Hey, friends. Barbarella here. What do Frank Grillo, John Malkovich, Cameron Monaghan, and Lilly Krug have in common? They’re all in the thriller SHATTERED that Lionsgate released in select theaters and On Demand this weekend. The film will also be available on Blu-ray and DVD on February 22, 2022.
Starring Cameron Monaghan (“Shameless”), Frank Grillo (Avengers: Endgame), John Malkovich (RED), Sasha Luss (Anna), and Lilly Krug (Every Breath You Take), the film was directed by Luis Prieto (Kidnap) and written by David Loughery (Fatale).
In the film, lonely tech millionaire Chris (Cameron Monaghan) falls for sexy Sky (Lilly Krug), and when he’s injured, she quickly steps in as his nurse, but Chris begins to suspect that she has more sinister intentions.
I had the pleasure of recently speaking with Lilly Krug. Check it out.
What are your thoughts on New Year's resolutions? Did you make one this year?
“I used to make lots of New Year's resolutions, and it's very hard to actually then follow through with any of them, so this year, I actually only made four, one for every area of my life, and they're going pretty well so far.”
A big chunk of this film takes place inside the house. What do you like most about working on a film that's mostly contained?
“I mean, this one was great, but it was very contained. It was shot in March last year, so the pandemic was still a very big issue; it still is. We shot the movie in twenty days. It was a super-tight schedule, and the thing about this house, in specific, is that it was cast like a character. It’s a character of its own, I mean, with all the tech. At the beginning, it's this very warm, welcoming place where you feel so comfortable, and then it quickly turns into a very cold, very isolating place. It was just fascinating to see how the house transitioned so quickly and how it evolved with the story.”
Did that have any kind of effect on you? When the house was feeling more heavy, did that carry over into how you felt?
“Of course, yes. The setting always carries on how you feel and how the character feels. I mean, it was Chris' fortress, where he felt safe. Sky changes that into something that becomes very cold, very isolating, very scary, and it definitely has an effect on you and all the characters.”
What I love about Sky is that she just takes so much joy in what she's doing. For me, it was very reminiscent of Miike’s Audition in that she just relishes everything. Were you provided any kind of suggestions for films to watch to prepare for the role? How else did you prepare?
“Oh yes. I prepared eight weeks for this movie. I watched Fatal Attraction, and I watched Misery, Basic Instinct, then Clockwork Orange, everything I could, just to get like a grasp of these characters. I mean, there's this element of the psychopath, which you can find through other movies, but also I did a lot of psychological research. I mean, I also studied psychology. I did six weeks of stunt training, and all of these interplays to create this very multi-layered personality of a character that's so physical and has so much joy in doing these acts.”
You studied psychology. Are you going to go into the psychology profession, or did you just do that to enhance your acting?
“Acting and psychology go hand in hand, so I studied theater and psychology just because there's so much of the psychological things you need to know for a character to really have deep empathy for them, to really develop the story, to know how they interact with other characters, why they act certain ways, and you find so much of that in psychology.”
What kind of impact do you think that the #MeToo movement had on how sex scenes are approached and filmed?
"This was my first sex scene, so I don't know how it was done before, but I felt very safe on set. You always have a safe word. There was not a lot of people there the moment the scene was done. You would put on a robe. We could have an intimacy supervisor [if we] wanted. There was a lot of precautions, a lot of talking with the director and the other actor to make sure that everyone always feels very comfortable on set.”
What does an intimacy supervisor do?
“Me and Cameron both decided that we wouldn't need one, but if they were there on set, they would make sure to talk to each party after every take, making sure that nothing is done that is inappropriate and if [everyone’s] feeling okay. And every set, nowadays, has to offer this in sex scenes to make sure that nothing happens that is not appropriate.”
Did you feel self-conscious at all?
“There’s always this thing about being exposed or naked in front of so many people, but it really aids to the story, and really it's part of their love story. It's so heated. It's so quick; it's so intense, and like Sky, there's a lot of parts I didn't feel too comfortable with, but that's part of the character, and you learn to embrace those. I had the chance to do that with a great crew and a great cast.”
Do you watch your own work?
“I do watch my own work. I mean, [for this] I did ten hours of ADR, so I watched the entire movie, and now seeing it come together, I think, almost a year later, it’s like a baby, and you see the final product. We’ve all been creating this for so long, and we knew we were creating something special, but seeing it finally come together is beautiful. And it was very fun to watch.”
If you had to be stuck in an elevator for an extended period of time with either John Malkovich or Frank Grillo, with whom would you want to be stuck and why?
“(Laughs) I love this question. I would say both of them are incredible people, and I loved working with both. They're both very sweet actors, and they're just masters in their profession, but I think I would choose John Malkovich just because he is, not only so witty, but he just has so much knowledge. I remember even off-set for dinners, I could just listen to him talk for three hours, and he's so funny and he has so much knowledge he shares. Around him, I'm just like a sponge trying to absorb everything.”
Speaking of being a sponge, I believe that everybody learns from every project they do. What did you learn from this one?
"You're so right. I mean, every single project, I learned so much, and SHATTERED, because I have the lead role, I got to learn so many things. I think it just made me more secure in the choices I made, and Luis, the director, who is wonderful, really pushed me to sometimes make choices I would have not made, and they worked out really well, so I think this thing of just taking risks, even if they don't feel very comfortable to you at first, and just really committing to an action, was one of the key takeaways.”
What kinds of things do you like to do in your free time? I mean, if you have free time?
“If I have some free time, I love spending time in nature. I love playing games. I love working out. I'm a person who really thrives off of social connection, as well. There is so much joy I find in just spending time with my friends or family. Yeah, I think that's what I spend most of my free time doing."
How did you spend your downtime on set?
“I remember we had one day off, and we went to Yellowstone with the makeup and the hair departments. That was so much fun. In between takes, me and Cameron, because we are in the movie together for most of it, we would spend a lot of time together. We would play games. We would talk, then sometimes we would sit outside, read, or take a nap, if it was very long night-shoots, but there wasn't a lot of free time, let me tell you that.”
Had you met Cameron before?
“I met him on set in Montana, so I didn't meet him at all before.”
Wow.
“Yeah, it was amazing. Two days without him was shot before he came, and then the first day, we just got to know each other, and that was important to the director, as well. We played a game and just spent a lot of time, a day together, off set. It was a lot easier to then get into the characters. In the breaks, we would talk and get to know each other, and then if you built that friendship, it's a lot easier to work together on the screen.”
What kind of games did you guys play?
“We played Cards Against Humanity. It's great to get to know people. And there’s one activity where you have to draw a portrait of someone in sixty seconds, and I remember we could not stop laughing because we both can't draw, and it was horrific images of each other, so that was a lot of fun.”
You’re originally from Germany. Had you always wanted to move to LA?
“Yes, I'm from Germany. I went to school in South Africa for a year when I was eight years old and to LA when [I was] fifteen. After graduating, I lived in New York, and then just the job really pulled me to LA, and it's been wonderful living here, because I feel like LA is so many cities in one, and there's just so many interesting people here you can meet, and so many great friends I got to meet. I just moved and, I mean, I love it so far.”
You can see Lilly Krug in SHATTERED, now available in select theaters and On Demand and will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on February 22, 2022. Here’s the trailer, but be warned, it gives away everything, and I mean everything, so skip it if you don't like spoilers. Also, maybe don’t watch it at work.
All right, I'm off to contemplate with whom I'd want to be stuck in an elevator. Barbarella out!
