In "The Rules of Attraction," Shannyn Sossamon plays Lauren Hynde, a skateboard-riding virgin who looks at photos of people with venereal diseases in order to overcome her sexual urges.
"I met Shannyn Sossamon at her home and chatted for several hours about the screenplay," says director Roger Avary, "and much to my delight our thematic discussion evolved into a therapy session. I knew instantly that I had found my Lauren and asked Shannyn to join our troupe for what measured up to be an amazing psychological adventure."
SHANNYN SOSSAMON (Lauren)
While reading the script, did you ever get turned off by the nasty things your character does?
I didn't actually. You'd think I would and it's a big question but I read it and I just passed that part. It didn't even faze me and I just kept reading and finally finished it, and then went, "Gosh. I just read something really crazy." It just made me feel kind of how I imagine the movie makes you feel at the end. It was the same with the script, but on a different sort of level. The fact that it made me feel like that at the end made me wanna do it because I'm just like, "Whoa."
Did you think they'd change the portion of the script that shows you being violated from behind?
Yeah, and you guys saw the movie, right? You saw that he doesn't show it. It's all in the - It would've been way worse if - it's actually worse for the audience that he doesn't show it because it's just like on the face and in that way. For me it would have been a really big bummer if we had to actually fake that. The guy was just behind me just shaking me with his hands. There wasn't really any sort of faking sense.
Why do you think your character is concerned about sex but thinks nothing of doing drugs?
You know what? I don't know. That's a good question. I knew girls like this in high school. Maybe they weren't prudish but there was something about them that was very - - maybe it came from childhood, kind of a trauma or some issue, but they were just really like almost grossed out by it. Just kind of like really psychotically obsessed with the act of sex, or scared of it. You know what I mean? That's a characteristic that isn't that odd. I've known girls like that before. I think...I don't know...drugs, I think, once you try them, you don't think that they're such a big deal. I mean, she just probably tried those first.
Did you base Lauren a little on yourself?
Definitely a little bit on myself. I think the main thing I remembered throughout all of filming it was just that she just was extremely self-destructive. I think everybody can relate to that a little bit. She doesn't like herself.
Can you talk about working with James Van Der Beek?
I would love to talk about that because whenever I had a scene with James, it was always so exciting because he was so good as Sean. He was just so there and awesome to watch. Besides that, his own energy as a person, just being there on set really, really calm, loving and collaborative. He wasn't in some weird hateful Sean Bateman place all the time. Honestly, he made it challenging for me when I had a scene with him. My scenes were different when I had them with Jessica and with Ian or with Eric. It was different energies with each and you can see them on screen. But with him, it was always like something kind of magical happened. He was just great.
Were you familiar with Bret Easton Ellis' work?
I saw "Less Than Zero" and I saw "American Psycho" and that was it. That doesn't really count as far as reading his stuff or whatever. I didn't read the book; I didn't read "The Rules of Attraction." It was just something Roger and I decided. I was the only cast member that didn't actually. Now that I've done the movie and now that I've kind of analyzed it a little bit, I understand him more. "Less Than Zero" and "American Psycho" were both really different, so I was just like, "Okay, he's just really doesn't have anything pleasant to say, you know?" But I get it. I get at least why it's difficult and what he's really doing.
Were you conscious of doing something different from your other roles?
No. It's weird, it wasn't even like, "Oh, this'll be good." It wasn't strategic or anything. It all happened so fast. My manager and my agent called me and said, "We have this script. The director of this movie called 'Killing Zoe' wants to meet with you tomorrow. The script's being sent to you tonight." I read the script that night; he came over to my house the next day. We met. He left my house saying, "So, you wanna do the movie?" Everything was so fast and obviously reading it, it was a lot darker than anything I had done but it wasn't like, "Okay, cool, you know, this'll be really good." Making the movie was so fun and loving that I wasn't like I was in a dark place the whole time. I knew the movie was dark but it was all such a whirlwind and so magical that I didn't know what to expect really. I just knew that I did this smaller film, which ended up being what I actually liked more. I was like, "Oh, I should do smaller films more often because it was fun."
Was the larger role more responsibility for you?
It didn't even feel like that. I think that that's just what happens when you just love your [director]. I know it doesn't happen that often and I can't count on that happening every time, but it was just so magical. The relationship between him and every single actor in that movie - I can't speak for everybody else 'cause I'm sure it was all different but with me it was just so - I would do anything for him. I just trust him.
