It’s never easy
for a child star to make the jump to serious adult roles. For every
Jodie Foster or Elijah Wood there are dozens of actors who can’t seem to
get work once they hit puberty.
Sara Paxton has it
a little easier than many, because although she has been acting regularly
since she was six, she did not truly break out until she was in her
mid-teens. Therefore, it is not quite as big a leap
for people to see her as an adult.
Still, it takes a
bit for one to make the leap from seeing her as a shy, pretty mermaid or a cute city
girl adapting to life in the country to
watching her playing a student who is kidnapped by a gang of killers, tortured,
raped, shot and left for dead.
This is a jump
that Paxton has taken in co-starring in a remake of the classic 70s cult
horror film The Last House on the Left. Even Paxton realized it
was a huge gamble – but it was one she felt ready to make.
“I’ve really been
wanting to stretch out and try something a little bit more challenging
for a long time,” Paxton says. “But people know me so much as a comedic
actress; it’s really hard to convince people otherwise when they’ve got
you in this box. So I went and auditioned for The Last House on the
Left. I read the script. You know, with scripts like that, with
movies like that it could go either way. It could go really bad or
maybe, possibly really good. When I met the director and I saw Dennis [Iliadis]’
movie Hardcore, I knew right away that it was something really
special. I just really just wanted to challenge myself and show
people that I can do something more dramatic.”
It certainly was a
dramatic change for the young actress, who will turn 21 about a month
after the movie’s release. With the downbeat tone and often-disturbing
violence of her latest film, Paxton is swimming in much rougher waters
than she is used to. Sara Paxton has been acting as long as she can
remember but she is mostly known for making
youth-oriented comedies.
“I
first started getting into [acting] when I was around six,” Paxton recalls.
“My aunt owned a children’s clothing store out here in LA. My cousins
and I used to model the clothes and do catalogues and stuff – [just] for
fun. It wasn’t anything professional. My aunt just wanted to use her
daughter and her nieces. I was so young, so it’s hard to remember, but
I guess some guy gave my mom a card – for acting classes or something
with acting. My mom was like, ‘Yeah, right…” and she threw away the
card. I was like noooo! I’d seen TV shows and I had an interest
in that. I didn’t do sports or anything else. I wasn’t good at that,
so I thought maybe this would be cool. A year later, when I was finally
six and a half, I convinced my mom and we went to an acting class. It
all just kind of snowballed from there. I’m still here doing it.”
However, despite
spending a childhood in the glamorous acting world, Paxton has her head
together. She never let the show biz aspects go to her head. She’s
just a normal California girl.
“I think that
people would be surprised to know that I have lived in LA my whole life,
but I went to public school. And I’m half-Mexican.”
Paxton has put
together a pretty impressive body of work over the years – appearing in
such movies as Sleepover, Return to Halloweentown, Liar Liar, The
Haunted Lighthouse and Superhero Movie as well as appearing
on TV series like Lizzie McGuire, Will & Grace, Malcolm in the
Middle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Action and Summerland.
She also does voices for the popular animated
series SpongeBob
Squarepants.
After years of
guest roles, Paxton really got noticed with two seasons as the star of
the Discovery Kids series
Darcy’s Wild Life.
In the series, Paxton played the title character – the pampered young
daughter of an eccentric actress who decided to move the family from
their Malibu home to a little house in the country.
“That was a
good experience,” Paxton says. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot
of good experiences. We filmed on a farm in Canada during the
summertime for about eight months. That was great. It was amazing
because the whole crew and the cast… it literally felt like we were
having summer camp, because we were on a real farm with real animals and
a lake. Every day we would explore and run around. During lunch
breaks, the crew had their music trailer and they would jam out with
their guitars. It was just really fun.”
Paxton’s
breakout role was when she landed the title role of the popular family
comedy Aquamarine with Emma Roberts and pop star JoJo Levesque.
In the movie, Paxton plays a mermaid who washes up onshore in a bad
storm and befriends two local girls in a little beach community,
eventually learning about friendship and love.
