American beauty

 

Taissa Farmiga is anything but an American Horror Story

 

DECEMBER 19, 2011

 

 

(BEGIN ITAL) This is Part 4 in a four-part series on Artists to Watch in 2012. (END ITAL)

Even Taissa Farmiga gets scared while filming American Horror Story.

Sure, she may play the strong-willed, feisty 15-year-old Violet on TV's creepiest, strangest and most addictive new show, but the actress freely admits just filming the show can turn into a bit of a spook-fest.

``When we shot in the real house, you sometimes would want to go explore, because it's so huge, but I didn't stray too far,'' the 17-year-old Farmiga says over the phone from Los Angeles, where the series is filmed. She is poised and well-spoken, with the starry-eyed enthusiasm of an ingenue, but enough self-awareness to know she is part of something special; American Horror Story is a certified hit. On its own, the show has likely boosted sales of full-bodied, black, rubber jumpsuits (an outfit worn by its most mysterious character).

Three things come to mind when you first see Farmiga on screen: her luminous, ethereal beauty; her incredible talent; and that she's a dead ringer for that other great actress, Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air). They are either sisters or one of them is without question the other's doppelganger. They are in fact siblings, with 21 years between them. It's big sister Vera who's responsible for getting her kid sister into acting. The movie Higher Ground (2011) was a coming-out of sorts for the Farmiga sisters - the elder making her directorial debut, and the younger premiering as an actress. The only other acting the young Farmiga had done previously was a part in a school play.

``My sister texted me and asked me if I wanted to be in this movie, and I thought it would be fun,'' Farmiga recalls. That famous acting bug must have bitten her while filming Higher Ground. After production wrapped, she got an agent and, soon after, auditioned for American Horror Story, the acclaimed haunted-house drama airing on FX. She was cast as Violet alongside Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) and Dylan McDermott (The Practice) as her parents Vivien and Ben Harmon, and Oscar winner Jessica Lange as the nosy, nasty neighbour with a basement full of secrets.

Farmiga is utterly convincing as an emotionally distraught, haunted young woman. The fact that this is only her second role makes her range and talent all the more startling. She is a formidable match for her veteran co-stars; she's just that good of an actress.

And this is someone who really didn't have any concrete career aspirations. ``Well, when I was seven, I wanted to be a veterinarian,'' she says, laughing, ``but I guess every kid wants to be a veterinarian.''

Unlike many of her teenage actor counterparts - see movies like Hannah Montana, iCarly or High School Musical - Farmiga has taken a very different path, which is fitting, since American Horror Story in not your typical show. The opening credits alone are enough to have you sleeping with all of the lights on. So, what's it like to be part of such an eerie, unique drama? Well, if you're Farmiga, you simply go for it. Her approach to getting into character is so matter-of-fact, it's almost, well, scary.

``Right before the director calls action, you have that second to yourself, and you just get into (character). It's easy for me. I mean, you just do it.''

There's not a lot of prep time for anyone in the cast. Just like the viewers, the actors anxiously wait to find out what's going to happen next.

``We get the scripts kind of last-minute, but you know, you get it, you read it, you're in shock for a few minutes, but then you go on and shoot it.''

Farmiga does admit that sometimes the horror in this American Story adds its fair share of realism.

``The horror aspect, the scary parts, are easy for me. I mean, I can get into that pretty easy, because I get scared. You have to invest yourself in these characters.''

One of those characters is Tate (Evan Peters), Violet's boyfriend with a dark, twisted past, chilling secrets, and a personal attachment to her house. He's also one of her father's psychiatric patients.

``I love to act with him. He's such a sweet guy, but when he's in full-on makeup, he's scary,'' says Farmiga, who offers a case in point. ``There's one scene where his claw, or his hand, or whatever you want to call it, is in my face, and it's just him and me, and we're locking eyes, and Ryan (director/creator Ryan Murphy) calls `action!' and I'm screaming and it's dark in there and everybody's quiet - and I actually felt terror, because it's scary. . . . But they flip the lights on and call `cut' and you're back to being happy.''

That happy place is the polar opposite to where Violet lives.

``Most of the time, I'm pretty happy and silly and I love making the crew laugh,'' Farmiga says. ``It's fun to play (Violet) for a little while, because she's different from me and I love her attitude, but it's easy, once the director calls `cut,' I snap out of it.''

That ability to go seamlessly in and out of character is something Farmiga says is easier on her health (and probably her sanity, too).

Despite the dichotomy of Violet and Farmiga, there is common ground between herself and her onscreen persona.

``I think there has to be something (there) to pull out and portray her. She's a strong character. I feel I'm strong, but she's a lot more bold than I am. She speaks what's on her mind, and I think she has a bit more bark to her bite than I do.''