The star of the new movie “Latency”, Alexis Ren, recently visited BeyondThePines in Italy where we sat down with her to ask her a few questions about her new movie and upcoming projects.
How did you prepare for the role and what did you learn about yourself during the process?
Every character is different, it’s why I like acting as it feels like a new “me” on every set, but then when I read Jen I realized how similar we are — the best friend in the whole world, the comedic relief in this psychological thriller and she’s super caring and the more she loves you the more she bullies you so this was my first role where I brought all of me to it and it was very satisfying.
Any favorite scene the audience should pay special attention to? (No spoilers!)
There’s two — a beautiful heartfelt scene with me and Sasha, it was a very beautiful moment on set, everyone was quiet and you could feel everyone’s presence when we were having that moment. At the end of this scene, I really felt like the character Jen in that moment.
And there’s also a few jokes that I said and I was so proud of myself for nailing as I went to see the movie with a couple of friends and they were all giggling at the jokes I cracked!
Mental health is a big theme for you in this movie and with WeAreWarriors, what lessons do you want audiences to take away from this?
I want the audience to take away some big questions that I think we as a society need to ask — am I utilizing this technology because it’s convenient or because it aligns with my values? The movie speaks to unhealed trauma coming up through technology and I think that’s so relevant right now as it’s happening with social media and now Neuralink is coming along so it’s more important than ever to really become aware of our patterns and take the proper path forward.
You’ve achieved so much and now a lot of people, especially young women, look up to you, what’s one big life lesson you have for them?
To give people around you the grace of change because when you give others the grace of change, you give yourself the grace of change and I think that’s what the world is asking for right now. For example, when I wanted to get into acting, it was taken very negatively which I expected, but I don’t think anyone should be held to the past versions of ourselves, we should be free to evolve. And we should all help our friends grow and push others to achieve their dreams!
Are there any upcoming projects in the pipeline and how do you see these projects challenging traditional narratives?
I need a “why” with everything I do so for acting it’s all about waiting for the right project to come along, but in my entrepreneurial journey, we’re going to try some new things with WeAreWarriors, more in-person events and schools.
And for me personally, I’m excited to keep learning new things, doing things that scare me — for example, surfing feels like it should’ve been in my life so long ago because it’s scary, fun and it’s simply the most spiritual thing I’ve ever done.
I’m also working on a podcast, which I felt nervous to do as the weight of doing a podcast on your own felt very overwhelming and perhaps not something I could sustain, but then my God-sister Allie, who is also co founder of WeAreWarriors, suggested we do it together and that felt right as we can lean on each other for interviews.
And it’s exciting for me to share my personal friends with the world, although I might have a vulnerability hangover when it releases, as I’d rather give myself in that way instead of the fragmented social media version that doesn’t feel good anymore.
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