Katie Burgess [Interview]

The acting scene in Tulsa has always been pretty slow to be honest. The business in Oklahoma has only just started to pick up in the last few years, which is great! I’m actually moving to Malibu for college at the end of August as I’ll be attending Pepperdine University. I hope to continue acting there as well as learn about the business from all perspectives.

I recently watched the film you appeared in called Gremlin, and honestly have to say that your performance truly blew me away. You went through a lot of crazy dramatic turns with that character. What sort of preparation went into making this character come to life? And how was your experience in making this film?

Gremlin was a wonderful experience for me! It was a very professional environment where everyone was very passionate about and dedicated to their jobs. As far as the character, Anna is a 16 year old girl struggling to find herself and cope with life-altering news. Because I was exactly her age during filming, I could relate to her struggles. Every kid gets frustrated with their parents and, as a teenager, it’s easy to feel very isolated and lost so I channeled my own past feelings and allowed myself to go to those dark places Anna is trapped in. You have to be very aware of emotion during such intense scenes. It was important to me that I channeled multiple emotions at once and conveyed them authentically. Humans are really complex, so in order to make a situation as realistic as possible, you have to know how to be afraid, distraught, and angry all at once.

You also worked with the legendary Academy Award winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. in the family drama The Lamp. What was it like working with a legendary figure like Gossett? Did he have any wisdom to pass on to you?

I was pretty young when I worked with him so I don’t think I fully understood just who I was working with. He’s such sweet man and he’s giant! His stand-in had to wear platform shoes just to reach his height. He loved to tell stories. There were a lot of kids on that set so he entertained us with funny stories between takes. I look back now and I wish I could have picked his brain more about his experience in the business, but as a ten-year-old, I just saw him as a fun grandfather figure.

What would you consider to be your dream role?

I love a good challenge. A character with different sides and a deep story is always fun. It’s thrilling to me to be thrown into a situation I would probably not experience in my life and find ways to make it real and interesting. Probably someone very different from who I actually am.

So what is next for you? Anything you would like to tell our readers about that you have coming up?

I just filmed another movie with the makers of Gremlin called The Jurassic Games. I’m super excited for this film so definitely stay tuned for more information! I play the main antagonist, which was so much fun as I was the youngest person on set. Ryan Bellgardt is such an amazing director so getting to work with him and his crew twice was a privilege.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

That is a really hard question haha. I smile literally all the time. This is going to sound really creepy, but I love observing people, especially kids. I love watching interactions between people because I just think they are really interesting. I actually think this has helped a lot in my acting, knowing how people react to certain things or interact with each other. I would say the last time I smiled was probably when I was listening to a conversation between little kids at the pool. They’re so funny! It really makes me miss being little.

Check out this trailer for Gremlin featuring Katie Burgess which is available on VOD now: