Laura Gordon plays Claire in Miranda Nations’s UNDERTOW. Laura talks to us about her work on Undertow, and her collaboration with Miranda Nation who directed the film.
UNDERTOW is the story of two women whose lives become dangerously enmeshed. Grieving the loss of her stillborn baby, Claire meets pregnant teenager Angie. Feisty and irrepressible, Angie challenges Claire’s careful control. Drawn into Angie’s world, Claire develops a dangerous obsession that risks both of their lives. Only when Claire is confronted with the terrible secret behind Angie’s pregnancy can both women begin to heal
Laura explains, “I was obsessed with drama when I was at school and did all the plays that I could. When I moved to Melbourne for University, I ended up joining an ensemble theatre company that was forming called Red Stitch Actors Theatre. It is still running today and turned out to be an amazing training ground for me to learn and hone my skills”.
“My first lead in a feature was in a film called Em4Jay, directed by Alkinos Tsillimidos, and that was such a wonderful experience. It really helped me understand what it meant to simply ‘be’ in front of the camera. I was off and running after that and have since worked across theatre, film, and television. I love the different challenges of each, ” says Miranda.
indieactivity: What acting technique(s) do you use?
Laura Gordon (LG): I wouldn’t say that I subscribe to a particular acting method per se. Each project throws up something different and demands a particular approach. But I definitely make sure that I cover some basics before I get to rehearsals or set. It’s a simple one, but starting with the script is the best jumping-off place for me. That’s home base, breaking down the script, then the scenes, and finding as many clues as I can. Then I start to fill in any blanks that might be there, whether it be parts of the character’s history or details of their relationships with other characters in the script or people who are mentioned. I think the biggest thing I have learned though, is how important it is to then throw it all away a bit when I get to shoot the scenes so that I can be fully present to what is happening right then and there and in order to stop me from holding on too tight or trying to control the performance.
How did you become involved with UNDERTOW?
Laura Gordon (LG): When my agent sent me the script for Undertow, it really hit me like a tonne of bricks. I had a visceral reaction to the role of Claire that made my hairs stand up on end. I remember being aware that there was so much to mine in terms of what she had been through and what she continues to go through in the film that I was barely touching the sides to begin with, but at the same time it felt like the role fit like a glove. I auditioned for it, initially through a self tape, and then I met with writer/director Miranda Nation for a callback. We spent quite a lot of time going through a number of key scenes together and chatting things through and I remember thinking how easy Miranda was to talk to. We had a great dynamic from the outset, which doesn’t always happen so it did feel quite special.
The Official Trailer for UNDERTOW written and directed by Miranda Nation and stars Laura Gordon
How did you prepare for the role of Claire?
Laura Gordon (LG): There were a lot of pieces to the puzzle in terms of preparing for the shoot. I had a couple of months, which was great as sometimes the turnaround is very fast and you have to jump straight in. I spent a lot of time with the script, both on my own and with Miranda. Claire is an unreliable narrator so it was quite complicated figuring out what is real in the film versus what isn’t, and then the turning points where Claire goes from being cognizant of the fact that some of the visions she is having aren’t real to the point where she is fully immersed in her own reality and completely unaware of her own delusions.
There was a bunch of research that I needed to do in order to get a grasp of the trauma that Claire had experienced. I listened to a lot of women talking about their own experience of stillbirth and the grief that accompanies a tragedy like that. I also spent time delving into what was happening to Claire from a psychological perspective in terms of her postnatal mental health.
We were lucky to have a week of rehearsals before we started filming. Miranda and I spent time with Rob Collins, who plays my husband, honing in on what our relationship was like prior to the start of the film and before we were shattered by the loss of our baby. We did a number of improvisations around key points in our relationship in order to paint a vivid picture of our shared history.
Olivia and I talked through our scenes with Miranda, but because our two characters meet in the film for the first time, we decided to allow that freshness to unfold on camera rather than get too heavily into it prior. And that really informed the chemistry that we have in the film. So two very different approaches depending on what was required.
