Haley Bennett She’s No Scream Queen

Posted on 05. Nov, 2008 by Administrator in Profiles

photos by Robert Todd Williamson

These days, it is a rarity to hear someone really speak their mind, particularly in this industry. We have been groomed to be careful and discriminating with our words – we don’t want to reveal too much – especially our opinions, as they can so easily be misinterpreted. Interviews and celebrity events have become the perfect platforms – and occasionally, traps – for airing our thoughts and ideals. But these can be a series of slippery slopes – one wrong move, and not only will your agent and your publicist skewer you, there’s a good chance you could then face the unrelenting repercussions of the Perez Hilton’s and dlisted boys, who will immortalize you forevermore in that always accessible online abyss. Thus, actress Haley Bennett proved to be a very interesting subject. When discussing her budding career, the young star of the new scary movie, The Haunting of Molly Hartley is certainly opinionated, and still doesn’t realize her words can sometimes come back to haunt her.

For example, on her IMDb page, there’s a comment from her regarding a certain ‘genre’ of film: (Bennett) has said she is not planning to do horror movies and does not even look at the scripts for them. A bit unusual for an actress who has just starred in – you guessed it – a horror flick. “I fucked up saying that [laughs]. Oh well! I don’t really see this so much as a horror film…it’s pretty tame. (It’s not) you know, where you’re getting your head chopped off – that explicit nonsense. You would never see me in a movie like Saw; it’s just not my scene. I don’t even watch those kinda movies,” she adds with a laugh, “Isn’t that so ironic?” Sure those films can be gory and often crappy, but lest we forget many of those turned into seminal, starmaking turns; virtual unknowns like Jamie Lee Curtis and Amy Irving became stars after their roles in Halloween and Carrie respectively. Even Renee Zellweger made a go of it in The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

At a mere 20-years-old – and only two previous supporting roles – Molly Hartley is Bennett’s first top of the marquee starring gig. Bennett had no formal training whatsoever, only music and theater classes in high school. At 17, she withdrew from high school (but later got her diploma) and moved to Los Angeles with her mom to pursue her acting career. Shortly thereafter she landed the plum role of pop diva Cora Corman in Music and Lyrics opposite that eternal Brit bachelor, Hugh Grant. “That was a whirlwind for me; I had just started acting and I had no idea what I was doing.” (If you check her out on YouTube, you’ll find videos of a scantily clad Bennett as Corman gyrating a la Shakira to songs like “Buddha’s Delight” and “Way Back Into Love” – and to the tune of around 2 million hits per song.

With The Haunting of Molly Hartley, Bennett takes center stage as a young girl on the threshold of adulthood. At 17, she and her father (Medium’s Jake Weber) have moved to a new town in an effort to put her troubled past behind her. No, she’s not a Bristol Palin teen tramp who’s gotten herself knocked up – this poor girl had a kooky mom who tried to murder her, and subsequently Mommy Darling went to the Psych Ward forevermore. We all know the new kid never has an easy time of it – especially when you add on the peer pressure and competition from girls like AnnaLynne McCord’s Suzie who thinks Molly is out to steal her boyfriend Joseph (Gossip Girl’s resident hottie, Chace Crawford). Unfortunately for the newbie, she can’t keep her secrets buried for long, especially when she begins to experience a series of bizarre and often horrifying hallucinations. The clincher? Everything she knows is about to get turned upside down on the day most girls can’t wait for – her 18th birthday.

“We shot this like, a year and a half ago; I never really expected it to be this commercial release,” laughs Bennett. But commercial it is, with billboards of her plastered all over town. In reality, she doesn’t really look a whole lot like her filmic counterpart, Hartley. “In the poster I look like a 12-year-old boy. [Laughs]. But I’m perfectly okay with that.”

Bennett could be best described as a new breed of Hollywood rebel, a non-traditionalist of sorts who isn’t afraid to step away from the norm. Sure she’ll do the interviews, but she won’t do the Hollywood scene for the most part, just to make a token appearance. When asked about co-star AnnaLynne McCord’s repeated trips to the red carpet, Bennett pauses and then offers a somber “Hmmm.” Suffice to say, it sounds as though she’s not a fan of the glamorous Hollywood way – at least not right now, while she’s still slightly under the radar. If anything, you’re more apt to find her at a Raconteurs concert at places like the Troubadour, as opposed to the latest Kardashian-infused Beverly Hills function you can stumble upon virtually every night of the week. “That whole thing (the scene) gets repetitive,” laughs Bennett. “I just don’t find much enjoyment in that stuff – the same conversation and the same people over and over. It’s just boring.”

That non-conformist attitude trickles over to the actress’ professional life as well. She’s just wrapped a short film in Argentina, directed by Shakur Kapur, of Elizabeth fame. Entitled Three Graces, the film is based on the Greek mythological tale of three beautiful sisters, played by Bennett, Julie Stiles, and model turned actress Lily Cole – a veritable indie-girl triple threat. One of the biggest challenges for the young Bennett in this role? She had to sing in French – and she doesn’t know the language at all. “I landed and they told me as soon as I got off the plane, I had to sing a French song, which was okay. I figured I’d have some time to play around and get to know it. But then I found out I had to sing it the next day.” Next up for Bennett is Marley and Me, starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson as Jenny and John Grogan, which based on the beloved best selling book about a couple and their first attempt at parenthood – a dog. The film, set in Miami and Pennsylvania, showcases the Grogan’s tumultuous and often hilarious relationship with their Labrador Retriever, Marley. As it turns out, all is not puppy love in the young married’s household; Marley is not the most obedient of pups. He is high strung, powerful, always hungry, and often destructive. Bennett plays Lisa, part of the neighborhood color where John and Jenny live early on in their marriage. “They live in this really seedy Miami neighborhood and I’m the bad ass with blue hair; like the grungy little latchkey kid. At one point (in the film) I’m in a bad situation and John and Marley save the day.” The film, directed by The Devil Wears Prada helmer David Frankel, is certain to be a hit with its huge ‘aw shucks’ quotient – especially coming out as it does on Christmas day. Bennett was quite taken with co-stars Aniston and Wilson; unfortunately her time on the set was all too short. “The whole crew stuck together a lot. I wasn’t there for the whole shoot, but they were awesome.” Bennett pauses for a moment and then adds. “Actually, I hate that word awesome. I say it way too much.” Like all young ingénues, Bennett has her fair share of idols. “There are actresses I really admire, like Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, and Natalie Portman. I love Audrey Tatou – I just want to be French! If I could have lived in any other time, I would have lived in Paris in the 1920’s and been a cabaret dancer.” Maybe next Halloween she can pull that off, but for now she has to deal with the trajectory of her rising star. She is slated for Joe Dante’s latest, The Hole, which starts shooting next month. This is one actress who is steadfast when it comes to her career – and she is not about to compromise. “I only want to do films that I really connect with… really quality material. I don’t want to do anymore horror films. Not that I have anything against them, I just feel there is so much more for me to do. I feel like the last two films I did I’m really proud of, and you know, I’m even proud of this (Molly Hartley).” All this fame can certainly be overwhelming, yet she takes it in stride. “It kind of feels natural,” she says. “I don’t think I’m special…I’m just going with it. (At this point) I can’t let myself fall into any negativity or doubt, or worry. I like to seize the moment. I’m young; why shouldn’t I?”