Interview: Desiree Akhavan Discusses Her Experiences Working on CREEP 2

This week, Creep 2 is set to finally make its debut, and to get you guys primed for the sequel’s release, we have an interview with one of the film’s co-stars, Desiree Akhavan, who finds her character, Sara, squaring off against the sadistic yet charming sociopath played by Mark Duplass.

Daily Dead recently caught up with Akhavan and during our chat, she discussed getting to play around with gender stereotypes in Creep 2, collaborating with both Duplass and director Patrick Brice, and how her experiences on this project helped her adapt as a filmmaker when she embarked on directing her second feature following this sequel.

I know you and Mark had known each other socially prior to you coming on board for this sequel, but I would love to hear, from your perspective, what it was that you saw in the character of Sara that you really wanted to dig around in. She’s so great, but I was wondering if there was something in particular that jumped out at you?

Desiree Akhavan: Oh, for sure. Mark reached out to me, and I was really excited, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to work with him and Patrick. Then I also thought about how cool would it be to re-appropriate a bunch of gender stereotypes, and harshen them, to be able to make her a real match for Mark. Because in the first film, he has Aaron in the palm of his hand, so the whole time you have this cat playing with this mouse and torturing it.

I feel like they do that to each other a little in this film, but I thought, as we kept shooting it, every day we were getting closer to this idea, this perfect match, for this guy. She was strong, she was careful, and she knew what she wanted from the situation. She wasn't there as a victim, she was there as an aggressor. But they are both aggressors, and what happens when two people are trying to take advantage of each other, and are both succeeding and failing at the same time?

Can you talk about the collaborative process? I know you guys were working from a script outline for most of it. Was that something that you found particularly freeing as a performer? To be able to go in there and just have this outline of who she's supposed to be, but you get a real opportunity to bring to the table so much of yourself that maybe other films wouldn't have given you an opportunity to do?

Desiree Akhavan: I went in thinking that for sure, and the way we ended up shooting it wasn't like that at all, but that's not a complaint. I think we all thought that's how it would go down, and then we got there and it became really clear that Sara was super guarded and for the film to work, we had make sure the audience wasn’t just going to be always worried about her. We had to know that she could protect herself. Also, it was mostly about observing Mark and Patrick, figuring out what they wanted, taking the temperature, because I'm not an actor.

I'm a director and a writer, and I'm used to having my way. I'm not used to being a vessel for other people, so it was really a good opportunity for me to shut up, and watch other people, and see what they needed to tell their story. I don't know horror at all. So I watched them, and I listened to them, and once I really got a sense of what the rules of the world were, that's when I understood who she was and how to maneuver through this experience.

And what ended up happening was, every night Patrick and Mark would come up with new dialogue and new ideas, and then I would be given new pages that following morning. That being said, I do feel like I was always invited to collaborate with them, and I was always conscientious that it was my responsibility to make sure this girl was not victimized throughout this movie at all.

You mentioned that you came to this film from a different avenue of creativity, as you’re usually the one at the helm and writing the project. How much do you think that preparation helped you adapt to this kind of shooting style?

Desiree Akhavan: So much. And because it doesn't feel like a movie, and Sara doesn't feel like a character, too, I didn’t want to act. I wanted everything about her to feel really natural and I really connected to her. I also wanted the audience to feel connected to her, and I think that being a director was the best position for whoever played Sarah to be. So it wasn't me acting, it was me just trying to be as natural as possible, and be a tool for Mark and Patrick. I think it would have been really hard for a classically trained actress or someone who was used to being on a regular film set to take on this role.

I loved the fact that you guys were pushing each other throughout Creep 2, but at the same time, there was something about Sara where you could sense that she genuinely felt concern for this guy, too, which I thought was a really interesting dynamic. Was it interesting to play around with that in this role?

Desiree Akhavan: Oh, totally. And also, she knows she's there to manipulate him. That's the thing about Sarah that I think is really interesting—you're not sure if she's an asshole or not. She wants to get this episode out of him, so she's not entirely altruistic. But then she also feels protective of him, and when she kisses him, I think there's a generosity and sweetness in that moment of wanting this guy to build his confidence up a bit. She feels like she may have let him down a bit too much. They both have such strong goals. I think that's a testament to the story the guys came up with. They have very strong goals here, and you're on both of their sides.

How did this experience on Creep 2 change you as a filmmaker, if at all?

Desiree Akhavan: I shot this a month before I went into prep on my second feature as a director, and I really benefited from the way we shot it, in that everything was about being there in that moment, and utilizing what was at your disposal. And any problem or any issue that we came across, it was like, "How do we make something out of nothing?” So, a month later when I was on my own set, every problem felt like an opportunity. I had this positivity, and I let go of perfectionism in a way I think really benefited the process of making that film. I was much more comfortable on set than I had been before, too. It was about utilizing the best in everyone around me and being like, "All right, well that didn't come out, but what do we have here and what could we do with that?” That is definitely the spirit of shooting an indie in eight days in the middle of the woods, and that was all Mark and Patrick.

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In case you missed it, check here to read our previous coverage of Creep 2.