Erica Cerra is a woman quickly on the rise, with numerous roles in television and film that have led her to become one of the most-watched actresses to come out of Vancouver. Best known for her role as Jo Lupo on the hit SyFy series Eureka, returning for Season 4 in July 2010, she can next be seen as Hera, the wife of Zeus, in the fantasy adventure film Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and then as psychologist Grace Bishop in the action thriller The Stranger, opposite professional wrestler Steve Austin.In this exclusive interview with IESB, Erica Cerra talked about how much she loves working in the fantasy/sci-fi genre.
IESB: How did you get into acting? Was it something you always just knew you wanted to do?
Erica: I probably always knew. I started really quite young, at about five years old. As a child, I just liked to entertain and act goofy. I was always the class clown, so that was my inclination that I should get into the entertainment field, in way, shape or form. And then, coincidentally, the woman who babysat us had a brother who opened up one of the first agencies in Vancouver with his wife, so she put us in contact with them and it just went from there.
When I was young, I did quite a few commercials, and then a couple TV shows. I was in about sixth or seventh grade when I filmed my first show, so I was barely ever in school. I was thrown in and out, with on-set schooling. And then, at 13 or 14, I just wanted to be a kid and not be taken out of school. As I got older, when I was about 20, I started to think, “Okay, what do I want to do with the rest of my life?” I’d had jobs doing anything and everything, like office jobs and resale jobs, just trying to figure out what it was that I wanted to do, and acting was always still a big part of my life. So, I tried it again and, thankfully, it worked. I get to work as an actor. It’s pretty wonderful.
IESB: Do you feel like having taken that break gave you a better perspective on it, as an adult, since you had more of an idea of who you were before you started playing other people?
Erica: On one hand, I think, “If I had stuck with it, would I be on a network show, and could I have been doing that for the last 10 or 15 years, or is it better that I did it this way.” In all honesty, you just have to be happy with the path that you chose, or you could just sit there and live in regret. I was able to live.
You look at some of the celebrities that were child stars and they all went crazy in front of the limelight, and I’m glad that I didn’t do that. Everyone goes crazy. Most teens all do the same things, be it you date the wrong guy or get drunk at a nightclub where everyone sees you. I’m glad that I didn’t do any of that in the limelight because that would have been a lot of crap to crawl out of later. I’ve gotten way more life experience, and I didn’t have to experience it with the eyes of the world watching me. I’m glad that I went the way that I did.
IESB: How did you get involved with Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief?
Erica: It was a regular audition for me. Because they filmed in Vancouver, they were holding auditions and, that being said, I can’t take away from how lucky I feel to have had an opportunity to play any role in the movie. I was incredibly lucky to be one of the cast members in the film. I auditioned about four times because I had auditioned for a couple of the other, larger roles and then was brought back in for a couple different roles, and then ultimately ended up getting cast as Hera.
IESB: For those who might be unfamiliar with the books this film is based on, what can you say about it and who your character is?
Erica: I’ve read four out of the five books. For the first film, they squished the first and the second book together to make one larger script out of the two. My character, Hera, is the wife of Zeus (Sean Bean). Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is half-God and half-human, and the God is Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). He goes on all these adventures, trying to save the world from a crazy thing that’s going on in the Gods’ world.
Humanity has no idea about what’s actually happening. He’s got powers because Poseidon is his father, so he’s able to control water. In the first film, Hera is introduced to have a larger storyline in one of the later films. In the stories, the Gods are there to guide Percy and the other two kids on their missions, and help them out, give them advice and lead them down the right path. In one of the stories, Hera helps Percy escape something.
They have changed the story from the books, so it’s hard to tell where they’ll go and what they’ll do, but the Gods are there to guide Percy on his adventures and help him achieve his goal. There are a lot of characters that aren’t in the books, that are in the movie. For the most part, Zeus is in the book for all of 30 seconds, and he’s a very large player in the movie. They’ve changed the script quite a bit. They were very, very secretive with the script, so you only really knew what you needed to know. I’m thrilled. It’s really, really exciting.
IESB: What was the experience of making such a big, fantastical story like? Did you feel like you’re living our your childhood fantasies?
Erica: For me, I absolutely love fantasies. I always have. There’s two things I would absolutely love to do in my career, comedy and fantasy. The idea of dressing up and portraying some sort of odd, mythical creation of your own, in my mind, is what the film industry is about and what entertainment is about.
Don’t get me wrong, I would take any job. I love working. But, from where I’d like my career to go, taking a job on where you’re creating another human being is so much more exciting to me than the idea of playing a police officer, or something more human. I look at Johnny Depp’s career, or Cate Blanchett’s, and that gives me real excitement. I would love to have their careers, and I aspire to take on those sort of roles. It totally takes me to my childhood and I just absolutely love it.
