Welcome to Marwen

Based on the graphic novel by Rick Remender, “Deadly Class” is one the most anticipated series of the new year for comic book-loving television viewers. With an incredible ensemble cast that represents the future of Hollywood, the Syfy action-fest takes place at a high school for assassins during the 1980s and is filled to the brim with counterculture references, many of which are still relevant today.

This time out we’re chatting with Siobhán Williams, who plays Brandy Lynn, to discuss the fears of taking on such a controversial character, why she ultimately decided to tackle Brandy, and the reason she’d rather be playing Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC than chasing fame.

TrunkSpace: Between the release of “Welcome to Marwen” and the first season of “Deadly Class” kicking off, we would imagine this is a very exciting time for you. Is it necessary to strike a balance between enjoying the moment and suppressing expectations, because this does seem like a business where so much is out of your control once a project calls wrap.
Williams: Thank you! It’s definitely been exciting. For sure, there is so much that can go wrong within a project. It’s a miracle to even get a script green-lit, and once that happens there are about seven million different roadblocks that can set it back or stop it from ever seeing the light of day. Even if it does come out, your scenes could be cut or role diminished, any number of things. You can never have expectations in this industry – you have to remain present and enjoy the process. Art is never finished, only abandoned, so I think every artist needs to learn to enjoy the process. I don’t think any decent artist can look back at their completed work and say “it’s perfect, I wouldn’t change a thing.” But truly I think this is something that can be applied to the human condition as a whole – so much is out of our control in life, we just have to do our best and do what fulfills us and hope for the best.

TrunkSpace: Beyond the great cast, “Deadly Class” also has a number of people behind the camera with a track record for bringing compelling storytelling to the masses, including the Russo Brothers. Did you view your time on “Deadly Class” as just as much of an education as you did a job? What did you absorb from the people around you that you’ll apply to your career moving forward?
Williams: I view every job I have as an education. I learned most of what I know about acting and film/TV on set – asking questions within each department and observing the people around me. “Deadly Class” was a particularly inspiring environment because everyone on set seemed to be striving to learn. I think the most admirable people are those who are open-minded, egoless, and always endeavoring to learn and ask questions. Those are the people who are the most intelligent and successful because they just suck up information like a sponge. People who are cocky and close-minded never grow or evolve. I have a real love for cameras and photography, so I’d say what I learned most on “Deadly Class” was regarding technical directing. I watched all of our episodic directors closely and took note of their processes.

TrunkSpace: Your character Brandy Lynn may prove to be a bit controversial. She says and does things that will make many people do spit takes while watching. Was there a part of you that was hesitant to take on a character that people will love to hate?
Williams: Absolutely, I was hesitant. I’m still pretty scared of Brandy. I remember having a lot of conversations with my boyfriend about how it would affect my career if the show blew up and I became known for portraying a racist. Would the world hate me? But then I read the comics and discovered how intelligent and highly political they were. I realized that “Deadly Class” is (among other things) a commentary on how flawed the system is – how the wealth gap is fucking up America, how corporate greed is fucking up America. And I realized that I owe it to 2019 to portray a character that is a real-world villain. People like Brandy exist. They are everywhere, coming out of the woodwork especially now that they’ve been enabled and endorsed by the political climate in this country. People are mad that Brandy doesn’t look like J.K. Simmons in “Oz.” She doesn’t instantly look terrifying. She doesn’t look like a monster, but she is one. She’s the kind of person that we should be terrified of in real life. A seemingly innocuous, harmless individual with hatred boiling under the surface waiting for the first opportunity to strike. And if we are upset to see a fictional teenage girl spewing her parent’s indoctrinated fascist hatred on a television show but are fine electing representatives who do the same, well – that just goes to show how badly this story needs to be told.