How did you bring the character from the page to on camera?
Laura Gordon (LG): The set was an unbelievably supportive environment, as lead by Miranda. We were lucky to have the wonderful Bonnie Elliot on board as the director of photography, and she had surrounded herself with an all-female crew. In fact, almost all of the heads of department on Undertow were women, which felt very fitting given the terrain the film was exploring. Everyone was very on board with the story we were telling so there was a great sense of respect and focus on set.
Explain one creative choice you took on the set of this production?
Laura Gordon (LG): In the film, Claire discovers that Olivia’s character, Angie, is pregnant. Given Claire’s recent loss, this knowledge starts to tip Claire over the edge and she becomes increasingly obsessed with Angie and the baby. Miranda and I discussed what Claire’s intentions are regarding the baby; does she want to adopt it, does she want to save it, or is she in fact starting to believe the baby is somehow hers? It was something that was open for interpretation as written in the script. But I ended up making the choice that Claire is, in fact, convinced that somehow this is the spirit of her own baby, which gives her a dangerous sense of ownership over Angie’s pregnancy. I knew it wasn’t something that would be clear cut in the final version of the film from an audience perspective, but for me, making an extreme choice like that gave me the ability to completely fall into Claire’s obsessive interior world.
What do you enjoy most about the independent filmmaking process?
Laura Gordon (LG): Usually people who are making an independent film are there because they are passionate about the story they are telling in a very pure way that has nothing to do with being commercial or making money. I love the energy that comes from a fast shoot and how it can give everyone a kind of laser focus to their work. Of course, sometimes it would be great to have the luxury of more time, and there are always days where I get home and think ‘oh if we just could have had one more take!’, but there is also a discipline borne out of those restraints that can create real magic.
How did you collaborate with your cast members from scene to scene?
LG: The cast on Undertow were a dream to work with. The way we collaborated depended on the day and what scenes we had to work with. Sometimes we would be rehearsing off camera and talking over the scenes right until we jumped into filming. But other days required more breathing space between us so we could stay our own private world before coming together with a fresh perspective and the ability to surprise each other.
Were there any scenes that were difficult to shoot physically (such as your multiple scenes in water/the ocean) or emotionally?
LG: The drowning sequence in the ocean was definitely the most physically demanding aspect of the shoot. It was a cold day and we started very early to get the right light, so you can imagine it was absolutely freezing! Of course they took good care of me, and there was a nurse that made sure I wasn’t in there for too long at one time. I found there was a level of adrenaline that took over and helped me forget about the cold. There is something quite extraordinary about being in the elements like that that throws you into the present moment like nothing else. So although it was awfully cold and uncomfortable, it was also completely exhilarating.
What was it like to work with/collaborate with Miranda Nation?
LG: Miranda was a wonderful mix of being really collaborative and not at all precious, while also having a sure sense of what she wants. It gave me the freedom to play and make different choices but always with the knowledge that her steady hand was guiding us all. We worked on finding the moments of stillness in my performance, giving me permission to let myself just be in the scenes without feeling compelled to ‘act’.
What is next for you?
LG: I have a film coming out later in the year called Streamline. Jason Isaacs and Levi Miller are in it and Tyson Wade Johnston is the writer/director. And my next project is a film called Killer Country, directed by Serhat Caradee.
What advice do you give actors regarding what you learned on the project?
LG: I think the biggest thing I took away from this shoot, with its ambitious schedule and heavy workload, was that I needed to dig in trust that I could deliver whatever was required of me each day. Some days it was daunting to look at the call sheet and see how big the day was and with so little time. But I just kept backing myself in and telling myself that I had done all the homework and that I could get it all done. And at the end of each day, I’d look back and go, we did it! That self-belief and doggedness is something I try to take into all my work now and it can be really powerful.
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