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June 2008
THE STRANGERS
An Interview with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman

THE STRANGERS
An Interview with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman
by Wilson Morales

June 30, 2008

A terrifying suspense thriller about a couple (Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman) in a remote suburban house who are targeted by three dangerous masked strangers. The resulting clashes force the couple to go well beyond what they thought themselves capable of in order to survive.

In speaking with both Tyler and Speedman, both actors talked about watching horror films for research and the fear of being alone.


What sort of films did you watch as research for the film?

Scott Speedman: Bryan got us to watch a bunch of stuff. What did he want us to watch?

Liv Tyler: I'm trying to think. I watched Rosemary's Baby, and we both watched Halloween

SS: Jamie Lee Curtis in 'Halloween' was a good one to watch, and so was 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre.'


LT: And then there was this weird, dodgy movie where there's like two girls [who] get kidnapped. They get taken to the country and it's really disturbing and they're like naked.

SS: Oh, yeah? That sounds really cool!.

LT: We also watched other movies. We also watched 'Women Under the Influence'.


Do you like horror films?

LT: When I was a kid I was pretty obsessed with horror movies. It was my favorite thing to watch and I remember seeing 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' for the first time and that was like, 'Okay, I'm done with the horror movie genre.' It really scared me so much.


So why do this film?

LT: We both read the script and fell in love with it and that was a really well-written story about a couple. It's really a drama, a story about a couple going through a not-perfect situation and they just so happen to be happened upon by these three very bad people.


How was shooting the film?

SS: It felt like we were stressed out the entire time while shooting, That was what was so tough and exhausting about it, was keeping up that level of fear and anxiety every day. It takes place over like five hours, the whole thing. Bryan can't really do anything. That to me is our job, to get there every day and just try our best to reach it.

LT: He really gave us and showed us things to create an environment for us that was really specific to what he wanted. He would give us music to listen to and show us photographs and that house was the house that he dreamed of in his mind. He was really clear about that and talked us through that extensively, then he kind of let us go. I think there was moments when if anything, he was cautious about not wanting to interfere. He would see us so upset and so disturbed, and I think that he didn't always want to get involved… he created everything for us and then stood back and just watched in a way. He would make tweaks on things, but he was very clear to us that it was not meant to be campy in any way or humorous. It was really very real and bleak and absolutely terrifying.


Were you ever at a point afraid of being alone?

LT: Oh, yeah. All the time, absolutely. That's what's so real about this movie. We've allbeen in bed at night and trying to relax, and all of a sudden, you hear like a noise and you're like, 'What was that?' and are you brave enough to check or not. Bryan used to always say that to us. 'Imagine if you got up and went and looked and there's nothing ever there. Your girlfriend's in bed and then suddenly, one day you go out and look and there is a person with a mask on, standing with a butcher knife standing in your living room.'


The Strangers opens on June 30, 2008.


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