As I mentioned last post, I sent a few questions to the actress who played me in the Got Home Alive episode last Sunday: Mandy Schneider. I thought it’d be fun to read about how everything came together. She was gracious enough to reply to my email. Next week, I’ll get back on track with additional legal steps I had to take in the aftermath of Marco’s plea bargain.
EMAIL FROM MANDY:
Hey Keri,
How did you come to be cast in this role?
I learned of this opportunity from a friend of mine who is a stuntwoman. John [the co-exec producer]had called in quite a few stuntwomen for the role, but I think he wanted an actress who could do basic stunt work. My friend gave him my number since I’m a pretty physical actress, and she thought I resembled you. So I went in to audition with the actor who played the attacker and got the role!
How did you prepare to portray me?
I really just got as much info about what happened to you as I could. John emailed me a clip of you talking about the evening in Rome, so I watched that a few times. Then I met with John and the stunt coordinator to go over the jumps, climbs, etc..; they were so great at making sure I was comfortable with everything.
What was the most challenging part of the role for you?
The most challenging part of portraying you was just making sure I was doing an honest job of emoting what you went through. I have never been attacked, and can only imagine what it must be like…Hopefully, with the little time we had, it came off ok.
You did a lot of stunts playing this role. Did you get any bruises?
As far as the climbing/jumping scene, I must say, it was a blast! The mats that I fell on were huge and puffy-eventually a lot of the crew decided to give it a try;)
Did playing this role make you think differently about sexual assault? How?
Yes-definitely. We (ladies in general) are taught to go along with everything; if he wanted to rape you, let him so you could possibly stay alive…I still don’t know what I’d do in that situation, and I don’t necessarily think one way is better than the other, but I learned that with enough bravery and adrenaline anything is possible! Also, I LOVED that you prosecuted, and continue to encourage women to do so.
Where can we see you next? I’ll be checking in on my double from time to time..Ha!
I just had another acting/stunt job on the film, The Avengers, which will be in theatres next summer. Also, I cohost an ongoing show online, Stupid For Dexter, and chat about the Showtime show, Dexter. It’s on YouTube and iTunes. Thanks so much!
A Fight Back Woman 