TrunkSpace: On the opposite side of that coin, from a performance standpoint, is bad sometimes good? And by that we mean, when you’re able to inhabit a character with traits so far removed from societal norm, does it make your time on set more fantastical?
Williams: I wouldn’t say that playing a fascist is fantastical. But from an acting standpoint, the further a character is from myself the more challenging and therefore more interesting it is to play. I never wanted to be an actor who just played myself – but on television. I never wanted to be in shows where I could “just look hot” and read the lines in a minimalist and soapy teen way. I’ve always wanted to be a character actor, and travel as far from myself in as many ways as possible – and playing Brandy definitely does that. Roles that require research, a different era, a different accent, a new skill – those are things that draw me to projects. And somehow, amazingly, “Deadly Class” provided me with all of the above.

In terms of playing a villain – I do have to say that villains are often my favorite characters in shows. Christopher Heyerdahl (who plays The Swede in “Hell on Wheels”) is one of my favorite villains of all time. Watching him was so maddening it was almost cathartic. I don’t know if people will love to hate Brandy – or if they’ll just hate to hate her. But I guess we will see.

TrunkSpace: Beyond the character work, there’s also a lot of stunt work involved in your portrayal of Brandy Lynn. How does the physical aspect of the job enhance your on-set experience? When you know you’re walking into a stunt-heavy day, is it exciting, daunting or a mixture of both?
Williams: It’s so exciting! I love it. The only time it’s daunting is when I’m still in pain from stunt rehearsals like two days before. I love the challenge that choreography provides, and I love feeling strong, and one thing I love about Brandy is her fighting style. She isn’t technical like Saya or balletic like Maria, she’s just fucking savage. She does whatever it takes to win, and it’s not finessed, it’s just scrappy.

TrunkSpace: You have a dance background. Does that skill set work to your advantage when learning and perfecting a particular fight sequence or on-camera stunt?
Williams: I think so – my memory for choreography helps, and having a lot of flexibility and core strength that I’ve retained from ballet.

TrunkSpace: “Deadly Class” is based on a graphic novel. Comics continue to be a well that Hollywood taps into, both for film and television adaptation. As an actress, what is it like having that source material (and existing audience!) available to you, but at the same time, not having the pressure of stepping into a brand that the masses have been exposed to yet, like the Spider-Man or Batman universes?
Williams: Oh, it’s awesome. It’s great having the creator of this entire world (Rick Remender) to guide us. The comics are amazing to be consistently referring back to for information and backstory, and for tone. And the fact that Brandy hasn’t been as elaborated on gives me creative freedom to enhance and add to her.

TrunkSpace: If “Deadly Class” becomes a smash hit and it catapults you to a new level of fame and recognition, is that something that you would welcome? Is fame a part of the equation, or is it a necessary evil to pursue your dreams in this industry?
Williams: Umm. That’s a tough question, and something I try not to think about. Fame isn’t something I’ve ever wanted – acknowledgment of work, that’s something that would be nice I guess. But fame? I dunno. I’m a pretty insular person and the concept of fame is uncomfortable to me. I think that some celebrities invite fame, and in order to be on the front of the tabloids and be really famous you have be working damn hard for it – paying a publicist and doing tons of interviews and photoshoots and going to the clubs where celebs go to be “seen” – I mean, I think it takes conscious effort, and there’s just so many things I’d rather be doing. Like volunteering with animals or hanging with my cats or playing Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC. I am a huge video game fan and RDR2 on PC is one of my absolute favorites. I even like playing with my friend who likes using some of the fantastic RDR2 PC mods out there to get even more out of this classic game. But maybe I’m wrong. I dunno. Maybe fame shows up uninvited sometimes.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Williams: Working with Steve Carell and Bob Zemeckis was definitely one of them. Realizing that maybe I can use this career for good and help raise awareness/money for causes that are important to me is the biggest one. That’s ongoing though.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Williams: Dude, no. Messing with the time/space continuum never goes over well. Have you watched “Back to the Future”?!

“Deadly Class” premieres January 16 on Syfy.

“Welcome to Marwen” may be one of the more visually unique projects to come out of Hollywood in some time, but the voice of the film – the story and how that story unfolds – is nearly just as rare. Harkening back to the movie-making days of the late 1980s and 1990s, the film is a feel-good, character-driven escape from superheroes and end of days disasters. For star Falk Hentschel, who plays “villain” Hauptsturmführer Ludwig Topf, that is the exact kind of project that inspired him to pursue a career in the creative arts in the first place.

