By Lewis Knight

Published: Monday, 15 August 2022 at 12:00 am

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Julia Stiles is ready to take on a horror icon.

The Hollywood star appears in the all-new prequel to the hit 2009 horror film Orphan, which starred Isabelle Fuhrman as a murderous child who hid a major secret – that she was actually a grown woman posing as a child and committing murderous crimes.

Now, in Orphan: First Kill, we go back in time to follow the eponymous orphan Leena Klammer – played once again by Fuhrman, following her dramatic escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility and how she goes on to pose as the long-missing child Esther Albright.

Reunited with Esther’s family, including the girl’s wealthy mother Tricia, the murderous woman finds more than she bargained for.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Riviera star Julia Stiles revealed why she chose to star as the privileged Tricia Albright in the prequel to one of the most beloved horror films of the last two decades.

“I find it’s so hard to talk about Tricia because there’s a lot that I don’t want to give away,” teases Stiles, “but I think that what they’ve done really well in this prequel is you have what we know from the first film, is that there’s this girl who’s actually a grown woman, sort of posing as a young girl. And you know, she can go into a family and manipulate them and wreak havoc on them. But then when she’s absorbed into Tricia’s family, it’s kind of like she’s met her match because Tricia will protect her family at all costs.”

As viewers question how far Tricia will go for her family, Stiles describes her character’s personality as very outward-thinking.

Stiles notes: “I think there’s this sort of archetype of the kind of woman that Tricia is – very involved in her family and fundraising, you know, likes to keep up appearances. Maybe we would call it Type A, I don’t know…I think movies like this hinge on grounded, real performances, because the premise is so out there, right? So in order for the audience to really buy into it and get carried away in the story, you need to treat these characters like relatable human beings, so I tried to focus on how much she cares about her family…I tried to focus on that as opposed to like, what she looks like from the outside.”

Stiles revealed that she did not draw “any parallels” between herself and Tricia as she is a “complete person unto herself”.

The Bourne franchise star did note that she is not often drawn to watching horror films, however.

“I think in terms of what I watch at the time, I was like, ‘I can only watch comedies. The world is crazy enough as it is I can’t stomach it [so] I can only watch comedies.’ But also, in terms of being an actress, I appreciate horror films when they’re really good because I know that people get a delight out of, you know, being scared or getting as close to your darkest fears as you can.”

Stiles continues: “But for being an actress and being in the movies, I think about what I look for and why I wanted to be part of this one as opposed to any other horror movie, [and it’s] because of the psychological part of it. I didn’t want to be just running around in distress all the time or being running scared from the villain, and this movie layers it so well that there’s a lot more going on.

“As I said, Esther has kind of met her match when she comes into Tricia’s home and so for me, that character play is really challenging and fun, and whether it’s a horror genre or any other kind of movie, I still felt like there was a lot for me to do and a lot of clever storytelling.”

On Esther and Tricia’s very complicated relationship, she says: “Well, Esther comes back into Tricia’s life and as much as Trisha is desperate to heal and have her family be whole again, she’s looking at this little girl going like, ‘Wait, something’s really off here. And I can’t quite put my finger on it. But this doesn’t feel right.’ And then how she handles it is a whole other story.”

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One key encounter sees Esther and Tricia go head-to-head in a rather visceral scene later in the film.

Stiles certainly enjoyed the more physical aspects of the confrontation, noting: “It was very much choreographed and treated like a stunt, but yeah, it was fun. And then we also broke it down into sections because, you know, it carries them through the entire kitchen. 

“I think the interesting thing about Tricia, is that – maybe this doesn’t give it away – when she figures out what’s going on with Esther, she doesn’t tell her husband; she keeps it to herself and then handles it just in her own way.”

Considering that actress Isabelle Fuhrman is now in her mid-twenties and no longer as young as she appeared in the first film, body doubles were used in wider shots to disguise her true size – along with platform boots for Stiles herself.

On filming with the doubles, Stiles notes: “Doubles, generally, you would be acting with them if it was like wider shots and more establishing shots. 

“So the more interactive scenes were with Isabelle, and the only thing that was really distracting is that they’d have to either put me up in platform boots, which is very embarrassing, or Isabelle would have to kind of like, squat down. That took a bit of getting used to.”

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Stiles adds when pressed on the boots themselves: “They got bigger and bigger. They just kept growing. And I was like, ‘You guys, this is so embarrassing.’ We call them the Gene Simmons boots. And I think they got up to like adding five or seven inches, you know, and I’m already tall.”

Instead of making her feel powerful on the set, she said it made her feel like a total “goofball” towering above everyone else.

Now, as she takes on this colourful new role, Stiles has been in the industry for almost three decades, but which of her numerous characters does she get recognised most for?

“It depends on the demographic,” she notes, but says it is often the 1990s teen classic 10 Things I Hate About You, which she co-led with the late Heath Ledger.

She comments: “And that’s really, really nice because that was a movie that was my first, sort of, big break and, and it was a movie that really spoke to me and so for, you know, however, many years later, people still remember it, it really means a lot.”

Stiles also cites Save The Last Dance and then notes that “it’s usually like the older white guys that like the Bourne movies.”

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Having worked with numerous talented directors, Stiles has learned a lot from masters of their craft.

“I’ve been really lucky. I’ve had so many great experiences – more great experiences and more good experiences than bad,” she says. “[Bourne franchise director] Paul Greengrass is really inspiring, the way that he treated the cast and the crew and just his approach to managing a set.

“Oh, Lorene Scafaria, who directed Hustlers, the same thing. She had such a clear, interesting vision for that movie. And then also the way she handled herself on set. She never had to raise her voice. She commanded so much respect. She had a plan, things kept moving, but she was also just really respectful and caring and motherly towards her actors and the cast.”

Fans of Stiles were excited when she revealed she would be making her own directorial feature debut for an adaptation of the acclaimed novel Wish You Were Here by Renée Carlino.

The film follows a woman named Charlotte who is searching for love and has a night of romance with a man named Adam who goes on to ghost her. However, Charlotte later discovers that Adam is terminally ill.

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When asked about the project, the Save The Last Dance star reveals: “Well, it feels a little bit silly to talk about because we haven’t gotten into production yet. We’re very close. And we’ve had most of our cast, and we’ve raised most of our budget. 

“One of the difficulties if you’re an actress trying to be a director also is that I happily keep getting pulled away back to the [acting] jobs. But with Wish You Were Here, I’ve been looking for something to direct as a feature for a long time and the book jumped out at me because it’s a romance and I’m kind of a romantic at heart. But there are moments of comedy and tragedy, so I like that it’s not one thing, and I think it’s a story about connection and finding another person that you can really connect to and be present with.

“Nowadays, because we’re so isolated from each other and have all these conversations over Zoom, and people are online dating instead of actually meeting in person, I think we’re all really feeling disconnected and looking for that way to connect with another human being. I think there’s still hope for that.”

Orphan: First Kill is released in UK cinemas on 19th August 2022. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide or visit our Movies hub for all the latest news.

The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.

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