“I absolutely
loved making Aquamarine. It was one of the best experiences
ever. Obviously, it was my childhood dream to play a mermaid,” Paxton
says, laughing. “I just came in and auditioned. I read the script and
I loved it. I fell in love with it. They wanted me to come in and read
for the part of the mean girl. I was like no way, I’ve got to be the
mermaid.” She laughs again. “They
were like, ‘No, no, we don’t think she’s right for the mermaid part,
blah, blah, blah….’ I was like: just let me audition. So I went and
auditioned and I met the director, Elizabeth Allen, and I absolutely
loved her. We kind of connected and I got the part.”
At the time,
Paxton was also finding to work as a singer. She had always loved music
and wanted to balance music and acting in her life. She got songs
placed on a few soundtrack albums – including Aquamarine – and
additional compilations. She even had a minor hit with the song “Here
We Go Again.” However, she never finished her planned debut album –
which was to be called The Ups and Downs.
“I was about
sixteen and I was presented with the opportunity to sing on some
soundtracks and I was offered a music deal,” Paxton says. “I absolutely
love singing. I love music. When I was growing up and getting into
acting music was right there along with acting. Acting just kind of
took off sooner. Right now I really want to focus on just acting and
doing good movies. If the opportunity comes around again, I would
totally be down for it. I absolutely love doing stuff like that, but
right now I’m just focusing on acting.”
After
Aquamarine, in a continued attempt to stretch out her acting, Paxton
took a role as the campus rich bitch in the Amanda Bynes comedy
Sydney White. It was fun to get to play the bad girl, but it did
have a bit of an unexpected outcome.
“Ever since I did
Sydney White, people seem to think that I’m really mean,” Paxton
laughs. “I’m not! I absolutely promise that I’m not mean. I’m the
complete opposite of that character, which I think was why I wanted to
play that character so badly. I don’t ever get to be mean. I’m not one
of those girls. I’m not like that.”
That
stretch was nothing compared to the chance she is taking with The
Last House on the Left, though. Paxton realizes after filming so
many family-friendly comedies, it can be hard for people to see her
tortured and raped on screen. However, as an actress, she knows she has
to stretch out from what people expect.
“It was really
hard to even get this role,” Paxton admits. “People have these ideas of
who you are, what you do and what you can’t do. I don’t care what they
think. No matter what, I’m going to keep trying to do good work and do
what makes me happy.”
It was a doubly
daunting task because the film is a remake of a 1972 cult-classic film
by horror legends Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream)
and Sean S. Cunningham (the Friday the 13th series).
The movie – about a group of insane criminals who rape and torture two
girls and then face retribution when by chance they end up having to
stay at the home of the parents of one of the girls – has gotten a rabid
following over the years following its low-budget drive-in debut.
Craven and Cunningham are back along the ride as producers of the new
film, but Craven has handed off the responsibilities of screenwriter and
director to a new generation of filmmakers – screenwriters Adam Alleca
and Carl Ellsworth and director Dennis Iliadis were allowed to give the
old story a new millennium vibe.
“I have seen the
original,” Paxton says. “I didn’t watch the original when I was filming
my stuff because I didn’t want to have some kind of preconceived notion
in my head of how I should be playing it. We really wanted to make to
make our own version of the movie. We didn’t want to copy the original,
because obviously nothing can ever be [the same]… you know, you can’t
copy things. So I watched it after my filming was done. I think we
made some things completely different and special – but still similar.”
Similar to the old
film, perhaps, but this was mostly uncharted territory for the young
actress. The heavily dramatic aspect of the role was a new experience
for the actress who is best known for lighter work, but she liked having
the chance to try new things.
“I enjoy both
[comedy and drama],” Paxton says. “I really hope that someday I get the
chance to flip-flop back and forth. That’s what makes me happy – being
able to change. You get that itch to do something different and being
able to go and just do it. I love them both equally. For me, I’m
learning still so much about the whole drama world and all that, so of
course it’s a little more challenging. Comedy, I’ve been doing for so
long, it kind of feels second nature to me. It’s fun, you know, it’s a
lot more fun. But for me, after I completed The Last House on the
Left, I have this feeling of… you know, it was the best reward ever,
just completing it, getting through it. I really love that feeling. I
would love to do some more stuff like that.”
