You play a sheriff in “Gothika?” Can you tell me a little about this character?
The part I play is Sheriff Ryan, he is Charles Dutton’s character’s best friend. Charles is married to Halle. When Halle is accused of his murder, she and I have issues.
So you actively investigate the murder?
I very actively investigate it.
Working around sets that are dark and damp, does that help you get into the appropriate ‘spooky’ mood?
I’ll tell you, the place we shot was a women’s prison, and that place was scary. It was really scary. You’d open up the door and you’d just see as far as the eye can see, farther than Vegas hotel rooms, just cell upon cell upon cell upon cell. It was really disturbing.
Was it a little spooky there? Did the place ever send shivers up your spine?
Yeah, actually it did. It was really cold and rainy when we started the film, in the early part of the film, so it helped the whole ambience. I’m sure everybody was affected by it.
What was it like working with Halle Berry?
It was absolutely delightful. I wish I could tell you some dirt but you know there was none. She’s great to work with. She really was professional, did her job, and came to work with all guns blazing every day. It was really impressive.
And you also have “Catch That Kid” coming up soon. What’s your part in that?
I play a manager of the bank that the kids are trying to rob. I had a delightful time on that movie. Bart Freundlich was great to work with and the kids were unbelievable kids. And Jennifer Beals… I went from Jennifer Beals to Halle Berry. It’s just a terrible year for me (laughing).
KATHERINE MACKEY (‘Rachel’):
How would you describe your character?
She’s a very tragic character. She was tortured, raped and murdered by someone that is close to Halle Berry’s character. So I take revenge on this person – I use Halle Berry as a vehicle to take revenge - to make everything, like the killing, stop. So it won’t happen to other people like what happened to me, in the movie.
How did the physical set affect you? What was it working in a place that’s been described as creepy?
It was dark. We were shooting in like an old prison in Montreal where a lot of things happened. Just the negativity of that place… If you stay there too long, it gets to you.
Did it help you get into your character?
Yes, a little bit I’d say. But there was also a lot of other things that helped me get into character [like] working with Halle Berry, because she’s so real and helpful. She’s wonderful. There are too many good things for me to say about her.
This movie asks ‘What if?’ What if this happened to you in real life where you ended up in Halle Berry’s position of waking up and finding out everybody believes you’ve gone crazy? How would you react?
I would try to figure out why am I there, and I’d just hope I didn’t kill anybody.
"Gothika" Premiere Interviews:
Halle Berry,
Robert Downey Jr., Penelope Cruz
Additional Resources:
”Gothika” World Premiere Photo Gallery
”Gothika” Production Photos
”Gothika” Trailer, Cast List and Movie News
