Interview: Danielle Nicolet Talks About 'Red Faction: Origins'

Read Shockya's exclusive interview with Danielle Nicolet, who plays Tess De La Vega in the upcoming Syfy Channel Original Movie ‘Red Faction: Origins.’ The highly anticipated movie, which premieres on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 9 pm, is the first film based on the Red Faction video game series. The movie’s being released to help promote the new Red Faction video game Armageddon, which is hitting stores on Tuesday, June 7. ‘Red Faction: Origins’ is set twenty-five years after the events of the popular 2009 Red Faction game Guerrilla, and follows Jake Mason (played by Brian J. Smith), the last remaining son of protagonist Alec Mason. Jake discovers that his sister Lyra (portrayed by Tamzin Mechant), who was kidnapped 12 years ago, is still alive, and he sets out to save her. Nicolet discusses with us, among other things, what attracted her to the story, and how she prepared for the role.


Shockya (SY): ‘Red Faction: Origins’ is based on the video game franchise Red Faction, and is being released to coincide with the new game that’s coming out, Armageddon. Were you a fan of the games before being cast in the movie?

Danielle Nicolet (DN): I’ll tell you what, I didn’t play the games before I was cast, but I did get very hooked on them after I got the job. I’m a pretty big gamer, and I play quite a few games at my house, but I hadn’t had the opportunity to play Red Faction. When I got the job, I was sort of glad that I hadn’t (played the game) because it wasn’t in my head to paint my vision of what the movie was going to be like. Of course, as soon as I got (the job), I went out and got Guerrilla. It was really neat for me while we were shooting to poke around the set and see the different things that were pulled from the game. It’s really interesting when you watch the movie, you can see little pieces of the game, it’s like an Easter egg hunt.

SY: So what attracted you to the movie?

DN: The script. The writing is so good. It’s a rare experience of an actor that you read a script and you don’t say to yourself, well, it’s pretty good, but man, I’d change those lines if I could. I read the script, and there wasn’t one thing about it that I would change. I loved every single line that I got to say. So most of all, that’s what attracted me. When I read the script, I said I absolutely have to have this job.

SY: How did you prepare for your role of Tess?

DN: (laughs) Well, nothing really would have prepared me for the experience of being in Eastern Europe in the dead of winter. That actually was really helpful, because inherently, Tess is a fish out of water in the movie. She does not do well outside of her comfort zone. She is much more of a girl who would prefer to be at home, safe and warm, in front of her computer screen. In ‘Red Faction,’ she’s pulled entirely out of her element and dragged along on this mission to save Mars, functioning as this really tough guy, reluctant side kick. Danielle in Bulgaria was not all that different from Tessa because it was entirely different for me. I was as much a fish out of water in Eastern Europe as Tess was in the movie.


To read the rest of this interview, please click here.