John Carpenter

As her turn as ‘Dana Haines,’ the ill-fated podcaster in David Gordon Green’s 2018 hit film Halloween garnered her a nomination in the category of ‘Most Frightened Performance’ at this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, we recently sat down with the British actress to discuss the event, her working relationship with the grand dame of final girls Jamie Lee Curtis, and her own life, post working on the most successful slasher film of all time.

“It was a load of bullocks,” playfully quipped Rees over coffee in Beverly Hills of her loss to fellow nominee Sandra Bullock, the latter who took home the MTV award for her appearance in Netflix’s 2018 film Bird Box. “But honestly, it was actually quite an honor to lose to her. Because it’s Sandra Bullock. From Speed. The film that I grew up with and watched on repeat.”

Rees, who was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, continued of the award show, “It was quite fun. Sandra did an excellent speech. And I sat at our table with another nominee. Victoria Pedretti from The Haunting of Hill House. We had had a riot, losing together!”

Of the event itself, “They give you a lot of free popcorn and M&Ms and Milk Duds and Starbursts, so you’re high on sugar plus champagne, on top of all that you’ve got Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson dancing with a chorus of dancers surrounding him to (the Queen song) ‘We Will Rock You.’ So it all felt quite surreal.”

Having arrived on the carpet June 15^th for the show’s taping at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, attired in an elegant black and white dress, the actress offered (when informed of other outlet’s descriptions of her as being “polished”), “Ooh, I appreciate that. I scrubbed up a lot since crawling around on a public bathroom floor!”

“It was made by my mother-in-law, Pamela Barish,” the recently married Rees continued of the dress and the event. “She has an all-female run and locally-made dress boutique in Venice, California. And she makes really elegant, form fitting, flattering dresses. And I was just so thrilled to be repping for Halloween. I don’t know how long this MTV category has been getting a nod, but finally horror is sneaking its way into award ceremonies, bit by bit, and that’s cool, right? It’s about time, because some of the most politically charged films are hidden within the horror genre. And I mean, while that’s obvious to us, maybe it’s not to the Academy.”

Of being recognized for her portrayal of investigative journalist Haines, which culminates in the character’s brutal murder in a gas station bathroom at the hands of Myers, Rees said, “I was recognized once at the post office and the bloke said, ‘You remind of that girl that hit her head on the loo!’ Which I did, because I had very little spatial awareness in that scene. It was an accident, but they kept it in (the movie). It was a real clonker!”

What wasn’t a real ‘clonker’ was working with Halloween lead Jamie Lee Curtis, who Rees recalls as being, “Just really inspiring, because she was so in character that any Jamie Lee Curtis left in her had  totally dissolved, and I felt that I was dealing with a very fragile woman (Laurie Strode) who I couldn’t help but feel for.”

“And,” continued Rees of Curtis, who originated the role of Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s 1978 original and who has essayed it four times since, “she’s so willing to help and adjust, from the smallest of details. Like, if anything was wrong or the continuity wasn’t quite right, she’d step in and move something out of the way; nothing was above or beyond her wanting the very best for the film. She effortlessly adjusted to every single direction that David gave her, it made us feel part of a very strong team.”

Another ‘pinch me’ moment for Rees was the monumental box office success of the film.

“I’m still in shock,” reflected the actress of Halloween, which to date has earned $255 million at the global box office. “It still hasn’t really sunk in to be honest. I’m still like, whoa, those are numbers I can’t comprehend.”

With that type of success, it’s no wonder that the Halloween fan-base has embraced her as an addition to the franchise’s family.

“It’s been lovely,” commented Rees, whose first convention was the heavily attended H40: 40 Years of Terror event held last October in Pasadena, CA. “Every time I go to a convention, it feels like a family reunion. Everyone’s lovely and I really enjoy chatting to them. A year on, and people still seem to be giving their upmost support!”

As for what’s next on her filmic plate, Rees revealed that she’s booked a role in a feature shooting later this year in the UK, although she was mum on the title.

“I get to play a really fun character in a British psychological thriller,” she offered. “It’s a genre bending film, full of 90’s-come-early-naughties nostalgia and I cannot wait”. 

As for other ventures, a return to the stage, on which Rees practiced her craft in community theatre (before a term on the Royal Court Theatre Young Writers Program, followed by attending Lee Strasberg Theatre School in New York, prior to booking her role in Halloween) is eminent.

“It’s a play written by Amiri Baraka,” concluded Rees of the production, which will be mounted this fall in Los Angeles. “He was a radical African-American artist, poet and dramatist especially in the ‘60s and ‘70s. And the play ‘Dutchman’ deals with subject matter being quite similar to (the film) Get Out. It’s being directed by Amiri’s protégé, Harmony Holiday, who’s a poet and dancer. That’s what’s being talked about currently, and the character of Lula is just such an honor to play. She’s twisted and bad. So, so bad. But it’s just a deeply challenging and important piece of theatre.”

For all things Rhian Rees, ‘like’ her official Facebook page here, and follow her on Instagram @squirrelllthing and on Twitter @squirrelllthing.