annashields.com, but I would say Instagram is the place to follow.