Lost in Falk's World: An Interview with Sisi Stringer, Robin McLeavy and Lucy Ansell
Photo: Roadshow Films
Force of Nature: The Dry 2 diverges majorly from its preceding chapter. Aside from the subtitle, there is nothing dry about it. The regional droughts surrounding Aaron Falk's first investigation have made way for the wet and windy mountains. And gone are the cast of characters we met in the town of Kiewarra. Their case is closed, meaning a different ensemble has entered the scene. With a mystery revolving around five women who become astray on a hike in the bushlands, the cast assembled for the second instalment is a terrific mixture of rising and seasoned female talent.
Those new additions include Sisi Stringer, Robin McLeavy, and Lucy Ansell. Stringer has made waves recently for her part as Milenna in the Mortal Kombat reboot, following her starring role in the American television series Vampire Academy. McLeavy is best remembered domestically for her turn in the Australian horror classic The Loved Ones and known internationally for her 50-episode stint on Hell With Wheels. While for Ansell, Force of Nature marks her cinematic debut after years in the theatre and a recent appearance in the Asher Keddie-led series Strife. As their characters descend into nature's abyss, all three contribute sharply different dynamics to the group. They bring fierceness, softness, and indignance to the proceedings with aplomb.
In my third and final interview for the forthcoming Force of Nature: The Dry 2, I got to speak with Stringer, McLeavy, and Ansell. The trio and I discussed their favourite traits of each other, Stringer's physicality, and how it feels to step into the beloved world of Aaron Falk. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
CONNOR DALTON: Sisi, I spoke to your Carnifex director, Sean Lahiff, a couple of years ago, and he said something that stuck with me. He told me he could tell you were the right fit because he knew you would handle the physical requirements of Carnifex as you did on Mortal Kombat. This is another project that showcases your physicality as a performer. Is that a strength of yours you've noticed?
SISI STRINGER: Oh, definitely! I got into all of this by starting dancing when I was a kid. Seven or eight years old, I went into ballet, and I loved it, and I was really, really good at it. Then I moved into musical theatre, which is dancing, acting, and singing, and then it kind of just naturally transitioned into acting. So I've always been a physical person.
ROBIN MCLEAVY: What about your fight skills?
STRINGER: That's where my fight skills come from! Being a child and dancing for my whole life — like, my whole whole life. It's kind of just in there. And I have to learn how to learn again when it's [new] choreography, or it's fighting, or whatever, but I just naturally have the physicality inside of me.
DALTON: That's what Sean sees as one of your best qualities, but now I want to throw it to the three of you. What would you say are each other's best traits as performers?
STRINGER: There are so many!
MCLEAVY: I would say Sisi is just all in from day one and ready to go. You don't back down from your choices. I love watching your choices; I'm like, 'Ooh! She's here.' And Lucy, I love that you guys played sisters because there's this beautiful contrast. Lucy brings this warmth, and tenderness, and vulnerability —
STRINGER: Soft … gentle … not all the time but …
LUCY ANSELL: (laughs)
MCLEAVY: So complimentary to be working alongside you two.
ANSELL: Aww, you, too.
MCLEAVY: Okay, now you say what's amazing about me!
STRINGER: You're another vessel of softness and generosity. You can be a bit mousy sometimes and speak quietly. You bring a calming presence. I think that's something you both share, and it comes through in your acting. That generosity of spirit comes through. And, look, you're smart, you're smart, too, I'm smart, too, we're all smart.
ANSELL: Okay, my turn (laughs). Sisi, I admire your tenacity. I wish I had more of it, and it's an on and off-screen thing.
STRINGER: (laughs) Never back down, never what? Never give up!
ANSELL: And your rigour, I really appreciate.
STRINGER: Damn! Okay! I really enjoyed [Lucy and I] doing scenes together because even just rehearsing our big scene together, which we did for a few days, turned out amazing. Even just when we were combing through the script, and you'd pull out things that I completely missed, and I'm like, 'Oh, my God! How did I not see that on the page?' You're so snappy and attentive. You see the smallest details, which always ends up being a much more specific performance. And as an actor, you have to be specific; otherwise, you're just floating around.
ANSELL: I'd say that for you, too, Robin. The specificity in what you do is so impressive. When I was watching it, I was like, 'Wow, okay, that is how you do it. That's how you be subtle and nuanced, but in a way that's so crafty.' It's really cool.
STRINGER: A lot of special talent in this film and behind the camera.
MCLEAVY: Andy Commis was a hero with the camera. The cinematography is just divine.
STRINGER: And these people are carrying this equipment. The camera we're filming on right now, imagine people carrying that by hand on a trail.
MCLEAVY: A muddy, skinny trail, and it's raining.
STRINGER: Shout out to the crew. They did so amazing.
DALTON: You really were in the depths of Mother Nature. What was it like working in that environment?
MCLEAVY: It's a very special experience. We keep talking about how the Welcome to Country is the most important thing before you start working in the Australian bush because it has a history.
STRINGER: It's sacred land, and we are visitors. So you have to pay respect before you embark on the journey.
MCLEAVY: So, yeah, very privileged to work there, just having fresh air on your face every day and being in touch with the trees. I believe that trees are sentient beings and water holds memories, so working in this way with nature is a profound thing. We don't just enter the environment, take advantage of it, and leave. I go in very grateful. It brings something to performance that you won't get in a studio or a swim tank. It's once in a lifetime.
STRINGER: Definitely. I've done it twice because of Carnifex (laughs). I learned a lot.
DALTON: I figured that may have applied to you most, Robin. There are several times you're falling in rivers and waterfalls. Your character made me very nervous. Could you tell me about your stunt work?
MCLEAVY: Yeah, well, I do my own stunts.
STRINGER: Yeah, you do! Yeah, she does!
MCLEAVY: (laughs) I did have a stunt double for a little bit, but I was like, 'I've got this.' I love to feel like Tom Cruise for a day because the safety team is so amazing.
STRINGER: You are Tom Cruise!
MCLEAVY: I've worked outside on a show, Hell On Wheels, for five years on AMC. I'm used to being outside. I find it invigorating and way less restrictive.
STRINGER: We were talking about how you have to do a lot less. You don't have to do as much when you get put into the environment that is the environment. If you're acting in a studio, you have to pretend that you hear the tree and —
MCLEAVY: You're actually slipping over and trying to keep your balance.
STRINGER: Exactly! Your boots are in the ground, so that takes away a lot of the stress of acting because we're there and doing it.
MCLEAVY: We're responding to the environment.
STRINGER: I can't believe you both had to go underwater. Sorry, I just thought about it again (pretends to shiver). No, thank you.
DALTON: The Dry was such a great achievement for our local industry, and I'm sure this instalment will have a similar impact. Now that you have an opportunity to reflect, what have you taken away from becoming a part of such a successful and uniquely Australian franchise?
ANSELL: Oh, gosh. When I watched The Dry, I had no idea I would ever be a part of this world. It's cool to know how welcomed and embraced that first movie was, and it's cool that this one is sort of the antithesis to that in many ways. So it's nice to not feel a pressure to repeat or replicate what has already been done and showcase another side of Australia because we're so used to seeing that image of the outback.
STRINGER: Hmm, dusty, dry, sunlight, tin roof.
ANSELL: That is very much our country, but there's so much more than that landscape. So, yeah, I'm very lucky to be a part of it.
This article was originally published by FilmInk