DEBORAH KARA UNGER (Colette)
Is it hard to go to work every day and be the 'abused girl'?
Luckily I've got a really sweet boyfriend. This was a joy to go into work every day because the subject matter was really colorful, even though it was a black world. I seem to get involved in many 'black worlds' but I find shades of gray.
What's the shade of gray here?
I guess you'd say that this would be a surprising mosaic of brilliant colors of madness. I really didn't know anything about the world of meth and the characters are really colorful. I know that sounds generic to say that, but it's a very specific world and not one I've been involved in, in any shape or form. I really was ignorant to it although it's so predominant. I was an ignorant person. It was fascinating to do the research on a world like that.
What type of research did you do?
I got to hang out at the Riverside Recovery Center. When I was embarking on this film, I originally started going to workouts to get fit to do the film. Then I went out there - there's nobody that's fit there. They're psychologically and mentally done. So I just said goodbye and I embraced the lack of health on every level.
How was it to work with Val Kilmer?
He's great. Val is brilliant. He's a gentle, gentle, kind and intense man, and I absolutely love him.
And how was it to work off of him?
It's great. He's extraordinary, a very complex man, a very private man, a very loving man. He's a very loyal man and I like him immensely. It was easy.
Chandra West at the Premiere of "The Salton Sea."
Photo ©Rebecca Murray. All Rights Reserved.
Can you describe your role?
I play Liz, Val Kilmer's wife. Basically they are very much in love and they are at the Salton Sea one day and she is murdered - unfortunately for me. To be in a movie with Val Kilmer and then get killed…(laughing).
What was it like working with Val Kilmer?
Val was fantastic. It's not hard to play someone who is in love with Val Kilmer, obviously. He's gorgeous and sexy, and a super talented actor. I've been a fan of his for a long time. He was great to work with, really fun.
Is it a particular challenge to have a character whose story is told in flashbacks?
No, I don't think so because I think in the way you approach it, it would just be the same as you approach anything because you're still playing it in real time…just playing it for the moment as much as you can.
How did you get into acting?
I was in ballet for 10 years and so I did a lot of shows and a lot of performing with that. I modeled for a little while, and then I went to theatre school and just started doing it [acting] in Canada.
What was it like to work on "The Salton Sea?"
This was, in what I do in this film, it was a great acting experience. There are such great actors in this movie. It was a pleasure to go to work every day. It was a great script. The tone of it is something that I respond to. I would say the tone of this movie is more up my alley than "Universal Soldier" - not that there's anything wrong with that.
What's next for you?
I did a movie for Fox that was called "The First $20 Million Is Always The Hardest." I just heard they changed the title to "Hard Drive" or something. I'm not sure exactly what it is.
What's your character in that film?
I play Adam Garcia's sort of bitchy, climbing-the-ladder-at-work, girlfriend who dumps him because he doesn't make enough money.
Was that a fun part to play?
It was a fun part to play. It's a polar opposite to this, to "The Salton Sea." It's very, very different. It's a comedy so it was very fun to have two completely different things to play. And Adam Garcia is a sweetheart, too. That was fun.
I just did a pilot for NBC called "Mr. Sterling" with Josh Brolin, so we'll see what happens with that.
