Anja Talijaard Talks With Us About Her Role in ‘Glasshouse’
Confined to their glasshouse, a family survives The Shred, a toxin that erases memory. Until the sisters are seduced by a Stranger who shatters their peace and stirs a past best left buried. From director Kelsey Egan, and starring Jessica Alexander, Kitty Harris, Helton Pelser, Adrienne Pearce and Anja Taljaard, Glasshouse premieres on digital platforms July 12 in North America. Talijaard spoke to us about the film ahead of the release.
Frightening film – particularly with what’s going on in the world right now! Was this shot before the current pandemic?
No, actually it was shot smack bam in the middle of it. The area where we were shooting actually became a Covid hotspot 1 or 2 weeks into our shoot as well. But the whole concept and story is something Kelsey and Emma came up with before they even knew about the pandemic so it was all just a big happenstance really.
Let’s backtrack. When and how did the project come your way?
Basically, I was just contacted by my agent (Artist Personal Management) on a Wednesday morning asking if I would be able to get the tapes in by the end of the next day. The moment I glanced over the information they’d sent me I was so hooked to the point where I cancelled everything I had and spent the whole of that night and the next day doing my characterization and sending in the best possible selftape that I could. The rest of it is history.
And how can you relate to the character?
Evie is incredibly sheltered within herself and extremely protective over her family and their needs and safety. I relate with that. I feel the same way about the people in my life. She also carries a lot of guilt with her which is one of the ways she’s able to keep herself grounded in reality. Whether it’s good or bad, that’s also something I find myself having done quite often in my life; holding on to my guilt.
Had you worked with Kelsey before?
No, but I had done an audition for her a couple of years ago for another feature film that she was working on that ultimately ended up getting put on hold for a while because of important funding being lost at the last moment. I believe Kelsey remembered me from those tapes and had an inkling that they should get me in to see my take on Evie’s character. Super grateful she remembered me. That’s the amazing thing about this industry. You might not be right for something now but you never know who has seen or been impressed by you before and it could always come back to open doors for you later on.
What does she bring to the project as a director?
Kelsey has a brilliant mind and knows exactly what she wants and how she wants to achieve it. She’s amazing at taking what you’re giving her and molding that into the final picture. She’s also an actress so she’s 100% an actor’s director. Love her to bits!
Was she open to suggestions?
Always. Obviously, we were quite pressed for time on this project so one knew when the right time would be to make suggestions, but she’s so brilliant at what she does that there wasn’t much need for suggestions from our side.
If the film was playing as one half of a double feature at a drive-in theater – what would you suggest be the other movie they show with it?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I’m incredibly indecisive so probably the wrong person to ask. I think I’ll go with The Shining just because I love it so much and it’s also a real head scratcher.
Have you a genre you’d like to work in, that you haven’t?
I absolutely love Horror. It’s my favorite genre and I’d love to be a part of a cool 80’s slasher style horror one day if given the opportunity. I’d also love to be in a Historical fiction piece, or even something similar to Game Of Thrones.