IESB: Did you have to deal with a lot of special effects?
Erica: I also work on a TV show called Eureka and we deal with special effects, all the time. In Percy, there was a special effect that we worked with that was really interesting to film. When they introduce the Gods and Goddesses, there’s a really interesting effect that goes on between the Gods and the humans. It was very funny and interesting to watch them work it out.
IESB: Does working with effects come easy for you, or did it take some adjustment?
Erica: Because I love make-believe, it’s easy for me. That’s always how I functioned. I was talking to another actress on Percy about where we’d like our careers to go, and I said I wanted to do fantasy, and she said she would love to do one of the cop shows because, when it comes to special effects, fantasy and make-believe, she can’t really wrap her head around it.
For me, it was just something that I always thought was really neat. You let your own imagination create something, and then, when you get to see it after it’s all said and done, it’s neat. So, I don’t find it that difficult. Eye lines are hard sometimes. When you’re working with other people and there’s a monster that’s supposed to be running around, you’re like, “Oh, God, where are my eyes going?,” ‘cause you can’t see anything. Sometimes, they have a little toy that they’re throwing in front of your face, but for the most part, it’s nothing. It can be tricky, but it’s always fun.
IESB: How did you originally get involved with Eureka?
Erica: I had actually moved to L.A. for pilot season and, coincidentally, three months later, I got a pilot that filmed in Vancouver, which is a story that a lot of actors tell. You go to L.A. to find work back home in Vancouver. So, I auditioned for it, but initially I was told that they wanted someone like Chyna and I am far from that look. I auditioned on a Monday and booked it by that Saturday, so it was a really, really quick process, thankfully.
IESB: What was the initial appeal of that show for you?
Erica: Working in Vancouver, there’s a lot of sci-fi shows. That’s a lot of what goes on in Vancouver. It’s funny because, as thankful and as blessed as you are to work, and I know a lot of brilliant actors out there that don’t work, you wonder, “Do I want to do a genre show or not?” Once you do a genre show, you can get typecast, so it can be a bit fearful. But, I read the script and I was incredibly interested because the story was unique. There’s no other show on television like Eureka. My character was so cool.
Growing up, I was a tomboy, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a lot more feminine and I’m more comfortable with my sexuality as a woman, and I don’t mind dressing up and looking pretty. When I initially got the show, I was like, “Oh, thank God, a low maintenance character with no make-up, her hair in a bun or ponytail, and wearing a uniform all the time. This is pretty great.” I love that the show can go anywhere.
There are so many directions that they can go with the storyline. Last season, Salli Richardson-Whitfield got pregnant, and they wrote it in for her character. It’s neat that you’re on a show where they can just go wherever they have to. There’s not a lot of comedy in Vancouver and that can be really frustrating ‘cause I love comedy. So, I feel incredibly blessed to be on a show where I can make people laugh. I’m very thankful. I’ve learned a lot. I work with wonderful actors. I have nothing but great things to say about the show. We’re going onto our 4th season, and I hope we can keep going, at least for a little while longer. That would be great.
IESB: How are you most different from Jo Lupo?
Erica: The character is incredibly stubborn, and I’m also stubborn. I like to wear make-up more. When she does get out of uniform, I’ve dressed her very generic, like a white t-shirt and blue jeans, or a solid color shirt and solid pants. I’ve really made her the every day plain Jane with wardrobe, where I’m definitely a little bit more expressive. I like to wear things that are a bit more feminine. I also like to wear my hair down. I cannot stand wearing my hair up. That drives me nuts, every day. For the most part, my hair is always down. I’m just more feminine now, since I first got the part, but I’m like Jo, in a lot of ways.
IESB: What did you think the first time you saw yourself in the police uniform?
Erica: When I got the part, they said, “Do you feel comfortable cutting off all your hair?,” and I was like, “Well, I don’t know.” My hair is quite long, and I had to tell them yes or no before they would sign the contract with me. So, I took a leap of faith and said, “Yeah, whatever. Let’s cut my hair off. It’s liberating. Let’s do it.” I got there the first day and the hair stylist was there and there were network execs standing around going, “How are we going to cut off her hair? She’ll look like a little pixie.” The hair stylist was like, “I think she’ll look more feminine, if you cut her hair off.”
So, they put water in my hair, made my hair go fuzzy and curly, drew in eyebrows to make them three time as thick as they are and were contemplating the option of putting a scar across my face. I was sitting in the chair like that and one of the two creators of the show walked in, looked at me and went, “What the heck are you doing to her? Why does she look crazy?” And, they were like, “We don’t know what to do with her. She’s cute. How do we make her not cute?” And, he said, “Can we just put her hair in a bun and leave her as is? Why do we have to make her look like she’s been through a war.” Thankfully, they agreed.
