Interview By: Benjamin Lee
Getting an A for effort in her attempt to become Hollywood's favorite new scream queen is 20-year-old newcomer Jessica Stroup. Up until now she's had a number of small roles in Girlfriends, Zoey 101 and most recently in Grey's Anatomy. But this month sees her breaking out big time with the grisly sequel The Hills Have Eyes 2. It's a follow-up to last year's hit remake and this time the carnage centers on a group of National Guard trainees who discover they're under attack from a group of vicious mutants.
It's more limb-pulling, eye-gouging mayhem that's sure to draw in the crowds. Stroup counts herself as one of the many fans of the remake although she does recall that even she found some of it a little too hard to take at times.
'I had to literally walk out during the trailer scene,' Stroup admits, 'And I'm a fan of horror movies! So when something affects me that much it's a very good thing. When I got the script for the second one I was like oh absolutely I have to work on this one.' While most twentysomething women would gladly take The Devil Wears Prada over The Devil's Rejects, Stroup confesses that she's a hardcore horror nut, through and through.
'I am a big horror movie fan,' she states, 'I always have been. Anything that's gonna scare me, anything that's gonna take me out of my own little world that I live in is just something that I'm excited about.' But watching a horror movie from the safety of your reclining chair and actively participating in one are two very different things. Stroup tells that despite being a fan of the genre, there were times on set that she had to remind herself that it was all make-believe.
'Oh my goodness it was absolutely scary,' she stresses. 'In this one we actually go into the caves and see where these mutants live. There's this one room called the butcher room and you can imagine what happens in there. It's so intimidating and so real-looking. You literally walk in and you've got to remember this is fake, this is fake, this is fake. The whole time I have to work in here and this is disgusting.'
Ignoring the whole evil, raping, flesh-eating mutants for a brief second, there's still the issue of being a member of the National Guard to deal with. That in itself was something which required a hefty amount of preparation. 'We had a British army trainer who was there,' Stroup explains, 'And we had a United States army marine there. We did marching, we did formations, we did everything that a normal bootcamp would do. It was very intense. I mean it was fun for me because I like doing the athletic type thing. I told my agents when I signed on for it that I wanted to be involved. I don't wanna go and be half-assed. I wanna actually learn what these people have to go through.'
That's all well and good but training as a soldier on location in the 120 degree Morocco heat is above and beyond the duty for a young actress. 'For the first month we were outside,' she recalls. 'It was right at the end of the Summer and we're in full army suits, boots, gloves, hats, helmets, jackets, everything and we had to do a ton of training. The heat was insane. I remember one day I had to step aside, go in the shade, eat some sugar or I'd pass out. It was ridiculously hot.'
After the first month they moved into one of the 'two huge studios' which had built-in caves although Stroup admits that things didn't automatically improve. 'Of course then we moved into the studio and we're working with water and they had air conditioning finally!' she says, 'So I think half the crew got sick just going from one extreme to the other.'
As well as the training and the heat and the mutants, Stroup also had to contend with a large amount of stunts - something she didn't want to shy away from.
'If it wasn't getting fully thrown across the room I'd do it,' she laughs. 'I did about all of it apart from a few certain things. There were definitely a few stunts that I could absolutely not pull off. I did all the choking scenes though!'
It sounds like scary stuff but for a self-confessed horror fan, what really scares the living daylights out of Jessica Stroup' 'Ooh umm The Shining,' she admits, 'Pet Semetary! Of course Wes Craven's original. All of his work was something I grew up with. It was scary too! Clowns are always scary, what's that about''
As well as being part of one of the hottest horror movies of the year, Stroup can also count a guest part on Grey's Anatomy, the country's most popular drama, on her list of things done before she's 30. 'It was fun' she tells. But for a show that's been rife with reports of trouble on set, we wanna know how horribly tense and awkward it was. 'I worked with T.R. Knight who of course was the one in the middle of everything,' she recalls. 'I didn't work with all the cast so it was not a problem at all on set when I was there. They were all very focused, all amazing people to work with.' In fact it proved to be exactly what Stroup needed after Hills. 'I worked on that a week once I'd got back from Morocco,' she informs, 'Going from the extreme blood, gore, crazy running around and screaming to very subdued drama was a great experience. I'm very thankful to have met and worked with all of them.'
For a young, attractive actress in contemporary Hollywood there are more train-wrecks than role models along the way. Partying all night and snorting your wage packet up your nose seem like easier options than actually working these days. Yes Lindsay Lohan I'm talking about you.
'I've lived by myself since I was 17 so I think if I was going to fall into that crowd it would have already happened,' Stroup stresses. 'I'm very grounded I feel. I'm from the South, I'm from South Carolina. I have my family, my brother and all his best friends. They constantly call up to check on me.' So Stroup, who looks eerily similar to Lohan at times, is going to try hard to avoid her wicked ways' 'Absolutely' she states, 'I'm not one of the typical actors that goes out and goes crazy. It's just not who I am and I'm very focused on my work and my career.'
With Hills and an upcoming role alongside Nia Long, Regina King and Loretta Devine in the seasonal drama This Christmas, Jessica Stroup is on the cusp of stardom. She's currently days away from being recognized by millions for battling cannibalistic mutants. Unlike the rest of her embittered peers, she's glad to welcome as much fan attention as she can get. 'Truly you can only hope for that because it means people are watching your work and hopefully it's good work.'
