A talented cellist wants to celebrate her new gig solitarily, but she and her cat discover they are not home alone in Travis Zariwny's Intruder. With IFC Midnight releasing Intruder in New York and LA theaters and on VOD this Friday, we caught up with lead actress Louise Linton for our latest Q&A feature to discuss collaborating with Zariwny and Moby, the comic relief of her co-star cat named "Dirty", encountering poison ivy on set, and much more.

Louise, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for us. Intruder marks your third feature film collaboration with writer/director Travis Zariwny. What do you enjoy the most about working with Travis?

Louise Linton: I enjoy working with Travis because we’re both humble and hardworking. Nothing in this industry came easy for either of us, so we share a similar grit, drive, and determination as a result. On Intruder, we developed a symbiotic relationship. Between us we wore four hats—writer, director, producer, and lead actor—so we really relied on each other.

We’re genuine collaborators and genuine friends. We trust each other. He’s intriguing, unlike anyone I’ve ever known. His commitment to his art fascinates me. He draws storyboards right on the scripts and envisions each camera setup line by line. He draws out his characters and loses himself in the world of fantasy, creation, monsters, and mystery. He can’t stop creating or pause his art for even a day. The day of the Intruder premiere in LA, he was supposed to go buy clothes for the premiere, but he blew it off to buy canvas and paints! The flashy side of filmmaking doesn’t interest him. He always wants to direct, draw, paint, or write. He’s many kinds of artist. On set he says, “Keep it frosty, sparkles!” which means, “Hey, Linton, stop having fun and get ready for the shot! He keeps things really joyful but professional on set.

What elements of your character Elizabeth intrigued you the most and made you excited to bring her to life?

Louise Linton: I enjoyed researching the female classical musicians whose talent and drive were akin to Elizabeth’s. Examples are Jacqueline du Pré and Myung-wha Chung. I’d listen to their music for hours and I began to feel their passion for their art and for the cello. I was able to bring those feelings to sense memory in the scenes in the film where Elizabeth is practicing her craft. I dreamed of being as good as du Pré. I felt constantly as though I wasn’t good enough and feared I wouldn’t make it to her level. These are very relatable thoughts and fears for any artist. I could relate to her longing and her frustration. She’s dreaming of the London Philharmonic and is in a peaceful place, meanwhile the audience is screaming, “Get out of the house!!!”

Animals can play crucial roles in home invasion films, and it looks like Elizabeth has a furry friend in her cat Oz. Do you have any favorite moments from working with that cat?

Louise Linton: “Ozzie” or “Ozwald’s” real name was “Dirty.” Not because he stank, but because his colors were muddy. He wasn’t a trained animal-for-film, so any moments of kitty genius are all his own. What we didn’t expect is that he would become the film’s comic relief on the set and in the movie theater! There are those moments when he’s looking up at the intruder and I see his eyes go wide and I almost hear him say, “Dude… WTF are you gonna do?” That’s what the audience at the premiere thought, too. He got a lot of laughs, which thrilled me as the producer. There’s something simply awesome about seeing a cat’s face 20 feet wide on a screen. The emotions are amplified. And in this case, extremely funny.

What was the most intense scene to shoot?

Louise Linton: The scene when I encounter the creepy neighbor in the rain while I’m searching for the cat. We shot that as an additional scene one year after principal photography. We had spent hours that night shooting the elaborate new opening scene, and by the time we got to it, daylight was almost upon us, so we were rushing like hell to get the shots before sunup.

We climbed into the woods near the set and realized we were all standing in poison ivy. The crew were wearing shorts. They didn’t complain. We just pushed on and got the takes just in time. Also, the secret scene that takes place during the end credits was hard. (No spoilers, but there is a scene hidden in the end credits that's worth waiting for. I'm so nervous people will turn off their TV or leave the theater before the additional scene!) The set was very cold, very ugly, and very scary.

Are there any favorite horror films—home invasion or otherwise—that influenced or inspired your performance in Intruder?

Louise Linton: Honestly, not really. I produce and act in thrillers and horror films, but I’m too scared to watch them. I don’t want to be desensitized. Being sensitive and fearful makes acting them easier.

Looking back at your time on set, is there a particularly funny or fond memory that stands out to you?

Louise Linton: The costume designer thought it would be funny to leap out from under the bed and grab my ankles while we were rolling. It was the third take of me “about to look under the bed for the cat.” The whole crew was in on it. I was going through the motions and knew there was nothing under the bed—in real life—except suddenly there was this growling sound and a pair of hands grabbed onto my ankles. My reaction was amusing to everyone on set—we should put it on the blooper reel!

In Intruder, one of your co-stars is Moby, who has reached millions of listeners with his music, but who also has a commanding presence onscreen. What was your experience collaborating with Moby, and what kind of a relationship does his character Vincent have with Elizabeth?

Louise Linton: I grew up loving Moby and his music, so it was amazing to work with him onscreen. He’s incredibly kind, serious, and professional. Moby plays Vincent, the head of the Portland Philharmonic. Vincent is a brilliant musician and conductor and plays a kind of mentor to my character. But is he friend or foe? Watch the movie, then you’ll know. :)

With Intruder coming out in theaters and on VOD on June 24th from IFC Midnight, what projects do you have on deck that you can tease for our readers, and where can they find you on social media?

My upcoming projects are:

  • Intruder, out June 24th! You can see it in theaters in New York and LA or download it on VOD.
  • Rules Don’t Apply, directed by Warren Beatty. I play Betty, one of the young starlets under contract to Howard Hughes' movie studio in the late ’50s.
  • The Midnight Man, directed by Travis Zariwny. I executive produced this film and play the role of Annie.
  • Serial Daters Anonymous, directed by Chris Emmons. I play the lead in this fun rom-com opposite Sam Page, which comes out in the spring of 2017.

This year I film the lead role in an action franchise The Field, shooting in Canada in September, and the female lead in a period drama called Shadows on The Grass, written by Emmy Award-winner Rodney Vacarro and directed by Academy Award-nominated director Yan England.

Social Media:

Instagram: @louiselinton
Facebook: @OfficialLouiseLinton
Twitter: @LouiseLinton

  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.