Interview: Lindsay Farris turns up the heat in My Life Is Murder
Lindsay Farris – My Life Is Murder 1 – Courtesy of Channel 10 , Lindsay Farris
It’s Getting Hot in Here
1428 Elm: That scene about the German bread maker is pretty steamy. A lot of double entendres flying around. From the clips that I have seen, Dylan/David seems like a gigolo. Also, there is something a little devious about him. He is the polar opposite of Dalton. Was this an easy role for you to get into or was it more of a challenge?
LF: Dalton and Dylan both share the same consonant at the front of their name, and that’s about the only thing they have in common. Actually, on second thought, they both enjoy ‘physical activities’ and have a lot of mystery clouding their pasts in common too.
Dylan is a master-manipulator, whereas Dalton is about as noble as they come. One of the biggest challenges with Dylan was physically bulking up for the role – he’s a very successful male escort, and for it to be believable that Alexa might in fact like this guy he also needed to be charming. It was a difficult balance to strike, but I really think we got there in no small part due to Leah’s guiding hand, Lucy’s amazing work and a few hundred hours in the gym.
1428 Elm: Well, it definitely paid off! As everyone knows you and Lucy had quite the adversarial relationship in Ash vs Evil Dead. In My Life Is Murder, you two have an entirely different dynamic going on. What was your favorite part about acting with her again?
LF: Lucy is a brilliant actress, with an incredible range and generosity. I have learnt so much from working with her over the past few years, both as a friend and colleague. In Ash Vs Evil Dead her character [Ruby] basically ripped me apart, torturing Dalton to the point of blowing his head off.
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Whereas in My Life Is Murder, we have a lot more time to really investigate and develop a more complex relationship, with many sharp turns and nuances – that’s a real thrill. All in all, we have a lot more screen time together, so there’s more dynamism in the relationship we’re exploring — it’s fun, complex and exciting.
1428 Elm: Do you have any amusing behind the scenes stories?
LF: There were a lot of laughs! Lucy is brilliant with languages. I don’t know the full-extent, but know she’s studied at least German, French and Italian. We have a scene in My Life Is Murder, where Dylan is trying to help Alexa her fix her ‘Loobenschwegen’.
The actual instruction manual was written entirely in German, and whilst I can speak some “Deutsch”, the words in the manual had no translation as they were all technical German engineering specifications and machine parts – so I had no idea what I was talking about.
Lucy and I had a lot of fun improvising a bunch of material in German prior to “action!”, having fun and talking nonsense, and in the moment that ended up making the cut, I think what I’m saying in German translates as something peculiar about a ‘Black Forest Cherry Cake’.