Margarita Levieva's worked in television (Vanished) and in feature films, but the supernatural thriller The Invisible marks her first real starring role in a big studio movie. Levieva plays Annie Newton, a troubled teenager who is implicated in the disappearance of one of her classmates, Nick Powell (played by Justin Chatwin).
Being Bad Can Be Very Good: Margarita Levieva absolutely loved being able to play the film’s bad girl. “One of the things, aside from the character and the script itself, that drew me to it was the idea that there aren’t a lot of parts out there for women that are not either related to a guy or the love interest or the daughter. It was definitely liberating to play a character that kind of stood on its own.”
Analzying Her Character: What sets Annie apart from the other ‘bad girl from a troubled family’ type of characters? “For me there was so many different parts of Annie, just aside from being troubled and bad,” answered Levieva. “I feel like there were so different aspects in that were beautiful and endearing and vulnerable and sensitive, childlike. I tried to carry all those elements with me.”
Identifying with ‘Annie’: It wasn’t difficult for Levieva to figure out who this character was. “I think just growing up all of us go through a period where we feel like we don’t belong or we’re misunderstood,” explained Levieva. “I’ve definitely gone through that. It was never as serious as Annie’s. I never was violent because of it. But it’s hard. I think that’s why a lot of teenagers will relate to the story. It’s hard to carve out your own identity, especially when you have gone through pain and loss.”
Turning to Acting to Explore Her Feelings: Levieva talked about why she became an actor in the first place: “I mean, definitely fantasy and definitely the idea that through acting I can explore aspects of myself that I possibly would not allow myself in the real world. Even the character of Annie, I’ve never been in a fight myself before…I never have. There was definitely a part of me that could fight and had to the ability to, and had that strength and anger.”
Working with Director David Goyer: Although Goyer’s best known as a screenwriter (Batman Begins), he occasionally takes a turn behind the camera as director. The Invisible marks his first time in the director’s chair since Blade: Trinity. Asked how Goyer was as a director, Levieva replied, “David was wonderful. He managed to direct us in a very kind of hands off way but yet there was a lot of direction. Do you know what I mean? Because the characters were so full, especially with Annie, I was very focused and I tried to stay in character a lot so he really gave me a lot of freedom. But if there were scenes that weren’t going in the right direction or he wanted more or less of something, he would just come up and whisper a little something in my ear. He was really wonderful to work with.”
The Physicality of the Character: Levieva, who gets into it physically as Annie, said the experience was both liberating and stressful. “It was really stressful because I was really afraid - because the emotional part of the character was so alive in me that I was afraid that I would carry on with it and potentially hurt someone. So I really paid a lot of attention and put a lot of work into coordinating the fights because I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
Working Opposite an ‘Invisible’ Character: Levieva admitted it was a little strange working so closely with Justin Chatwin yet having to act as though he wasn’t there. “It was very interesting. I had a lot of hesitation in the beginning. I wondered how it would be acting out some of these emotional scenes and having another character like basically yelling in my ear. How would I be able to ignore that? And I think [I had] just a strong focus on what I was doing, what I was engaging in. There were times when I would finish the scene and I didn’t even realize he was in the room. But our relationship outside the movie was great. I think he’s wonderful and a talented actor. Because we didn’t have a lot of interaction, we didn’t have a lot of scenes when we were engaged, it was a challenge - but a good one.”
