Shawnee Smith as Amanda in Saw
PW: What continually draws you back to horror? Do you just love the genre?
Shawnee: It’s hilarious because I don’t watch scary movies. I don’t even watch “CSI!” To me, that’s too jarring for my senses. Which is maybe why I get hired for these things.
PW: So does that mean you’ve never seen your own movies?
Shawnee: I have, I need to make sure I’m not making an ass out of myself (laughs). But even still, I have to use the baby screen – you know, where you cover your eyes and let little bits in? But I’ll still jump, I’ll still scream, I’ll still cover my ears.
PW: So since you brought it up, I hear you’re back in “Saw V” despite dying in the third one.
Shawnee: That’s what I hear. I’m not sure how they keep resurrecting me, but somehow! If I’m in “Saw V,” it’s something I’d already filmed, but I have no idea. This is horror, you’re more valuable dead than alive.
PW: OK, but you are definitely in “The Grudge 3,” right?
Shawnee: Yeah. I went all the way to Bulgaria and rented the first two because I figured I should know what happened. I put them into the VCR and couldn’t watch! I had an idea of what the villain was like – with the funky walk – and all I needed was to see it once and the next time I’m alone in bed, I won’t be able to sleep. And I figured, I didn’t need to see the others in order to play the character.
PW: But what about actually seeing the “Grudge” ghost on set?
Shawnee: I figured they’d CGI her in! I didn’t know they were going to paint her up and have her chase me around a hospital for hours. It was not cool. Meanwhile the girl who plays Kayako is an absolute doll and I ended up becoming good friends with her. I wasn’t expecting that.