That was just the funniest day of my career. So, they put my hair in a bun, threw me in the wardrobe, went with no make-up and grew in my eyebrows a little bit. I was like, “Okay, this I can do.” I wish I had taken a picture of how it all started because it was hysterical. I kind of looked like Oscar the Grouch. It was crazy. So, I was good in the uniform. I was like, “I look like a tomboy. I can do this. It’s cool.”
IESB: Do you have any idea what viewers can expect from the upcoming season?
Erica: I have my own ideas that I vocalize to the writers, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m going to get any of what I’ve suggested. So, to be completely frank, I have absolutely no idea what to expect. When I started out, Jo Lupo was a tomboy and they wanted her to be really butchy, so I did that. The second season came along and they were like, “Okay, the audience isn’t necessarily a huge fan of that, so let’s soften you up a bit.” And then, they introduced a boyfriend. In the third season, they softened me up even more and she got emotional with her boyfriend. I don’t know what’s coming up. Marriage, children, war? I have no idea where they’ll go. Personally, I would like to go back to a bit more of the aggressive Jo. I’d like to fight and do that stuff a bit more. I’d like a little less love and a little more muscle and braun.
IESB: Being a fan of fantasy yourself, can you understand the sci-fi fans and their loyalty and dedication to the genre?
Erica: Absolutely. I’ve got such a nerd inside of me. I have some girlfriends who are like, “I don’t know how you watch that stuff.” My fiancé will go out and play golf or hang out with his buddies, and I’ll stay home and watch Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings. I do get it. It’s an opportunity to just get lost in a magical world, or a world of make-believe, and leave your reality behind. You can just get lost in this little mythical world. I totally get it. I think it’s great.
IESB: What is The Stranger and who do you play in that?
Erica: The Stranger is a movie about a man, played by Steve Austin, who has something called Dissociative Fugue. He loses his memory, but for a short period of time, and that it comes back in bits and pieces. In the movie, we’re first introduced to one another when he’s found by the FBI and they bring in a psychologist to assess him and help him jog his memory, as to who he is.
He and I meet and I grow an attachment to him through bumping into one another for about two years, and he can never remember who I am. I’m very familiar with him and his case, where he has absolutely no idea. Every time he’s found, they bring me in to help jog his memory. My character has taken the responsibility of finding this man before he gets himself into anymore trouble. That’s where the story leads off, and I take it upon myself to help him.
IESB: How was it to work with Steve Austin?
Erica: Steve surprised me in a lot of different ways. When I first got the part, just because of his wrestling character, most people were a bit worried for me. They were like, “What if he’s an ass?” And, the first memory I have of Steve is from when I walked in for the read-through and, the minute I walked in the door, he stood up as a gentleman and shook my hand. He towered over me. He’s about three times my size.
He’s very funny and he’s very good-hearted. He really did shock me. I had a really great time working with him. He’s incredibly easy to work with. He’s very gracious and will do anything and everything. It’s really important for him to be successful and for his project to be successful. He started off in a very small part of the wrestling business, and he worked his way up and kicked butt to get where he was, as a wrestler, and he became a huge star. That’s his motivation. That’s what he wants. When he decides he wants something, he works very, very hard at accomplishing it. And, he’s really eager to learn, which was really cool. He’s decided that he wants to be an actor, and now he’s totally willing to learn everything and anything he can to make that attainable.
IESB: When you’re not acting, are there things that you’re equally as passionate about?
Erica: Yes. I really do love cooking. Dinner time is important to me. By about three o’clock, I start my preparations for dinner ‘cause everything is made from scratch. I make my own stalk for my soups. I’ll make my own concoction of sauces. Cooking is my only every day responsibility. As an actor, we go from working really hard to doing absolutely nothing and, if we don’t keep some sort of consistency or schedule in our life, it’s really, really easy to get bored, uninspired, tired and lazy. For the most part, cooking is my opportunity to just be with myself. It relieves my stress. I don’t think for the couple of hours that I’m doing it, or I do, if there’s something going on in my life and I need to work it out. Sometimes, I listen to music while I’m doing it. It’s nice. If I wasn’t an actor, I think I would have been a chef. My mom loves to cook. She’s got a pasta manufacturing company, she teaches cooking classes and she does dinner parties at her house. My grandmothers are both amazing cooks and always have been. It’s in my blood.
I’ve also just taken up singing lessons. On Eureka, there was an episode that I sang, and it’s something that I have always wanted to do. I thought that if I could sing on set with my peers watching me, and then have it air on television where everyone will be watching me, then I could go in to take some lessons, so I did that. We were supposed to do a musical episode on the show, and I don’t know if we’re still doing that now or not, but I thought it was time to learn how to actually sing. And, I like reading and painting. I’ve been painting for the last year.
Source iesb.net
Written by Christina Radish
