Callsheet interview: Jessica Haines

January 17th, 2010 by Sally

Jessica Haines is making a name for herself internationally as a break-through South African talent. An accomplished theatre and television actress, Jessica has been universally praised for her role as Lucy in Steve Jacobs’ Disgrace, opposite John Malkovich (Burn After Reading).

Jessica has a BA in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town, as well as experience in classical ballet. After leaving university, she worked with a children’s theatre company that travelled across South Africa in a beat-up old VW, an experience she remembers fondly.

“We broke down somewhere between Kokstad and Matatilela. It was snowing so we all got out and had a snow ball fight and then made some very random, obscure movement piece with Jamiroquai playing on the radio, until eventually the head master of the school came to rescue us.” She insists that the struggles you experience early in your career are essential stepping stones, and shouldn’t be forgotten.

She cut her acting teeth on roles in local television productions Gaz’Lam, Isidingo and Home Affairs and has acted in a string of theatre productions, including Macbeth, Sleeping Beauty, Matilda, African Folk Tales and Scratch among others. With a leading role in Disgrace and supporting roles in The Bang Bang Club and The Prisoner, she is well on her way to international stardom.

Jessica says Disgrace director Steve Jacobs knew what he wanted from his characters and pushed until he got it, a method that made the experience all the more worthwhile. “Having been an actor before, Steve focused a lot of his attention on the characters of the film, their different journeys, their relationships with each other and the real truth of our performances. I’d much rather be told by a director that I can do better than complimented. I loved working with him because of this very reason.”

Brigid Olen, the South African producer on the film, said that when Steve saw Jessica for the first time he knew she was perfect for the role of Lucy.

The South African actress thought differently, believing she didn’t stand a chance after her audition. “My initial reaction was that I was completely different to the character, but on closer inspection of Lucy and looking at the finer detail I actually had more in common with her than I thought. I definitely had to work hard at certain aspects of the role, and some parts were easier than others.”

John Malkovitch (Burn After Reading) plays her father, David Laurie, in the film. Among other things, Jessica says he taught her how to step into the life of a character and how to make the perfect parmesan soufflé. She says, “He gave me a copy of William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech and said it brought him to tears every time he read it. He often played music and related the song to the ease in which a character should come to you. He played various forms of music like Jim Morrison,classical and 50 Cent.”

In Steven Silver’s 2010 release, The Bang Bang Club, Jessica plays the love interest of Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch). “My character, Allie, was more like a foil to soften the severe and self destructive character of Kevin,” she says of the part. The film, which details the true-life experiences of four combat photographers capturing the final days of Apartheid, also stars Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman and South African actors Neels van Jaarsveld and Frank Rautenbach.

The last few months have seen Jessica travelling the world to promote Disgrace. She has also been hard at work on a theatre piece for the Carthage Theatre Festival in Tunisia where she is based.

Next up, Jessica can be seen in AMCtv’s The Prisoner where she plays 554 opposite Sir Ian McKellan (Lord of the Rings).