Deadly Beauty: Horror’s Scream Queens and Rising Talent: Sarah Nicklin

Deadly Beauty: Horror’s Scream Queens and Rising Talent: Sarah Nicklin

“Sarah Nicklin’s most notable works are a diverse range of indie films that have played in festivals around the world as well as being available on Netflix, and wherever movies are sold.

She has received three “best actress” nominations for her roles in Exhumed, Choices, and Zombie Allegiance.

She got her start in theater, appearing in “Bye Bye Birdie” in 6th grade. She appeared in her first indie film, “La Bolsa”, during her final year of high school. She then graduated from Emerson College with a degree in Theater (in addition to a BA in Marketing and a minor in psychology). During this time she also started extensively working the New England film and theater scene, appearing in around 70 projects in the 5 years she was there before making the move to Los Angeles.”

Location: Los Angeles

Talking With the Dead: 13 Questions with Sarah Nicklin (04/28/2013 on Horror Society)

1. How did you get into the industry?

I’ve wanted to be an actress since I was 8 yrs old and did a bunch of school plays and stuff. I went to Emerson College in Boston for acting and while I was there, I figured that since it was a city, that there had to be some films around that I could try to get involved in – and there were! New England has a great indie film scene! I was recommended to Richard Griffin (who I’ve now done 7 features with) and it’s his films that I’m really known for as they’re the most popular and the ones that people watch and review etc. I didn’t specifically set out to do horror films (all though I have always had a love of the horror genre), but at the indie level, that’s what most people are making, so that’s where I started out. After working on over 70 projects in the 5 years that I was there, I had built up a little bit of “buzz” and decided to make the jump to LA.

2. What Scream Queen inspired you most?

That’s kind of a tough question – depends on who you consider to be a scream queen! I think the most inspiring actresses are the ones that work really hard to build themselves up and carve out a place for themselves in the industry, but also aren’t bitchy or backstabing or shallow in the process. To me, the first person that comes to mind that has done this is Debbie Rochon. I think the work that she gets, her “status” in the community that she has worked really hard to achieve, and also her ability to consistently stay relevant is really inspiring. She’s almost like the horror version of Madonna lol!

I’m also really inspired by actresses who got their start in horror but then moved on to do other things. From working in horror, I know it’s very easy to get stuck here and once you’re labeled a “scream queen” there are a lot of filmmakers in the mainstream who won’t take you seriously. It’s a sad truth of the genre as many of the people in it are really talented and it’s not fair that they loose out on other opportunities just because of a false perception of their abilities. So I also really admire people like Jamie Curtis and Danielle Harris who are able to straddle the line between horror and mainstream and not get stuck doing just one or the other.

3. What are the next couple projects you are working on?

I’m actually kind of in a weird place with that at the moment. I recently lost out on some cool projects due to scheduling issues, which was really frustrating. I’m also in a transitional point where I’m trying to “take it to the next level”, so I’ve had to turn down some work recently, which I’m not used to doing and is also frustrating. There are a few ‘if’ the project happens I’ll be involved, but nothing for sure, which is kind of scary. It’s the first time in a long time where there isn’t something on the horizon that’s set in stone. It’s tough because I literally get depressed and anxious when I don’t have something to work on… so if you know someone who needs an actress….

But on the positive side, “Exhumed” was just released and is getting a lot of really good reviews. “The Salinger Spies” is a web series that was also just released on Blip.tv and “Normal” and “The Fetish Set” should be coming out later on this year.