I recently spoke with Australian actress Natalie Gerace, who is set to star in Victor Miller and Kerry Fleming’s Rock Paper Dead. This young actress has a distinct, beautiful look and fabulous accent to match.
KM “You’re far from home. How did you end up in LA?”
NG “Well, the biggest drawcard for me moving to LA was acting. After all, it’s the hub for the entertainment industry. But nonetheless, I’ve always wanted to live here. I love the lifestyle, not to mention the glorious weather year round. It’s such a great city. There’s always something to see and do. Never a dull moment in La La land! It’s definitely very different to where I grew up. I’m a small city girl from Adelaide, South Australia. Coming from a smaller city in Australia, there really isn’t a lot of opportunity to pursue a professional career in the entertainment industry.”
KM “Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you named after an actress?”
NG “Yes, I am indeed. My mother absolutely loved Natalie Wood, so she wanted to name me after her. I guess it’s fair to say I was always destined for a career in the Hollywood film and television industry. I can even remember as a little girl creating episode scripts from my favorite television shows and acting them out with my school friends in the playground. I’ve always been fascinated and mesmerized by the whole Hollywood entertainment industry. To be quite honest, I’ve never wanted to do anything else but work as a professional actress. It hasn’t been easy, and I’ve endured my fair share of setbacks and disappointments, but I haven’t let that deter me fro m my path. If anything, anytime that this industry has knocked me down I’ve gotten back up more determined than ever. I strongly agree believe that you really have to want i bad enough, to stick with it. After all, anything worth doing never comes easy.”
KM :How old were you when you first began acting?”
NG “I first began taking acting classes back in Australia when I was 13 years old. From there. I preformed in numerous performances. In fact, my first live theatrical performance was as the lead in Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’. I absolutely relished plying Alice! I was my first taste of performing in front of an audience. It definitely helped get my feet wet.”
KM “You have appeared in several series, including Glee, CSI, and Big Time Rush. Which was your favorite and why?
NG “I think they’re all great shows in their own way. Obviously with Glee, Ryan Murphy and Brad Fachuck created something really special, rare and unique. The characters were larger than life. The show was really like nothing I had seen before.”
KM “You have been cast in the role of Kara in Miller and Fleming’s upcoming killer thriller Rock Paper Dead. Can you tell us a little about your character?”
NG “I’m definitely very excited to be part of this project. It comes from the genius minds of Victor Miller who wrote the original screenplay for Friday the 13th, and my good friend Kerry Fleming. Rock Paper Dead is not your average horror thriller flick. It follows the story of a serial killer, Peter Harris known as “Th Doll Maker”, 20 years after his release from a psychiatric hospital. After walking out as a “cured” man, her returns to his family’s estate, believing that he’ll go live out the rest of his days as a normal person, but things don’t quite work out that way for him. I play the character of Kara, who is the best friend of wild child Zoe and a member of the Cheerleading squad. It’s an integral role. Neither Kara nor Zoe pay much attention to the creepy middle aged man watching them and their squad doing drills in the schoolyard, but one of them has already caught this man’s attention in the most deadly way imaginable. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat, always guessing until the very end when vengeance is delivered by more than just the characters you would expect it to come from.”
KM “Besides acting, you also have a degree in Media. Does it help in your career?
NG “Absolutely. Having studied media in college, specifically focusing on film and television production, as well as public relations and marketing, it definitely provided me with a greater understanding and knowledge of the entertainment industry and its practices, whether this be in film and TV production, magazine and newspaper journalism, or web design, social media and online publishing.”
KM “What other projects are you working on?”
NG “I recently worked on a feature called Brand New Old Love, starring Arturo Castro, Aya Cash and Dijon Talton. I also have a couple of other projects in development, but unfortunately I can’t say too much about those at this stage.”
KM ” What’s your favorite horror movie and why?”
NG “There’s so many great horror classics, but for me I would probably have to say Wes Craven’s Scream. I pretty much think that it’s fair to say that Scream changed the rules of American horror slasher movies. I remember watching the opening scene which lasted for about thirteen minutes, and it was one of the most terrifying scenes I’ve ever watched. I guess it’s fair to say that it was one of the definitive movies of the ‘90s.”
Be sure to watch for Gerace in her upcoming roles in Rock Paper Dead, She Wants Me Too, Opening Day, Brand New Old Love and Monster School. I expect that we will see big things from Gerace in the near future. For updates on her roles follow Natalie Gerace on Twitter and Facebook. Connect with Rock Paper Dead Facebook for updates on production.
