INTERVIEW: Actress & model, Dani Thompson

- By @TheBlueTook

Talented, curvy, sultry, charismatic, attractive, charming, voluptuous, captivating – the list is endless… but enough about me, we’re here to talk with lovely actress DANI THOMPSON, who has kindly given up some of her precious time to speak to us here at The Slaughtered Bird.

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DANI! Before we start, thank you for sparing a few minutes to answer our childish questions, it’s greatly appreciated. Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Well I’m a London based actress and model. I modelled for 6 years professionally before going to drama school, which I graduated from in 2010 and have been working mostly within the horror genre, which is my favourite, since then. Alongside acting I still do a little bit of modelling and I also write and produce.

I unfortunately couldn’t attend HorrorCon UK a few weekends ago, where you were a guest – even though we officially sponsored it! – but Folklore did (The Slaughtered Bird’s co-owner) and said it was excellent! Did you have a good day?

It was amazing! Such a good event! I’ve done a couple of conventions before but they’re usually more diverse, it was great to do one what was focused solely on horror.

Amongst other things, you were there to promote your new film, Banjo, which we’re all very excited about here! What can you tell us about it?

Well, what can I say? Banjo is basically like a grown up, fucked up Drop Dead Fred. The Writer/Director Liam Regan basically came up with the idea when he had an unfortunate bedroom related accident and the story escalated in to what it is now. It’s definitely original, that I can say, and it’s actually screening at Frightfest on 31st August so you can see it then!

You co-star with Mr Troma himself, Lloyd Kaufman! What’s he like? I’ve never met him, but I like to imagine his entourage is the entire back-catalogue of fucked-up Troma characters. I’m right aren’t I?

Entourage? Haha! Lloyd is actually very down to Earth, he flew in on his own just to shoot scenes on just one day, he’s lovely, I’d met him before but it was the first time I’d worked with him. I was lucky enough to get a scene with him and he was great to work with.

Most of our readers are horror fans and will mainly recognise you as a ‘scream queen’, but many will also know you from modelling gigs for magazines such as Nuts, Zoo, Loaded, FHM, etc. What made you make the leap from modelling to acting?

The modelling industry was changing. I mean most of the lads mags don’t even exist any more but I also felt like I’d done it long enough and wanted new challenges. I always really wanted to be an actress and decided to audition at a drama school, I was accepted and then although I’ve always been a horror fan, I just fell in to horror really, but I’m very glad I did.

I’ve NEVER read such publications (ahem…), but I’ve HEARD a lot of the females featured don’t wear a great deal… I do have a related question….. I’m just taking a moment to reflect………. Why would you say sex and horror are so often and successfully paired in cinema? And what attracted you to the horror genre?

I’m a big slasher fan! I think watching Scream when it was released was what really brought me to love horror. I love that whole 90’s slasher revival, Urban Legend, I Know What You Did Last Summer etc and slasher movies do have rules, one of those rules are that pretty girls often end up naked, just is what it is.

Such an excellent fuckin’ rule…

You now contribute to magazines in a slightly different capacity – can you tell us about your columns?

I have a column in After Dark Digital Magazine - it’s a diary style column where I keep the readers up to date with what I’ve been up to in the horror world.

I also have a column called The Dani Thompson Xperiment in Spacemonsters Magazine - basically Richard, the owner, is a very good friend of mine and it baffles him how I really haven’t seen much horror from before the 90’s and how a lot of the time I’ve managed to see remakes before the originals. He’s basically trying to educate me by having me watch old films and then review them from a modern perspective.

Horror in your native Australia is having a bit of a renaissance of late – Wyrmwood being my favourite of a recent influx. I know you were only a kid when you moved to England, but do you keep a keen eye on what’s happening Down-Under (so to speak)?

I do, my favourite Aussie horror is probably The Loved Ones, that was pretty twisted.

2 of my favourite ‘horror’ flicks of all time are Wake In Fright and Picnic At Hanging Rock, so when I went to live in Aus for a bit I expected horror to be more prevalent than it was – is it a culture thing, meaning Brits are just fucking soulless abominations with no morals?