We recently sat down with Hentschel to discuss hanging up his dance shoes, taking direction from Robert Zemeckis, and how “Welcome to Marwen” saved him.

TrunkSpace: Your professional career began in dance, but from what we understand, your dream was always to act. Was there ever a moment where you felt that acting was taking a backseat and is that what prompted you to pursue your dream with a new focus?
Hentschel: Yes, absolutely. From when I was 14 years old ‘til about 21 there wasn’t too much acting opportunity in my life. I had shifted my focus onto dance in the hopes that the journey would lead me back to acting. I always spent time on filmmaking somehow, whether it was practicing monologues, getting more familiar with different American accents, or studying my favorite movies over and over again, but dance was the bigger focus in those years. But there came a point, once I had been in LA for a little while, where I realized that I needed to shift my focus 100 percent to filmmaking. It came to me when I auditioned for Justin Timberlake’s “FutureSex/LoveShow” tour. That would have been the pinnacle for my dance career and it was pretty much the only thing left that I wanted to do as a dancer. When I didn’t get the gig, I decided it was time to go back to my childhood dreams and passions – filmmaking.

From one day to the next, I canceled all my classes at Debbie Reynolds (Dance Studio), let my agent know that I would no longer pursue a career as a dancer/choreographer and pretty much hung up my dance shoes.

TrunkSpace: Your new film “Welcome to Marwen” entertains, but it also is saying something, which to us, is always the most powerful form of art – one that can leave an impact in multiple ways. As a performer, what does it mean to be involved in a project that is accomplishing more than just ticket sales?
Hentschel: For me that’s the ultimate goal. It’s honestly the only type of project I want to be doing. Unfortunately it has become very rare to have a project like that come your way. Growing up, I have always been inspired to think, feel and act differently after coming out of a movie theater. Sometimes very significantly so, sometimes more subtly, but no matter what, most movies back then inspired me.

So to now be a part of a film that has the potential to really move people and make them think about things in a different way is something I’m very grateful for. It’s a dream come true and has set a new standard for me as far as what I’m looking to do in the future. I truly hope people are as inspired and affected by the film as I was making it.

TrunkSpace: The subject matter is heavy at times. Other than pronouncing your character’s name – Hauptsturmführer Ludwig Topf – what was the most difficult aspect of discovering and slipping into the skin of this particular guy? What did you struggle with throughout the process of becoming the “villain” of the film?
Hentschel: (Laughter) Yeah, the character’s name is a mouthful, isn’t it?

Quite honestly, Hauptsturmführer Topf was not the biggest challenge. Topf is an old-school villain and on top of that, a doll. That allows an actor to really play around and be larger than life. Also playing in the MoCap world brought a certain freedom to acting that I had not experienced before. Everything other than your fellow actors had to be created in your mind.

It was “the thug” that beats Mark into a coma that was the real challenge to connect to although he has less scenes and less “to do.” He was the one that occupied my mind most. I can not play a character without understanding and relating to them, especially in this case since it is a true story. I truly believe that all humans come from a source of love and that all of us are spending our lives seeking love. The “villains” not only in our stories but also in our lives are usually just very, very hurt people that are longing for love. It’s a sad thing if you remember that those villains were beautiful babies once and someone’s child and had all the potential for greatness. Long story short, I decided that my “thug” character maybe related much more to Mark than we think and that the reason he almost killed Mark was jealousy and longing. Mark had a courage to truly be himself, even in front of these dangerous men. The “thug” probably wished he could have been this courageous and honest himself. He felt threatened by Mark and therefor lashed out. It took a long time for me to find this angle. I’m chuckling now, ‘cause on screen it probably doesn’t matter but it mattered to me.

