Sarah Paulson returns to the horror genre as a mother trying to protect her children from real and seemingly supernatural threats in Hold your breath. After initially getting her start on Broadway in the mid-to-late 90s, Paulson would steadily begin to gain acclaim on screen with the likes of the cult classic TV show American Gothic And her Golden Globe-nominated turn in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Paulson would eventually become a household name thanks to her frequent collaborations with Ryan Murphy, having starred in the first 10 seasons of American Horror StoryAs well as two of these American Crime Story installments, among other roles.
Paulson stars in Hold your breath As Margaret Bellum, a mother of two living in 1930s Oklahoma, an era known as the Dust Bowl, in which the southern middle states of the US it. are ravaged by powerful dust storms. As she tries to keep the family fed and healthy on their dying farmland while her husband heads to the city to look for work, the trio are surprised by the arrival of Wallace, a stranger who claims to be friends with the husband. However, as mysterious events begin to happen around them, Margaret must do all she can to keep her family safe, potentially even from herself.
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Along with Paulson, the ensemble Hold your breath throw incl The bear Stars Ebon Moss-Bacharach as Wallace, My Best Friend’s ExorcismAmiah Miller as Margaret’s eldest daughter Rose, Alona Jane Robbins as her youngest daughter Ollie, Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford and The old manS. Bill Heck. An atmospheric chiller as a moving family drama and timely exploration of the importance of trust in an environmental catastrophe, the movie has a lot to offer beyond just its horror genre basis.
In anticipation of the movie’s release, Screen Rant Interviewed Sarah Paulson to discuss Hold your breathWhat drew you to the period horror drama, the parallels between its setting and the COVID-19 pandemic, how working on it with Moss-Bacharach came in handy when she joined the cast of The bearAnd how she pushed for Miller to be cast in the movie after seeing an early audition tape of hers.
Paulson found Hold your breaths COVID-19 parallels to be “Really compelling”
“… Nothing could be a higher-spot environment or world than that.”
Screen Rant: I loved it Hold your breath. It is so emotional and gripping from start to finish. What was it about Carrie’s script and your character that drew you to want to be a part of it?
Sarah Paulson: Oh, gosh, you know, I’m no stranger to the genre, so I’ve always been drawn to it for various reasons, but mainly because I feel like you just have the biggest playground to play in, in terms of Extreme and stakes. You are always dealing with something, usually in the world of living or dying and that, of course, nothing can be a higher stake environment or world than that.
But I found that I was really, really interested in the time and place that the movie was set in, and the idea of ​​something that actually happened in our country’s history that you wouldn’t often think of as a setting for a movie. In this genre. But for me, once you learn a little bit about it, and you understand what the reality was that these people lived through, nothing could be more terrifying, and not so different from what we were dealing with at the height of the pandemic, In terms of the air you breathe can be dangerous. That was a really compelling thing for me too.
Paulson’s experience with Moss-Bacharach was a lifesaver when made The bear
“…I was just absolutely starstruck by everyone.”
Also, I’m a big fan of The bearSo I love that I get to see her reunited with Ebon in the film. What was it like to do that, especially since he’s playing someone a little more reserved in his kind of villain in this one?
Sarah Paulson: What’s so funny is that we shot the movie before I was on the bear. So, Ebon and I knew each other, really, in a kind of redundant way – New York, Hardscrabble, Coming Up, Actor Time, and then we made this movie together. And then, I went to shoot the bear, and it was a big relief for me, because we did something in the movie where we were really doing some wild stuff together. And I, too, am such a massive fan of the bear that when I went on the set, I was just absolutely starstruck by everyone.
I just couldn’t believe I was there, and seeing his face was – although I, of course, cherish his performance and love his performance as Richie, he was still someone else to me before. So, I just had to be so relieved that I had a friendly familiar face. Not that they aren’t friendly! I was just so starstruck, I could barely look anyone in the eye, and at least I could just focus on Ebon and be like, “We were in Santa Fe together, doing a lot of s–t in the dust.” So, come on. [Chuckles]
Miller’s Agent Slipped Paulson Her Audition Tape (& Paulson Was Enthralled)
“… I wrote to Carrie and Will in this kind of panic frenzy …”
I also love your relationship with Amiah and Alona in the film. It really feels genuine and authentic. How did you build that dynamic with them?
Sarah Paulson: Yeah, it was very, very easy because Emiah and I share an agent, and she slipped me her audition before it would go to Carrie and Will, and I expressed myself. She was so self-possessed and so emotionally available and present and incredible, and her look was so right for the time. It was really special. So, I wrote to Carrie and Will in this kind of panicked frenzy, just like, “I think we found the girl!” They watched the tape, and they completely agreed and said that it was just so wonderful.
And she was great in the movie, and she’s great to work with, just really special. And Alona, ​​I watched her audition too, and here’s this kid who had never acted before, ever, and was just the most attractive creature. I just can’t take my eyes off her, and she just can’t tell a lie. It was a really special thing to have a front row seat to both of these young actresses, sort of starting their careers, and feeling like I really got to see something that was really special.
About Hold your breath
Oklahoma, 1930s. The Bellum family house rests in a valley of dirt as clouds of dust blot out the sun. Margaret (Sarah Paulson) and her two daughters, Rose (Amiah Miller) and Ollie (Alona Jane Robbins), tend to their sparse farm while Margaret’s husband is left in pursuit of work. As they struggle to survive the radiant Dust Bowl environment, a mysterious stranger (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) arrives, threatening all they know and love. But is the threat a closer one?
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Source: Screen Rant Plus
In 1930s Oklahoma, during the devastating dust storms, a woman becomes convinced that an evil presence is threatening her family.