*Desiree Hall is one of the industry’s best emerging actresses. In just a few short years, Desiree has racked up acting credits on hit television shows such as iCarly, Brothers & Sisters, CSI: Miami, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Teen Wolf. More importantly to us horror fans, Desiree is playing the lead role of “Kayley” in the highly anticipated dark-thriller, Donner Pass. Check out my interview with Desiree Hall below to read all about her involvement with the film before it hits home media markets on January 17, 2012!
Q: To start things off, can you introduce yourself to readers?
D: Hi, everyone! I’m Desiree Hall (pronounced with a long e, not the traditional rae), actress-sometimes model-aspiring producer-hyphen monger. I’m from Tennessee, born and raised just outside Nashville. Before moving to Los Angeles a few years ago, I attended Western Kentucky University.
Q: You may be recognized from your four episode arc on “Teen Wolf.” What was it like being on set of one of MTV’s highest rated shows of 2011?
D: The “Teen Wolf” cast and crew is one of the greatest groups of people that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and my experience on the show was just lovely. It was really fun to watch the show gain in popularity each week and being even a small part of that was really cool. I’m looking forward to watching season 2!
Q: We’re here mostly to talk about Donner Pass. Can you tell readers a little bit about your character in Donner Pass?
D: I play “Kayley” in the film, the responsible one in this group of school friends who are going up to a ski cabin for a getaway weekend. Being the only grown-up in the group, when things start to go very wrong, she is the one who tries to hold everything together when all she wanted to do was have a little fun with her boyfriend for the weekend.
Q: Does “Kayley” bear any resemblance to your personality in real life?
D: Well, I’ve always been told that I am mature for my age, so in that aspect, yes, definitely. I’m not sure that I could have held it together as well as she did, once the you-know-what started hitting the fan. I’m not the best person to have around in cases of emergency!
Q: When you first read the script, what was the biggest quality that really drew you into the project?
D: There were a lot of things that drew me to the script. Getting to play the lead and having a broad character arc was a big, big appeal. It’s fun to work on something that is challenging and Donner Pass was definitely a challenge on a number of different levels. I was also excited to work on a feature with director Elise Robertson. She is such a friend to actors on set and it was nice to feel that sense of trust with her, which I think shows in the final product. It was a great experience, overall.
Q: Shooting a film in a blizzard couldn’t have been the easiest thing to do, but the movie looks great. Have you seen the finished movie yet? If so, what are your reactions?
D: You’re absolutely right! Shooting in real snow and cold and ice is tough! I’m fairly certain that our crew hated us the whole first week we were up there, although we were all friends by the end, thankfully. I have seen the finished movie and I am very proud of it. I saw the first cut and several incarnations during editing and it has really come a long way.
Making movies is a long, hard process and I’m so glad that Donner Pass is getting the attention that it deserves–the team behind it worked tirelessly!
Q: What is the first memory that comes to mind when you think about filming Donner Pass?
D: There are so many things that it would be impossible to pick just one! I would say definitely our first week of shooting stands out for so many reasons. It was cold and we were working insanely long hours and I was wearing Ugg boots as part of my costume, which are quite possibly the worst type of shoes one can wear in snow. I fell about 15 times–most of those were on camera, but got cut out. Which is too bad because that would have made an excellent drinking game for the movie–take a drink each time “Kayley” falls! Everyone would have been wasted 40 minutes into it!
I had fallen so much that by about day 3 the crew guys were like, “You’re really good at the prat fall thing” and I finally had to admit that I just couldn’t keep my feet underneath me. It was pretty embarrassing. By the end of our week in the snow, I was terrified to walk up or down any kind of incline for fear that I was going to actually hurt myself. However, I’ll always look back on the whole experience with fondness. I’m glad that I did it, falling or not.
Q: Where will fans and readers see Desiree Hall in 2012? What are your plans for this year in terms of life and a career?
D: I have no idea! I’m auditioning a lot and really hoping for the best. I would love to be a series regular on a television show and continue to do really fun indie movies–or blockbusters, I’m not picky!! I recently formed a production company and have some very interesting scripts that we are in the process of finding financing for. I’m hoping to get one of them made by the end of the year. I’m also getting married in May, so that’s going to be a fun, new chapter of my life!! I’m taking life as it comes and hoping that the next few months contain more opportunities to do what I love.
*Congratulations on the engagement, Desiree! After seeing your reel on your official website, www.desireehall.com, and seeing Donner Pass several times now, I know your career will just skyrocket in 2012! Thank you for taking the time out to talk to me and congratulations on all the much deserved success! You are an amazing actress!