TrunkSpace: Helping to shape your performance throughout the course of the film was none other than director Robert Zemeckis, an icon of the industry. What did he help to teach you about yourself as a performer on this film that perhaps you didn’t know you were capable of before your first day on set?
Hentschel: Bob is an incredible communicator. He knows his story down to the smallest details. He gently guides you when needed but also lets you do your thing.

The best gift that Bob gave me ultimately though was trust. In both directions. It was so easy to trust Bob every step of the way. I mean, come on, he is my childhood hero, and yet at the same time, I felt that he trusted me to take care of my job, which is a big deal for someone who grew up on “Back to the Future,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Forrest Gump.” It makes you feel like you belong. He trusted his entire team every step of the way. It made everyone give their all every single moment of the shoot. You don’t wanna let someone down that believes in you. Often times people in Hollywood use fear to get people to follow them. It’s refreshing when it’s encouragement and trust instead. It was everything and more than I had imagined it being.

TrunkSpace: Visually the film is so unique. What was your reaction when you saw yourself brought to life as a doll?
Hentschel: I haven’t seen the film yet but from what I saw in my ADR sessions it was awesome. Very trippy. There are some sequences I have not seen yet that I can’t wait to see come to life.

TrunkSpace: For the audience, the most memorable aspect of a film is the finished project, but we would imagine for you, it’s the process of seeing it all come together. What was the biggest highlight of being involved in the film thus far – the moment that you’ll carry with you through the rest of your life/career?
Hentschel: In the second trailer for “Welcome to Marwen,” there is a moment where the song goes, “I got dreams in my head and they won’t go.” That sums up the whole experience to me. A little before “Welcome To Marwen,” I was pretty down about my career and about Hollywood in general. The type of movies that got me to dream of being an actor were no longer made and the experience to be a professional in Hollywood came with many aspects that are soul crushing. The flame of my dreams was dimming and I was very depressed. “Welcome To Marwen,” thanks to Bob, the producers, the cast and crew, delivered exactly what I had always thought Hollywood to be – creative playground for dreamers. Everyone playing together trying to create something beautiful. I walked away from this film having renewed belief in myself and the industry, singing, “I got dreams in my head and they won’t go” again.

TrunkSpace: You’re giving life to a bad dude in “Welcome To Marwen,” but you’re also familiar with playing heroes having portrayed “Hawkman” in The CW’s DC Universe. Is character diversity one of the draws of getting to be an actor? Does the variety keep it interesting, and is that why actors are so concerned about being typecast?
Hentschel: That’s a great question. Personally for me the answer is YES and YES. The whole point for me of being an actor is to be able to experience more than one life, even if it’s just for a brief moment in time. To get a little insight into someone other than you. To do things you would never get to do in real life.

The typecast thing is something I’ve always dreaded and have tried to avoid. Sometimes it’s nice to come back to a “type” because you feel like there is more to explore there than you were able to do before. But I don’t wanna get stuck playing the same thing over and over again. I long for new discoveries and new challenges, so I try to keep it fresh as much as I can.

TrunkSpace: Does “Welcome To Marwen” present you in a way that you think an audience – or those in a position to cast roles – have yet to see you in? Is Hauptsturmführer Ludwig Topf unlike anyone we have seen you inhabit thus far in your career?
Hentschel: I started my career playing villains, so it’s not a brand new thing to see me do. But I wonder how “Topf” will come across. After all, I’m playing a doll brought to life by Mark’s imagination, so of course I’m hoping that there will be little surprises here and there. Maybe I even get a few chuckles out of people at times. That would be lovely.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Hentschel: “Welcome to Marwen.” I’ve grown a ton through having had the privilege to work with such incredible talent, I’ve made wonderful life long friends and the experience revived my love for filmmaking. In a sense, it saved me.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Hentschel: I don’t think I would. It’s like opening presents under the Xmas tree before Xmas. I would rob myself of the discovery process and then when Xmas comes it wouldn’t be as delicious anymore. I believe that we’re always right where we’re meant to be, ready for what’s coming to us, for better or worse. I want to trust life to deliver its goods to me at its own pace.

“Welcome To Marwen” opens December 21.