A Woman You Should Meet: Lara Jean Chorostecki

On NBC’s Hannibal, Lara Jean Chorostecki plays Freddie Lounds, a role last filled by the magnificent Philip Seymour Hoffman in the film Red Dragon. Proving that it takes a woman to fill big shoes, Chorostecki is relishing her role and all the gruesome scenes that come with it. We caught up with her to talk all things Hannibal, Hoffman and that fiery red mane of hers.

(1/5)

How’s your TIFF going?

Good, it’s pretty much done now. I went to after parties on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday…so I’m good, I’m done. Now I actually get to enjoy some films.



What are you hoping to see?



I’m going to see Bang Bang Baby today and I’m going to try to see We Were Wolves on Saturday. I try to see films that will not be in theatres, and Canadian films.



Hannibal has been a huge success. How did you first get involved with the show?



I auditioned in Toronto. Hannibal shoots in Toronto, which is a really great and a nice opportunity to work from home that can be rare. I met with David Slade, one of our executive producers and Bryan Fuller, our genius show-runner. I had two auditions and in the second one David kind of put me through the ringer because Freddie is such a unique character. She has to be a bit of a chameleon, so we played around with it and I played her every which way possible. It was interesting because then, when I started preparing for the part, I had to sit down and talk with Bryan again because I wasn’t quite sure which one of those variations we were leaning towards.



Photo by TJ Scott.

LaraJeanTub2

That’s fair. Let’s lighten the mood a little bit with something else. I couldn’t help but notice that you are a redhead.

This is true.



Do you think that redhead mentality plays into the Freddie’s ‘ballsy’ attitude?



Freddie is actually modeled after Rebecca Brooks who is a tabloid reporter who ran News of the World, a big tabloid in the UK. She’s associated with Rupert Murdock. She was just acquitted over a phone taping scandal. And she has a ferocious mane of red hair. So that was kind of the start of where Freddie came from, but I like to think that I’m a fantastic actress as well and that I was hired not just because I happen to also have curly red hair [laughs]. But I do think the red hair plays into it really well. There is something about redheads. I have on occasion been called out because of my hair under the basis that I must be a firecraker. And I think I am a pretty confident female personality, so that’s not so inaccurate. I think over the years we’ve established this strong-willed personality and I’m not afraid of that.



What’s coming up for you?



Right now I’m back and forth from Budapest. I’m filming a new show called Camp X for CBC so it’s a Canadian show. It’s a World War II drama about Camp X that existed just outside of Toronto to the east, and we train some of the top spies in the world. I play the head of communications at Camp X and I’m in charge of morse code. I’m the highest-ranking woman there and, in a way, am in charge of the women. It tells the story of Canadian, American and British spies who were fighting for the allies behind the scenes during World War II and how they help win the war. It’s a really interesting, awesome Canadian story and it’s being told by Stephanie Morgenstern and Mark Ellis who ran Flashpoint for five years.



I also have an indie film called Barn Wedding coming out in the beginning of 2015 and a film called The Masked Saint, which will almost be out the beginning of 2015. The second is a family wrestling film, so all of these things are incredibly different from Freddie, which is a nice vote of confidence as an actress. When I look over the last few years, I’ve been very fortunate as I grow in my film and television career. It could not have been more divers. I don’t think any two roles have been the same. And that’s very exciting and rewarding. It’s nice that people keep hiring me to bring to life these incredible, unique, redheaded ladies. No one has ever dyed my hair.



Photo by Shaun Benson.

Tell me about Freddie and what she’s gone through in the past two seasons.

The past two seasons have seen a really interesting change in her. At the very beginning of season one, she comes in as this spoiled, balls-to-the-wall woman, really aggressive and kind of obnoxious. She goes through these horrible circumstances—a cop is shot in front of her, she watches a serial killer perform a grotesque surgery—and it takes a toll. There are these glimmers of humanity that I think have been layered in so brilliantly. Even though it seems like she kind of steels herself and moves on, I think ultimately under the surface it is affecting her in some way. It’s a little bit more of a human quality in this character, but she’s no less ballsy, no less out there. She’s quite spectacular and she’s a great character to play because she really walks the line between what’s crazy and what’s not. On paper you’d think That’s a little too much but on Freddie it just works.



Were you a fan of the original Hannibal films?



Oh very much. I really enjoyed Red Dragon. Philip Seymour Hoffman was really interesting as a schlubby Freddy. Everyone was great in that movie. And of course Silence of the Lambs is the creepiest movie ever. Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal is so iconic but Mads Mikkelsen has taken the character and, through his brilliance and his incredible ability to act with so much subtlety, crafted his own version.



When you were first approached for the project were you hoping that it would stay true to the original films or were you hoping it would be taken in an entirely new direction?



I think I was hoping that they’d take it in a new direction, which it has because when you tackle something so iconic—especially that has Anthony Hopkins in an Oscar-winning performance—it’s almost impossible to make it as good. But you can make it as good if you deviate and create your own culmination of this canon. I really think that’s what we’ve done here and I wouldn’t want it any other way. It would have been tragic, especially with Bryan Fuller’s imagination, had he quashed it and decided to follow the book. I’m so excited that he didn’t.



Photo by Shaun Benson.

When you auditioned for the role of Freddie Lounds did you think about how it was originally a film role for Philip Seymour Hoffman and what it meant to take it over as a female?

To be honest, I remember when I saw the breakdown, I looked and Freddie Lounds and I couldn’t place who this character was. I just knew it was Hannibal and Freddie was a reporter. I went to the first read-through and when I heard they wanted to see me again I thought I should probably do more research on this. I rented Red Dragon on iTunes because I hadn’t watched it in years and was like, “Oh my god, it’s Philip Seymour Hoffman!” And then the light bulb came on and I thought, man, I am nothing like that. In a way, I’m really happy that for the first read I didn’t remember, because it might have effected how I played her. I played Freddie a little more sophisticated and had I watched Hoffman’s portrayal where he’s kind of a slimeball, I might have adjusted my expectations of how to play the character. In that sense, I’m happy I didn’t remember. When I watched Red Dragon I thought, “Well, that’s not what I did at all and they want to see me again so I’ll just continue with what I did.”



Following Philip Seymour Hoffman would be really tough. I think it’s interesting that they have his character as a woman instead of a man, which to me means that you they’re not looking to have you completely mirror his performance.



Oh, it would be way too daunting and impossible. I’m a huge fan of his. Have you seen The Late Quartet? It was one of his last films and he’s so good in it. Anyway, his work touches me whether it’s comedy or drama. Whatever he did was incredible and it’s such a loss.



I know you probably can’t say anything about where Hannibal is going next season but I hope the show’s Freddie doesn’t meet the same fate as film’s Freddy!



Well, we did tease a little bit of that in season two. We played it out a bit in her fake death. Now, Bryan has already said this, so I’m not stepping out of bounds: we are approaching the Red Dragon story line, so how that is crafted and played out will be interesting to see. And that’s about as much as I can say.



Photo by TJ Scott.

How’s your TIFF going?

Good, it’s pretty much done now. I went to after parties on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday…so I’m good, I’m done. Now I actually get to enjoy some films.

What are you hoping to see?

I’m going to see Bang Bang Baby today and I’m going to try to see We Were Wolves on Saturday. I try to see films that will not be in theatres, and Canadian films.

Hannibal has been a huge success. How did you first get involved with the show?

I auditioned in Toronto. Hannibal shoots in Toronto, which is a really great and a nice opportunity to work from home that can be rare. I met with David Slade, one of our executive producers and Bryan Fuller, our genius show-runner. I had two auditions and in the second one David kind of put me through the ringer because Freddie is such a unique character. She has to be a bit of a chameleon, so we played around with it and I played her every which way possible. It was interesting because then, when I started preparing for the part, I had to sit down and talk with Bryan again because I wasn’t quite sure which one of those variations we were leaning towards.

That’s fair. Let’s lighten the mood a little bit with something else. I couldn’t help but notice that you are a redhead.

This is true.

Do you think that redhead mentality plays into the Freddie’s ‘ballsy’ attitude?

Freddie is actually modeled after Rebecca Brooks who is a tabloid reporter who ran News of the World, a big tabloid in the UK. She’s associated with Rupert Murdock. She was just acquitted over a phone taping scandal. And she has a ferocious mane of red hair. So that was kind of the start of where Freddie came from, but I like to think that I’m a fantastic actress as well and that I was hired not just because I happen to also have curly red hair [laughs]. But I do think the red hair plays into it really well. There is something about redheads. I have on occasion been called out because of my hair under the basis that I must be a firecraker. And I think I am a pretty confident female personality, so that’s not so inaccurate. I think over the years we’ve established this strong-willed personality and I’m not afraid of that.

What’s coming up for you?

