With Truth or Dare’s premiere on Syfy only days away actress Cassandra Scerbo, who you will recognize as “Nova” from the Sharknado franchise, took the time to talk with me about her role as “Alex Colshis” in the slasher, premiering on October 9th at 8/7c.
In the film, “eight college friends head to a “Haunted Rental” in a remote town for Halloween weekend. There, they play the game rumored to have caused the deaths of seven teenagers decades earlier, Truth or Dare. What starts out as vodka induced fun, quickly turns serious when the dares become sickeningly dangerous and the truths threaten to tear the group apart. When players attempt to refuse the increasingly challenging tasks, they’re met with deadly consequences, quickly discovering: you must do the dare, or the dare does you. As the death toll mounts, the remaining players must race against the clock to outrun, outsmart and outlast the simple game of Truth or Dare.”
Cassandra stars alongside Brytni Sarpy (General Hospital), Mason Dye (Flowers in the Attic), Harvey Guillen (The Magicians), Luke Baines (The Girl In The Photographs, Under The Silverlake), Ricardo Hoyos (Degrassi: The Next Generation), Alexxis Lemire (The Other Mother), Christina Masterson (Power Rangers Megaforce), and Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare on Elm Street).
Horror Fuel: “Can you tell us about your experiences as a shark hunter in the ‘Sharknado’ franchise? I’m a big fan.”
Scerbo: “It’s been a hell of a ride! The way I explain a ‘Sharknado’ airing is like having one big party with the world. The fans are truly incredible and make it some much fun for us to commit to the bizarre scenarios.”
Horror Fuel: “You have to face a different kind of killer in ‘Truth or Dare’ coming to Syfy on October 9th. If you will tell us a little about the movie?”
Scerbo: “This film was the most challenging for me thus far and I am so proud of it. ‘Truth or Dare’ is based on 8 college kids who head to a rental house to party for the weekend. They decide to partake in a game of ‘Truth or Dare’ being that the house is infamous for 8 other kids playing this same game in the 80’s, where all but 1 died. The game basically feeds on their lies, obsessions, and sins. The house locks in the characters and makes them perform the dares or answer the truths, and if the truth or dare isn’t met, you pay. I’ll say this, this film is not for the weak-stomached.”
Horror Fuel: “That sounds great.”
Horror Fuel: “There are a lot of different types of characters in horror, “the good girl”, “the badass” (like Nova in Sharknado), etc…. What type is your character is Alex in ‘Truth or Dare’?”
Scerbo: “Bad ass!! Alex is a stand up kinda gal. She’s smart, quick and driven. I absolutely loved playing this young woman.”
Horror Fuel: “I love strong female characters. I wish we would see more of them.”
Horror Fuel: “Can you give a little tease of what we can expect from ‘Truth or Dare’?”
Scerbo: “I think viewers will be at the edge of their seats, awaiting the typical horror film thought “who’s next?” It’s gory and a lot of fun. There’s a lot of backstabbing, blood, screaming, and suspense. Everything a scary movie should embody.”
Horror Fuel: “I’m excited to see it.”
Scerbo: “Did you have any “unforgettable” moments on set? Scary moments or funny ones behind the scenes? If you did, we’d like to hear about them.”
Scerbo: “There is one scene between myself and Brytni Sarpy’s character, Maddie, that is just insane. We shot for about 10 hours straight. Our director, Nick Simon, made sure all the lighting for the entire (long) scene was set and ready to go for the whole day so that we wouldn’t have to break character. We kept depressing music in our ears in between set-ups and would constantly place our hands on each other’s hearts to stay in the same emotional space all day. We would also scream for a good 20 seconds before action was called. All in all, it was the most intense acting experience of my life.
I was lucky to have someone as talented as Brytni to experience it with. She gets this craft in the same way I do, which definitely made it a bit easier for us both. As gruesome as the scene was, it brought us very close to each other.”
Horror Fuel: “I’m sure it translates into a great scene.”
Horror Fuel: “Which is more difficult acting wise, facing CGI sharks or supernatural villains?”
Scerbo: “Both in their own unique ways! In Sharknado we have tons of green screen scenes which can be extremely difficult when dealing with such an unrelatable and made up the storm. However, the emotional state we were all in while filming ‘Truth or Dare’ was just incomparable. Our producer, Lisa Hansen, kept bringing us warm tea for our throats due to all the screaming and intensity!”
Horror Fuel: “That sounds intense.”
Horror Fuel: “If you had to sum up the movie in three words, what would they be?”
Scerbo: “GORY, enticing and insane!”
Horror Fuel: “Oh, those are some of my favorite words. [laughter]”
Horror Fuel: “Are you currently working on any other projects?”
Scerbo: “I’m actually going back to working on some music as well as acting. It’s always been a passion of mine and feels great to be back! Also, my charity Boo2Bullying keeps me very busy. We have our first annual Palm Springs International Animation Festival in November which we are extremely excited about. The films are focused heavily on equality and LGBT topics.”
Horror Fuel: “It’s fantastic that you are involved in such a great cause!”
Horror Fuel: “Tell us, what is your favorite scary movie?”
Scerbo: “‘The Ring’! However, ‘IT’ is the most terrifying if I’m looking for a thrill/to not be able to sleep for a while.”
Horror Fuel: “Good choices. Director Andy Muschietti and actor Bill Skarsgard weren’t clowning around when they made ‘IT’.”
Be sure not to miss Cassandra Scerbo in Truth or Dare premiering on the Syfy channel on October 9th at 8/7c. If you are near Palm Springs November 9th through the 11th stop by and check out the International Animation Festival (more information here). Follow Scerbo on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates on her projects and more.
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