Interview: Kacey Barnfield of "Resident Evil: Afterlife"

Interview: Kacey Barnfield of "Resident Evil: Afterlife"

By our guest blogger, Joel Crabtree

British actress Kacey Barnfield has won a lottery of sorts, landing a role in the mega-budget “Resident Evil Afterlife,” which is in 3D. Unlike her character’s acting career in “Resident Evil” (it’s marred by, oh ... the apocalypse), Barnfield’s career is really starting to blossom.

Already known throughout England as Maddie Gilks on the series “Grange Hill,” the 22-year-old recently starred in the Syfy original picture “Lake Placid 3."  She's currently filming another Syfy movie, “Roadkill,” in Ireland opposite Stephen Rea.  And she was featured in Maxim magazine.

Kacey Barnfield took a few minutes after a long day of filming (which may or may not have involved firing guns) in Ireland to talk to WeekinRewind.com about her role in “Resident Evil Afterlife,” her upcoming Syfy project “Roadkill” and the thrill she gets from being a kick-ass heroine.

Joel Crabtree: “In Resident Evil: Afterlife” you play Crystal Waters.  Could you tell me a bit about the character.

Kacey Barnfield: Yeah, she’s the only female survivor within the prison that is in L.A., which has been overrun by the undead. She is a London girl who moved to L.A. to pursue her career as an actress and that fell through. And then, obviously, it completely fell through when the zombies took over.

But she’s got a really sort of determined, strong fighter’s streak in her. She’s definitely not a silly kind of pushover--she’s got a hard London edge to her. And that really shows in the movie, because she insists on helping Milla [Jovovich’s] character Alice, and Wentworth [Miller’s] character, Chris. ... She’s a great swimmer and she really gets herself involved in the water scenes.  Well, not water scenes, but the swimming action, I should say.

JC: So, what’s it like being a part of such a big-budget, huge franchise like "Resident Evil"?

KB: Oh, it was fantastic. For me, the British actress, to be a part of such a huge--it was my first big-budget feature, it was great to be a part of that and to see the huge scale of the movie, and to work with such established names and people that have been making these kinds of movies for years. It was a great learning experience and it was really fun. It was just awesome, really.

JC: So, the series has a lot of die-hard fans, as you might know, have you been getting a lot of fan kickbacks from the fanboys who love this movie or the series?

KB: Yeah, I know it’s got a huge cult following, which is great. Especially in Japan, I believe. It’s just been a really positive thing and I know a lot of people have taken interest in who I am, and who my character is, because obviously, I’m a complete newcomer. Hopefully, it’s given me a bit of exposure around the world rather than just England and I hope to continue to work out in the States as much as I can. Yeah, it’s just been great to be a part of something with such a huge fan base, and I hope the fans are happy with what I contributed.

JC: Had you played the video games or were you familiar with them before taking the role?

KB: Um, I wasn’t familiar with the video games. I’m not actually much of a big video game fan myself, I leave that to my boyfriend. I did watch the movies and I watched them again before I went over to Canada and took on the role. I learned from watching the movies and knew what I was coming into, knew the storyline. And I was really excited about it.

JC: “Afterlife” marks the return of Paul W.S. Anderson as a director to the series.  What was it like working with him?

KB: Oh, Paul Anderson, he’s a really great guy. He’s a fellow Brit, like myself. He instantly--from the second I walked into the job--he just made me feel so relaxed and so comfortable, and he continued to do that throughout. He’s a very laid-back director without losing any passion. He’s got that great balance, [which] sets the tone for the crew and the rest of the cast.  We feel very much at ease. I never actually had a moment where I felt like I was [in a] very high-pressure atmosphere.

And it was great, it was a great working environment. I was amazed at what he was doing, and he does a great job at it. And he enjoys it, massively enjoys it. He’s always got a smile on his face and that goes a long way.

JC: There’s a lot of gun play in the movie.  I was wondering if you got to take part in any of that?

KB: I got to handle a gun.  In the action sort of swimming scenes, I have a gun in my hand. Unfortunately, I never fire a gun in this movie. But yeah, I got to handle a gun, so that was good.

JC: I’m sure you’ll have many more opportunities to fire a gun in movies.

KB: Yeah, well, I just did today, actually. I’m filming another movie today, so I’ve been firing guns here. It’s been cool.

JC: The movie you're currently filming--is it called “Roadkill”?

KB: That’s it, yeah. It’s actually for the Syfy channel in America and it will be a DVD release as well. And it’s really, really fun. It’s awesome, actually. It’s written by an American writer, and it has an American company behind it, but the director’s a British guy. I feel like it’s a really powerful combination.

I don’t know, maybe Brits sometimes have a different take on movies. They have an edgier slant on things. And then obviously the writing and the ideas are American, and it’s got that great influence coming from that side. The combination is just really working. And the cast is fantastic. We have an absolutely amazing cast. We have Stephen Rea, as well--he’s one of the names in the movie.

It’s just a lot of action ... it’s a horror movie, actually ... it’s been made very dark. And it’s one to look out for when it comes around in 2011, I think.

JC: So, you’ve finished "Lake Placid 3," you have "Resident Evil: Afterlife" and "Roadkill" all on the horizon. You’ve been doing a lot of horror-oriented projects.  Is it a genre you enjoy working in?

KB: I love working in it, yeah, absolutely. The action is just fantastic, you know? You get to really sink your teeth into the action and I really sort of feel extreme emotions.  It’s a great genre.

I’d love to branch out into many different genres, I certainly wouldn’t want to pigeonhole myself. But it’s unbelievable.

And I love that whole kick-ass thing, you know? Especially when you’re a girl, it’s great when you sort of get to beat guys up and be that heroine, the great buzz you get from that.

“Resident Evil Afterlife” hits theaters Sept. 10, 2010. Below is WeekinRewind's preview of the movie.  What are your thoughts?