Sierra Hersek Doesn’t Scare Easily
One of the stars of "The Trade" talks about acting for film, her inspirations,
and what really creeps her out
It's twilight on a Saturday as cast and crew ready themselves to shoot the first bit of dialog of the evening. Tonight's location is a swampy, mosquito-infested, out-of-the-way location and lead actress Sierra Hersek is ready for her close-up. Nearly 9:00 pm, it's still uncomfortably humid outside, but Sierra takes it in stride.
Hersek's girl-next-door good looks and infectious personality stand in contrast to a tougher side which has served her well within this swampy backdrop. When Hersek first caught the acting bug nearly fifteen years ago this probably was not what she had in mind. But as night falls, Sierra is ready for anything. The Trade, a psychological thriller by writer/director Scott Howe is Hersek's 30th production, yet only her first acting experience in a film.
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Hersek's background is primarily in theater. Says Hersek, "I learned a lot and absolutely felt that it was a good experience. It was great to work with a group of amazing women who took me under their wing and made me feel very safe as the youngest and least experienced cast member."
Asked if film acting poses any other challenges compared to theater, Hersek becomes animated. "It is such a different experience to do theatre than to do film. Part of doing theatre is making sure that every person, including the ones in the back row, can have the same experience, so even an intimate or quiet moment on stage is bigger and louder than real life. On film, your audience is the camera and that is in the moment with you. So while creating a character is the same, how it is delivered is very different."
For her last shot of this evening, Hersek must lay motionless against a tree in the dirt and ash while the crew gets the lighting just right. Though she doesn't make much of it for the moment, there is something out here in the darkness that does seem to be rattling her nerves. Hersek, ever the professional, simply lays against the tree, and before long, the shot is complete. Asked if the subject matter or the night shoot made her feel uncomfortable at all, Hersek laughs, "I've been much less worried about the dark and much more concerned about the spiders...creepy."
No worries. Even the spiders know better than to mess with Sierra Hersek.