Rage is one of those movies that stays with you long after you’ve seen it. We had the pleasure of chatting with its star Hayley Beveridge about her character Madeline, her experience in the film, and her upcoming projects. Do you want to know what she told us?
Here we go!
We broke the ice a bit with a direct question. What did Hayley learn from Madeline? And her response was “I just love her and I understand her. She is brave and strong and truly admirable. The things that she has to go through, that she has to overcome … and I really understand her, you know, I understand, her anger, her decisions, I may not share them, but I understand them”
It was important to know what the lesson that Madeline left her because all her roles have taught her something but Madeline … she’s not an easy character and left her mark. Also, Hayley greatly admires her because she identifies with her and is really in awe of her. You can feel it in every one of her words. “When I read in this moment, at that turning point, I’m going to give it all and be completely in the character, and that’s kind of what it was. And luckily afterwards Johnny was like, that’s great. I think Randy did want to hear that. So he doesn’t make me do it again and again, which was fantastic. And yeah, it was a really bizarre moment afterwards as well, because there was so much adrenaline when you’re actually doing such a physical scene that, yeah, it was just a blur. And I was like, did we miss out, ok? Like, yeah, kind of have no recollection”
In the movie, Madeline survives emotionally difficult situations, so the next question was a must: How did Hayley prepare for it? Specifically, we wanted to know if she interviewed any survivors because, when it comes to this, it is quite difficult to bring it realistically to the screen. Her response was awesome. “Yeah, I did what was challenging, but also quite interesting was that, I mean, that is such a complex character and it’s not like she’s only going through one form of trauma. So it wasn’t as simple as, say, ok, let’s interview people that have lost a child because there’s so many levels of trauma that she’s going through. It really was just researching a lot of different areas and trying to do a really respectful portrayal of a survivor of a sexual assault like that and trying to do it as authentic as possible without falling victim to stereotypes or. Yeah, it was just finding bits and pieces from everywhere to build a character”.
Everything she said. PREACH!
It’s pretty enlightening, right? Hayley overcame the challenge brilliantly because you can really feel the anger, the pain, the determination, the fear … everything, in your bones.
Rage has wonderful moments, some emotionally intense, some action-packed, and a host of shocking scenes. It’s a movie made up of brilliant moments and we could name several at this point but we wanted to know which scene was the most impactful to Hayley when she read the script. Her favorite moment. What scene blew her mind while she read? Her response is not wasted. “That’s a tough one. I did like our scene towards the end when we finally have our big verbal fight with my husband, Noah. What I really loved about that scene is that we essentially with minor changes. That was the scene that was also used for auditions.”
“So there was two rounds of auditions. So having this one scene and seeing it evolve, but also you could really feel how it evolves from the auditions, which was a really exciting thing. And and your conception when you first go in and think, oh, this is what the character is, and then you’re finally there on the day months later and you’re like, oh, this is what it’s all amounted to. It was fun. And I finally got to give it to Noah. So that was fun to go to”
Keeping with this question, we wanted to dig a bit more on this topic. Madeline is an amazing character but we’re curious, why did Hayley say yes to this role? What was it that made her decide that it was a role that she wanted to play? And above all, we are curious to know if Hayley understood Madeline and could understand her actions, however extreme they were. “I’m definitely a different, very different person than what Madeline is, but I think the only way that you can play a character, truthfully and honestly, is that you have to have empathy and understanding for them,” she told us.
“So I definitely, to some degree, yes, I can understand and put myself in her shoes and. It’s such an interesting thing to do in life that you get to take this character and say, hey, that’s not how I would do it, but, you know, you dissect and figure out why is she doing it that way? And you find a real love for that character in person because you have to have this understanding for them”.
We think her answer says it all and perfectly shows how Hailey connected with Madeline and how she understood her, loving her from the first moment, understanding both her lights and her shadows and wanting to bring her to life.
The movie ends with a shocking ending, we could continue the story from there and it could go in different directions but we were interested in the direction Hayley chose. How would she continue the story of that final scene? “I think that the ending offers a glimmer of hope, obviously, Maddie, and not everything’s not fixed, it’s not all rainbows, but it says that they’re going to be okay. And I don’t want to give too much away, but I think the next chapter of their lives will be quite an adventure”.
We love the direction she chose! Yes, we would watch a sequel with this story. Is anybody in? We are, and we think Hayley is too. So…we want a sequel like, now!
Do you know those questions to break the ice at the beginning about describe the character with three words? Well, this time we asked the question a bit later but it worked because I think you are much more curious to meet Madeline now, right? The words Hayley chose were “Introspective, brave and loving.” Yeah, we agree!
Finally, you know that we love to follow the stars that interest us in whatever adventure they decide to embark on. So we asked Hayley about her next project and she gave us some goodies. “ I know what I’m working on at the moment, actually, it’s a bit of a change of pace, but I’m actually developing and directing a project with my directing Master Nathan. And we’ve been developing this for a while. And I’m acting and it’s it’s a story about friendship. And as we get older, what’s the meaning of best friend evolves into. So it’s a real exploration of female friendship. And yeah, it’s it’s been a really fun journey. So it’s really, really good. It’s also a comedy. So a very, very different”.
Can’t wait to join her on this adventure!
If you asked me to describe her, I would tell you that she is sweet and very funny. She is always smiling, laughing and she really has that light that you need when your day is dark and horrible. Talking to her really helps you, lifts your spirits, because her smile is contagious. And she deserves all the success she is having and that will come to her in her long career. She deserves absolutely everything.
We will be there to see it.
Do you like the interview? Feel free to share with us in the comments below!
Rage is available now on Itunes.