LAURA VANDERVOORT INTERVIEW: "SMALLVILLE," "V" & "INTO THE BLUE 2"

by Edward Gross

Laura Vandervoort is, of course, best known these days for having play Kara/Supergirl on Supergirl on Smallville. But there’s a lot more to come from her. This month look for her starring turn in the Warner Premier DVD film Into the Blue 2, in which she plays Dani, who must work with her husband Sabastian (Chris Carmack) and several others to try and find the lost treasure of Columbus, but instead is involved with a race to find an errant nuclear device before a group of criminals do.
   More recently, Laura spent two days on the set of the new “V”, playing the character of Lisa who uses her sexuality to manipulate teenaged humans into siding with her people against their own kind. In the pilot she has her sights set on Tyler Evans and his best friend, Brandon. In the following exclusive interview, Laura discusses both projects.

VISITORS AMONG US: When you’re doing a movie that’s a DVD sequel to a theatrical film, is there a stigma attached to it?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Oh, yeah. Any sequel has to try to live up to the original. I think we did a good job of not following the storyline exactly. We have our own adventure, an action-related story. I think we did a good job. Of course there’s going to be a stigma of it being a bathing suit movie with some young people and that there won’t be much to it, but I think we found a good storyline. We’ve got some great actors in it, so hopefully people will like it.

VISITORS AMONG US: I thought the plot element of Into the Blue 2 regarding somebody searching for an errant nuke was pretty cool.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: They added that aspect into it to get the guys to watch, and also the girls. My character gets to be the strong one in the movie, which is a nice change from a lot of other movies out there. The girl gets to save the day and she’s just as strong as her partner, Sebastian.

VISITORS AMONG US: Being a strong female should be nothing to you.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: [laughs] I’m trying to make a living off of that.

VISITORS AMONG US: Is that what drew you into the film?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I didn’t know much about the original Into the Blue except that there are a lot of bikinis and I wasn’t sure if that was for me. But there was really more than that, because my character, Dani, in the script is actually a lot tougher. What drew me to it, and I think what I’m drawn to in a lot of roles, is the chance to play the ass-kicking girl.  I just find damsels in distress to be a little dull. In this one I got to do a lot of action, I was scuba-trained, I was doing a lot of stunts and actually fractured my ankle while we were shooting the movie. But it’s worth it. I love all of that stuff more than anything, to just really put your heart and soul into it.

VISITORS AMONG US: When you’re playing a kick-ass character, how much of that is a reflection of you as a person and how much of that is wish fulfillment?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I think my boyfriend would tell you that I’m not tough. I cry and all of that, but I think getting these roles is an opportunity to express that side of me. I was in karate for so much of my life that I have that need to kick butt to get the adrenaline out. I think that’s a great place to do it, because I get to do it as another person. I can go nuts and people aren’t going to think I’m strange, and I can be really butch. As much as it might not be believable to some people because I’m some blond girl, I love it. Most of the stuff I’ve done since Into the Blue have been cops, aliens and crazy stuff I love to play.

VISITORS AMONG US: Speaking of aliens, how did you come to be involved with “V”?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I got a phone call. They were shooting in Vancouver and I’ve played an alien similar to the one in “V” before and they wanted to know if I wanted to be a part of it. I jumped and said, “Yeah!” It was just two days of shooting for me, because it’s an introduction of my character in the pilot. If it goes to series, hopefully the character will evolve. It was great. I’ve never seen the original, but I’ve heard amazing things about it. There are a lot of good rumors on set that this is going to be big. They have a good cast, and I play the enticing young teenage alien trying to enroll the teen humans on the ship with her looks.

VISITORS AMONG US: I know you only played her for two days, but in your mind who is your character of Lisa?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: From what I felt when I was playing her and from what I read, there are hundreds of thousands of Visitors on the ship. She’s your typical clean-cut, cookie-cutter young girl, but she’s actually higher in rank than anyone expects. She’s a lot smarter than she plays it off to be, and like many girls she uses her looks to get what she wants. But she’s more calculating and, as you can expect, she’s not there for good.

VISITORS AMONG US: She’s manipulating these guys, basically, ultimately to turn them against humans.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: She’s manipulating the young ones, the naïve ones or the ones who are rebellious and hate their parents. She’s using any of them who have problems with being on earth to really turn them against the human race.

VISITORS AMONG US: I think it’s like Hitler’s Youth Group.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes, she’s going after those who are lonely, that ought to know better and just want to be liked or a part of something.