Right now I’m back and forth from Budapest. I’m filming a new show called Camp X for CBC so it’s a Canadian show. It’s a World War II drama about Camp X that existed just outside of Toronto to the east, and we train some of the top spies in the world. I play the head of communications at Camp X and I’m in charge of morse code. I’m the highest-ranking woman there and, in a way, am in charge of the women. It tells the story of Canadian, American and British spies who were fighting for the allies behind the scenes during World War II and how they help win the war. It’s a really interesting, awesome Canadian story and it’s being told by Stephanie Morgenstern and Mark Ellis who ranFlashpoint for five years.

I also have an indie film called Barn Wedding coming out in the beginning of 2015 and a film called The Masked Saint, which will almost be out the beginning of 2015. The second is a family wrestling film, so all of these things are incredibly different from Freddie, which is a nice vote of confidence as an actress. When I look over the last few years, I’ve been very fortunate as I grow in my film and television career. It could not have been more divers. I don’t think any two roles have been the same. And that’s very exciting and rewarding. It’s nice that people keep hiring me to bring to life these incredible, unique, redheaded ladies. No one has ever dyed my hair.

Tell me about Freddie and what she’s gone through in the past two seasons.

The past two seasons have seen a really interesting change in her. At the very beginning of season one, she comes in as this spoiled, balls-to-the-wall woman, really aggressive and kind of obnoxious. She goes through these horrible circumstances—a cop is shot in front of her, she watches a serial killer perform a grotesque surgery—and it takes a toll. There are these glimmers of humanity that I think have been layered in so brilliantly. Even though it seems like she kind of steels herself and moves on, I think ultimately under the surface it is affecting her in some way. It’s a little bit more of a human quality in this character, but she’s no less ballsy, no less out there. She’s quite spectacular and she’s a great character to play because she really walks the line between what’s crazy and what’s not. On paper you’d think That’s a little too much but on Freddie it just works.

Were you a fan of the original Hannibal films?

Oh very much. I really enjoyed Red Dragon. Philip Seymour Hoffman was really interesting as a schlubby Freddy. Everyone was great in that movie. And of course Silence of the Lambs is the creepiest movie ever. Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal is so iconic but Mads Mikkelsen has taken the character and, through his brilliance and his incredible ability to act with so much subtlety, crafted his own version.

When you were first approached for the project were you hoping that it would stay true to the original films or were you hoping it would be taken in an entirely new direction?

I think I was hoping that they’d take it in a new direction, which it has because when you tackle something so iconic—especially that has Anthony Hopkins in an Oscar-winning performance—it’s almost impossible to make it as good. But you can make it as good if you deviate and create your own culmination of this canon. I really think that’s what we’ve done here and I wouldn’t want it any other way. It would have been tragic, especially with Bryan Fuller’s imagination, had he quashed it and decided to follow the book. I’m so excited that he didn’t.

When you auditioned for the role of Freddie Lounds did you think about how it was originally a film role for Philip Seymour Hoffman and what it meant to take it over as a female?

To be honest, I remember when I saw the breakdown, I looked and Freddie Lounds and I couldn’t place who this character was. I just knew it was Hannibal and Freddie was a reporter. I went to the first read-through and when I heard they wanted to see me again I thought I should probably do more research on this. I rented Red Dragon on iTunes because I hadn’t watched it in years and was like, “Oh my god, it’s Philip Seymour Hoffman!” And then the light bulb came on and I thought, man, I am nothing like that. In a way, I’m really happy that for the first read I didn’t remember, because it might have effected how I played her. I played Freddie a little more sophisticated and had I watched Hoffman’s portrayal where he’s kind of a slimeball, I might have adjusted my expectations of how to play the character. In that sense, I’m happy I didn’t remember. When I watched Red Dragon I thought, “Well, that’s not what I did at all and they want to see me again so I’ll just continue with what I did.”

Following Philip Seymour Hoffman would be really tough. I think it’s interesting that they have his character as a woman instead of a man, which to me means that you they’re not looking to have you completely mirror his performance.

Oh, it would be way too daunting and impossible. I’m a huge fan of his. Have you seen The Late Quartet? It was one of his last films and he’s so good in it. Anyway, his work touches me whether it’s comedy or drama. Whatever he did was incredible and it’s such a loss.

I know you probably can’t say anything about where Hannibal is going next season but I hope the show’s Freddie doesn’t meet the same fate as film’s Freddy!

Well, we did tease a little bit of that in season two. We played it out a bit in her fake death. Now, Bryan has already said this, so I’m not stepping out of bounds: we are approaching the Red Dragon story line, so how that is crafted and played out will be interesting to see. And that’s about as much as I can say.