Another huge test
for Paxton was the fact that she had to play most of the second half of
the film as badly wounded. Therefore, much of the work she did was
essentially mime – Paxton had to silently convey horror, pain and
sadness, all without dialogue.
“This is an
entirely new experience for me,” Paxton says. “So, yeah, it was pretty
tough – wanting to say something and having to use just your face and be
scared. I’d never had to be scared and breathing and running and all
those different things. It was good. I like to challenge myself.
I’m still really young and I don’t think I have all the answers. I
watch the movie and I think I definitely still have a lot to learn, but
I’m definitely proud of myself for accepting the challenge.
“I wanted a
challenge and I got a challenge,” Paxton laughs. “It was the most
challenging thing I’ve ever done – mentally, emotionally and physically
– in my entire life. We seriously all got beat up every day. The stunt
coordinator was like, ‘I’ve never worked with actors that have done so
much of the real stunts.’ That was pretty great. I liked that.
Everything is really real. Yeah, it was just really hard, but luckily
the producers and the actors were so amazing. I trust and respect them
so much. It makes it a lot easier when you’re working with people that
you feel safe with.”
Part of that sense
of safety came from the fact that she already knew and was friendly with
Garret Dillahunt – the actor who plays the convict who torments her in
the film.
“Garret and I had
worked together a couple of years ago on a pilot called Mr. Ed,”
Paxton says. “It was a Mr. Ed remake. On the pilot we
became good friends. I thought he was a really nice guy. I hadn’t
really seen or heard from him and all of the sudden – after I got cast
in Last House – they said, ‘We’ve got Garret Dillahunt to play
Krug.’ I was like – oh my gosh! It was so amazing because I was so
worried. Oh, God, it’s such a difficult scene… and to meet the person,
so much of it is [influenced by] your feelings [about] the person in
real life. With Garret – he’s so not like Krug. He’s so gentle and
calm and trustworthy. So I was really relieved when I found out that he
was playing the part because now I could just relax. I already trusted
the guy. I knew him. We could just go to Africa and get it over
with.”
Now that the
filming of The Last House on the Left is, indeed, over with,
Paxton is settling back into life as an actress, searching out the next
interesting role. However, despite rumors, she is not going to
be in a horror film called Emma of Lulworth Cove.
“That is not
legit,” she laughs. “I’m sorry to inform you. It’s weird. I had read
that script, but… IMDb is so strange. I don’t understand how people can
just pop in and write weird things about you. I’ve been on auditions
where they are like, ‘so, you live in Connecticut.’ And I’m like no I
don’t live there. Where did you hear that? I’ll go to IMDb and it
says, ‘Sara Paxton, from Connecticut.’ I’ve never even been to
Connecticut.”
She has
recently finished doing a guest appearance on the upcoming Jonas
Brothers situation comedy – where Paxton was able to flex her comic
muscles again.
“My friend is a producer on the show,” Paxton
explains. “He said, ‘We’ve written this part and we really want you to
come do it.’ It was just a fun little thing. I went and I played kind
of a crazy fan. It was pretty funny. I was really surprised; the Jonas
Brothers are super, super, super nice. Genuinely nice. It was a good
couple of days.”
In the meantime, Paxton is working hard to
promote the release of her horror debut. While she finishes handling
her press duties, she is looking forward to her next role.
“Right now, I’m
pretty busy and stressed out just doing everything for the movie coming
out,” Paxton says. “But I’m possibly doing a movie with Winona Ryder
called Gravy. Jena Malone is also in it. It’s not confirmed,
but everything is getting set up for that, so I hope that pulls
through. I would love to work with Winona Ryder.”
Whether that film
comes to be or not, Paxton is certain that her acting will lead her in
new and creative directions. The only limitations that she wants to put
upon herself is the idea of no limits. The sky’s the limit for this
young talent and she looks forward to a long run of interesting and
varied parts.
“I just really
hope that there aren’t any boundaries,” Paxton concludes. “I really
hope that after this movie comes out people see that I can do more
dramatic roles. I really hope I get the opportunity to do both. I
really don’t ever want to be stuck in a box. For me, that’s the worst
thing ever that could happen.”