VISITORS AMONG US: What was the atmosphere on the set like?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: The first day I was there was literally the first day of shooting. People were still trying to figure everything out, but the attitude on everybody’s part was really positive. Yves, the director, is really great. When I went back a week later thinking it would tell me how things were going, everybody was even more excited with how great the pilot is looking. The producers are expecting big things. Logan Huffman, one of the male leads, says he can’t wait. He’s not new to the business, but he’s new enough where he can’t believe he’s on set. He’s enjoying every minute of it and soaking it in. He’s even there when he’s not working. So everybody’s really positive and hoping the show will do well. That happens on a lot of pilots, but I really think that this one is something special.

VISITORS AMONG US: The series in the ‘80s didn’t really work. Hopefully this will have a chance to become all that the concept can be.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Some people might believe the concept of the show could be possible, so that could be intriguing to them.

VISITORS AMONG US: There’s also an opportunity to explore what power does to people.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: In the script, it’s almost like Beatlemania. Everyone’s a little unsure initially when they arrive, but as soon as one person is on the bandwagon, everyone’s on the bandwagon and pro the Visitors. That’s what’s appealing in this movie, everyone is celebrating these strange people that come to earth.

VISITORS AMONG US: Logan is Tyler Evans, but his friend, Jesse Wheeler as Brandon, is the one that Lisa can manipulate more easily, right?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: That’s true. He’s the sidekick best friend who’s kind of in awe of everything and wants to believe it and falls for the girl immediately. He’s a little easier to take over. But she has to work on Tyler more. I think she sees him more as a leader, so she wants him and really has to work her magic on him. But she’s got the Brandon character under her thumb. He did such a good job while we were shooting; the looks he was giving were hilarious.

VISITORS AMONG US: If this should go to series, where would you personally like to see Lisa go?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I don’t even know what they’re planning or if my character will return. Obviously I want to do some kick-butt stuff, but I’d also like her to turn good and have a relationship with Tyler and realize that what her race is doing isn’t right. Of course, I have no idea; I would just be happy to be a part of it.

VISITORS AMONG US: On the original there was a Fifth Column that was working with the humans in secret. They were still on the ship, but they were helping humanity. It would be interesting if Lisa became that kind of character.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: That would be something I’d be interested in, because it would be unexpected.

 

VISITORS AMONG US: Will you be returning to Smallville?

 

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I couldn't tell you.I did one this season. They called and asked me for what they thought would be the season finale, but now they're coming back for another year. I have an inkling that I'll be back for an episode next year. I don't think they can keep me hanging for too long.

 

VISITORS AMONG US: Overall, was it exciting to be part of the this mythos?

 

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Definitely. There was no live action television version of Supergirl. Helen Slater was great in the feature film version. Smallville's definitely got me in some doors and just having that legendary name behind you, it's really neat. One day I can say to my kids, "I was Supergirl." Not only that, Smallville is a great show with a great fan following. They really welcomed me. It was a great experience. I really wish that I was still doing it, but it didn't work out storyline wise. They had to focus more on Clark and Lois for the continuation of the legend.

 

VISITORS AMONG US: I was actually hoping that when Smallville ended, there would be a spin-off with you as Supergirl sort of taking over from Clark Kent.

 

LAURA VANDERVOORT: They had that in mind when I got the role. I was supposed to be a guest star for a few, then it turned into the whole season and there was talk of a spin-off. But it kind of fizzled out. They kind of went a different route with the network's shows, going more with the Gossip Girls type of show than the sci-fi.

 

VISITORS AMONG US: Was Kara a good character?

 

LAURA VANDERVOORT: She's a great character. I know there's a comic book history behind who she is and how she's supposed to be, but I think I kind of made her my own. They had written her as this rebellious teenager who didn't care about people, but I think we slowly developed her into a likable, almost human being who had thoughts of her own. Plus I had fun doing the wire work, the flying, the cast is great, the crew is great.

 

VISITORS AMONG US: A lot of people complain about the wire work, but I would imagine seeing the end results would be amazing.

 

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Not only is it cool because the special effects are awesome on the show, but I literally love the wire work. We would have rehearsals and I would be taught how to fly. I loved it up there; I really enjoyed it. Sometimes more than the scenes, because with the scenes I would really try to do a good job and it was stressful with the dialogue. Then I would suddenly get to go up on wires and play. I had a few bruises, but I didn't mind.

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