PUSHING DAISIES INTERVIEW
Source: pushingdaisies.frTranslated by Sarah
Sammi Hantatty plays the role of Young Chuck in "Pushing Daisies". The young actress has granted our request for an interview about the series, herself, her career (we should mention that Sammi started her career at the age of 6) and her future on "Pushing Daisies".
PD: The pilot of Pushing Daisies is incredible, without doubt one of the best of the new season. What did you think when you started on this adventure?
SH: It was incredible to participate in this series. It’s very different from what you see on television. When I read the script and was filming the pilot, I knew that it would be fun to watch and when I watched the pilot I was so excited. It’s stunning!
PD: How did you start your career as a young actress?
SH: I'd wanted to do plays since I was 2, but my mom wanted to wait until I was six. I was really lucky to start working the morning of my first meeting with my agent.
PD: Can you tell us about how you were cast on "Pushing Daisies"?
SH: I auditioned with lots of other girls. I found out in March 2007 that I got the role.
PD: You play the role of Young Chuck in some very unusual scenes. There’s a lot of fantasy in the series that is very enjoyable to see on the screen. For example, we see characters portrayed by Playdough people. Is that fun to play?
SH: It is a lot of fun to play. We did the scenes with the clay people in from of a green screen. We walked in front of miniature versions of houses and then they added the characters in post-production. It’s incredible what they can do!
PD: A bit later, we have a very intense scene with Young Ned in a cemetery. The lights are amazing and it’s very difficult to believe that they are real. Do you know if they used special effects for that scene?
SH: We did some scenes in a cemetery. Later, we went to a studio to do the scene in front of a green screen so they could add all of the lights afterwards and the sun behind us.
PD: How was it to film scenes with Field Cate who played the role of Young Ned and Ellen Green and Swoosie Kurtz who played the aunts of your character?
SH: Field and I have been friends for three years. He is really nice. It’s good to do a scene like that with somebody that you know. (I told him after the scene was done: "we’re never going to do that again!"). It was a bit strange for me because he is two years younger than me. I’m short and he’s really taller than me even though I’m older. The scene worked really well! Ellen Green and Swoosie Kurtz are simply incredible. They play my aunts and we did the funeral scene together. They were really nice to me between scenes.
PD: Have you met Anna Friel who plays Adult Chuck?
SH: Yes, I’ve met Anna. She’s very nice. She brought her daughter to set and I played with her. She’s a very good mom.
PD: What was your best memory during the filming of the pilot?
SH: I think my favorite scene, it’s when I destroy the houses disguised as Godzilla.
PD: You have lots of projects in production like "Boogeyman 2", "Hero Wanted", "Jack and the Beanstalk"...what can you tell us about these projects?
SH: I filmed "Boogeyman 2" in January. I play the lead character when She was younger. Her [the actress’] real name is Danielle Savre. She is really nice in real life! The director, Jeff Betancourt is very nice as well. It was great to work with him. It was cool to watch how they did all of the special effects. I think that I would be scared to do some scenes without seeing them before. "Hero Wanted" was an amazing experience. I went to Bulgaria to film "Hero Wanted". It was one of the best experiences of my life. I worked with amazing people. The movie has a lot of stunts and they did a lot of work to make them the best so the movie could be the best it could. The producer, Johnny Martin, worked as a stuntman and was great at doing both. Johnny and I also played around a lot on the set! He is a great person! The same for Cuba Gooding Jr. He is in all of my scenes, and saves me from a burning car in one scene. It was really cool to film. I also worked with Ray Liotta and Ben Cross. I can’t forget a group of other "crooks" that I worked with too, luckily for me they were all really nice in real life: Norman Reedus, Tommy Flanagan, Gary Cairns, Steven Kozlowski and Paul Sampson. "Hero Wanted" is the story of a man, played by Cuba, who becomes a hero when he saves my life. He makes a bad choice many years after and some criminals start to come after him. It’s a very good film, but not for anyone under 17 not accompanied by a parent or guardian. In "Jack and the Beanstalk", I play Gretel (from Hansel and Gretel). The film has all the characters from the book. It was fun because I knew many of the kids who I worked with. It’ll be a good film for kids.
PD: We didn’t see you too much in the pilot of Pushing Daisies. Do you know if you’ll be in future episodes?
SH: When I did the pilot, they said that the role was recurring. I hope so because it’s a lot of fun to do!
A big thank you to Sammi Hanratty!