I think the film industry in general is bigger in the UK not just the horror industry.

Looking back over some of you roles, and co-stars, you MUST have some ace stories?

OOOh, I wouldn’t know where to start. If I told you I’d have to kill you.

Okay, because you’re now a #SlaughteredSister, I’m giving you an unlimited budget to make a horror film. Who directs and stars in it?

So that’s hard! I’d probably have Wes Craven direct and I’d star in it along side some of my favourite horror genre actresses: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Neve Campbell, Tristan Risk and Fairuza Balk. It would be a girl power movie but I might have to have Scott Eastwood, Aleksander Skarsgard or one of the Hemsworths in as a love interest, haha!

My diary’s pretty free, too. Just sayin’.

As well as acting, you’ve also produced a number of films and written a couple – 2014’s SERIAL KALLER and upcoming BAD MOON RISING. How difficult is it to flip between roles and spin all of those plates at once?

Yes, Serial Kaller is actually due for release in December. It’s a bit of a love/hate one for me, we had a nice budget but with that came the loss of a lot of creative control, so the final film is a very long way off the original concept. I’d actually love to remake it with my original script and choice of cast/crew. There are some bits I like but overall it’s not the vision the director and I had. Still, it was a learning curve and everything I learned there helped a lot on Bad Moon Rising - it was made with a fraction of the budget but at least we got to make all of the decisions. BMR has just gone in to edit so will be a little while yet before it’s ready.

I love writing and between acting jobs it’s good to keep busy and be creative and I started producing as a way of getting my scripts made.

With BMR I created a good team so that once all the prep was done and we were on set I had faith in them to keep things running smoothly so I could concentrate on acting. That’s not to say I didn’t have problems to solve, shoot days to change due to weather, locations falling through and having to be replaced and even recasting a ferret - it’s easy to recast an actor but finding a last minute replacement ferret is a job of work! I almost thought I was going to end up with a pet ferret. I’d even found a pink ferret cage online!

I’m currently in the process of turning my first screenplay into a film – is there any pearls of wisdom you can share about the whole process?

Put a lot of time in to pre-production and prepare yourself for all eventualities.

You’ve worked alongside some mates of ours across a few films – Stu Jopia (Cute Little Buggers), also Lydia Kay, Stu Lawson and Charley McDougall (Christmas Slay)! Now’s your chance, DISH THE DIRT!!! 😉

Haha, well there really isn’t any dirt, the horror world is surprisingly friendly.

Fuck, what a cop-out! I’ve already cut my ransom note letters out of your magazines!… er, I mean, my gardening fanzines.

Modelling – done. Writing – done. Acting – done. Producing – done. What’s next, Dani? Footballer? Politician (don’t, I couldn’t stand hating you)? Oo! I’ve got it – Celebrity Masterchef! I LOVE Masterchef…

Well maybe popstar, haha! Just kidding, although I am signed up to do a film called GirlForce and it’s a bit of a cross between The Spice Girls and The Power Rangers, so we have been recording songs for the sound track and they will be released at some point, so I’m getting to live out my teenage Spice Girl dream even if it is just for a movie.

I don’t think I’ll become a footballer. I actually love football, I’m a Norwich City supporter, but I don’t believe in women’s football. I don’t think I’ll become a politician, I’d probably get assassinated pretty quickly due to my strong views. I’m a terrible cook so probably not Masterchef either, Actually that’s not true, I’m not a terrible cook, I just never really cook because I don’t see the point in spending hours in the kitchen just to feed myself. I cook if I have friends over and I actually cook for my dogs as most dog foods are full of sugar and rubbish, but I generally eat on the go most of the time.

I think I’ll stick to making movies but I do have a couple of book projects on the go, neither of which have anything to do with horror, they’re both comedy guides. I also have an idea for a TV series that I want to develop, again, not actually horror.

Where should everyone be clicking to find out more about you, matey?

www.dani-thompson.com

www.facebook.com/danithompsonofficial

@DaniTOfficial

Will you help spread The Slaughtered Bird word around your beautiful, shiny friends?

Of course. X

@TheBlueTook