Dianna Agron Falls
for an Alien!
by Lynn Barker
 Both Dianna Agron and her teen character Sarah in the Sci-Fi actioner I Am Number Four, heart photography and, if we can believe the gossip, both are attracted to cute Alex Pettyfer who plays a teen alien on the run from the evil guys who destroyed his planet.
We’re in Beverly Hills getting info from Dianna on her own high school experiences, how she would like to play an action girl like Teresa Palmer’s Number Six in the film, will there be a sequel and wazzup with “Glee”?
Picture blonde Dianna in a cute, low neck, argyle print silk dress with black trim from Proenza Schouler.
AGW: This movie is way different than “Glee” of course. Was it fun to play Sarah in this?
Dianna: It was wonderful. I found out very late in the process that I was going to be doing this movie so from the time I was cast to the time I was on set was about three weeks. It was like, 'Okay, let's go.' I went straight from doing the “Glee” tour [in New York] and then that night I just flew to Pittsburgh. And it was a real chance to step into a different world. I think that if you are on a TV show like ours and that's most of your year, if you have opportunity to stretch a different muscle it can really invigorate that character again for you.
AGW: There are a lot of big, alien critters in this movie, put in later with CGI. You didn’t see them on set so how difficult was it for you to react to…nothing?
Dianna: They did describe what was there for us and it would go to the tune of, ‘Well, he's about to the ceiling, coming through this window really fast and you need to get over there’. ‘Okay’. There was a certain challenge to it. But at the same time you think, 'Okay, let me change this around. Let me think of a time that I've been really scared.' And you try to use that. And when you see the final product, it was just amazing, the effects and what they've accomplished. Hopefully my reactions seem appropriate.
AGW: Sooo, what was working with Alex Pettyfer like?
Dianna: Well, I was really pleasantly surprised to find out that he was so excited and so dedicated to this film. He was in training for months to do the stunts, which turned out incredibly. And he just has an enthusiasm to him, which is nice. Because that's what I experience with the cast of "Glee”. Everybody's there and having a good time but working really hard. [On this film] there was crazy weather in Pittsburgh during the summer. So extreme torrential rain and then sunshine and then raining again ten minutes later. And then we're in a field and there's just mud and more mud. And it was great that at the end of the process you were sad to leave and just really had a good time.
AGW: Your Sarah and Alex’s character John have great chemistry. How do you make that work as actors in kissing scenes etc.?
 Dianna: [laughs] Well, you act. [You hope that] that person and you are on the same page of showing up and doing the work. Those scenes can be technical because oftentimes the camera is very close and the lighting has to be just so. Even our DP was like, 'No! You’re blocking her face. Come back. Come back.' But it's different for every actor. Sometimes you can incorporate things that you've experienced in your life and use that. And other times you just know that feeling of hurt, of love, of anger, of depression. And you do whatever it takes to get there in your mind and use it to your advantage whichever way it works best.
AGW: I think you went to high school, rather than being home-schooled so where did you fit in? Were you an outcast or a cheerleader or a combination or what? And, how are you like Sarah?
Dianna: I was never a cheerleader. I was a dancer so that was my out of school experience. And then in school I was a part of the yearbook staff. So, I found a love for photography like Sarah, a very strong one that continues to this day. And there were certain qualities that I wanted to bring to her that I thought were so obvious, at least to me when I read it.
She has this wanderlust. She has aspirations to travel and to see the world. And had a bit of an old soul quality to her. But, you're kind of on dangerous ground if too many things are like yourself. Especially if all her tendencies are the same as you. Her voice is the same as you. The clothes are the same as you. You're like, 'Wait a second.'
AGW: So, you didn’t have to study up on how to run a camera then?
Dianna: No. No. And it was funny because there's the scene in the camera shop where I'm holding this beautiful Hasselblad camera, that's actually our prop master's camera, and I said to [director] D.J., '[Sarah] is not buying this camera right? Because how much has she babysat to afford this camera?' he goes, 'No, no. It's like your goal camera. You just come and visit it once a week.'
AGW: Would you wear some of the cute outfits she had?
Dianna: Of course, but I also joke around that my closet it too eclectic and it's like theme days. Like, 'I'm a boy today. I'm a cowgirl. I'm a this. I'm a that.' Because, also, I love vintage clothes.
AGW: Are you old school in photography, with a dark room and film or have you gone digital?
Dianna: I do both. I have equal parts film and digital cameras in my collection. And I think that there's ways to Photoshop photos that they'll look like you shot them on film. But is that as rewarding? It just depends on the person. If I'm travelling, I'll take a film camera and a digital camera. Because sometimes there are moments where film accidentally goes through the X-ray machine and it does get overexposed. If was a really important moment to you, be really upset that you don't have a backup.
 I learned [to shoot] film in high school. I remember how excited I would be to pick it up as soon as [it was developed] and sit there and, 'Oh, my gosh. This turned out like this.' And, 'I didn't even see that over here.' and, 'There's light flare.' And there's something really rewarding about that.
AGW: Any desire to play a kick butt character in a movie, like Teresa’s Number Six here?
Dianna: Of course. Yeah. As you go throughout your career, people say 'Well, you can't read for the mean girl character because that's just not how we see you.' And I would say, 'But it's acting, you know. I'm an actor.' 'You're just nice.' I was going in for the nice girl character on 'Heroes' and one of the producers says, 'No, it's not so interesting. I want you to read this character.' And that's what I was cast as. With Quinn, she started off a mean girl on 'Glee' and she became pregnant and humanized and moved away from that side to her. The more characters you play, I find, the more opportunity you're given to expand that.
AGW: The “Glee” cast is so busy with publicity and touring. How do you keep that energy level going?
Dianna: Well, sometimes you have to say, 'No.' and people are like, 'Wait. Why weren't you at this thing?' and you have to say, 'Oh, well, because I was filming.' And sometimes you think, 'Okay, well if I do all these things this weekend that means I have no weekend at all and then I have to go back to work on Monday.' And you have to protect the integrity of the show, your health, the character, all these things. So it's just about finding the right moments for everything. And if you're too stressed or tired just back off for a little bit.
AGW: It was cool that, when “Glee” did Jackson’s “Thriller” you didn’t use the famous choreography. You made it fresh.
Dianna: We did something completely different which I thought was really nice because there have been recreations of that dance before. And it's so iconic. And, not that it would have been wrong. We came up with something so fun. And we're zombies covered with blood and have Victorian hair.
It was an amazing experience because we were outside. It's cold but we're doing this dance so we're hot. The dance was so fun. I'm a big costume lover. So anytime I get to do something like 'Rocky Horror' or this, those are my favorite moments. And the whole episode was big. It's really big dance numbers and pyro and zombies and fog and a lot of Jane Lynch, which is always good. Always good.
Uncredited photos copyright and courtesy Dreamworks Studios, 2011 |
