Kelly Overton has had some of the coolest acting roles ever! We were able to chat one on one about her latest, Van Helsing!
Tell us about Van Helsing.
“After a catastrophic volcano eruption, the last remaining underground vampires rise up through a dark, ash-filled sky to overtake America. Vanessa Van Helsing, a descendant of the legendary line of vampire hunters, awakens from a three-year coma to discover that she’s not only immune to the bloodthirsty predators – but has the ability to turn them human again. With this “cure” threatening the vampire’s existence and a target on her back, can Vanessa save humanity?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjsgk4We-Gg
You’ve played a werewolf on True Blood and now a vampire. Are you attracted to unique or supernatural roles?
“Not necessarily. I’m more attracted to strong, athletic characters who have something to fight for.”
Did your work on True Blood prepare you for Van Helsing?
“Not in terms of the character or genre. But being on True Blood and working with such great talent across the boards definitely helped me grow as an artist and in that way it helped prepare me.”
What was training like for Van Helsing? It seems like a very physical role.
“I took my training into my own hands before I even heard about the project I started preparing for the next big thing and Van Helsing was it. I started focusing more on boxing and weight training months up to hearing about the project, reading the script and auditioning. Once I accepted the role and started shooting there wasn’t any more training really, there was no time for production to work it into my schedule, so training happened on set shooting the fight scenes and I had free weights in my trailer that I used on my lunch breaks.”
Your character is a perfect example of strong female empowerment. Is that important to you since you have a daughter?
“Very important to me. I hope to teach her that a woman empowered is one who finds the courage to be her true self even if she might be rejected, to be vulnerable and love others even if she might get hurt, to try her hardest even if she might fail. And the main way I can teach her that is by striving to be that way myself, which is very important to me. I agree, Vanessa does a pretty good job at being that and it was one of the reasons I was so attracted to her character. It’s not that Vanessa is fearless that makes her so strong, it’s that in the face of her fears she keeps charging forward. That in the face of so much loss, she finds a way to hold onto hope. That to me is a woman who is strong and powerful.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdboNEThjPE
Is your daughter ever scared of your roles?
“I don’t let her watch my shows so no.”
You wrote, produced, directed and starred in The Collective. Incredible! Would you be up to doing something similar in the future?
“100% yes!! Stay tuned.”
Watch Van Helsing? Let us know @CelebMix on Twitter.