Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by Luke Hickman
by Luke Hickman
When you get an email that says, "We'd love to set up an interview with you and the gorgeous, breakout star..." you say "yes."
Meet Alex Lombard. If you've seen 'Inception,' then you've already seen her. She played a small role that's one level better than extra work. Her latest role in 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' gives her more to do (pun intended - you'll get it if you keep reading) than 'Inception,' but it's still not huge. We will have to wait a little longer to see exactly what she's capable of - but you're about to get the gist of where she's going in her career.
I hadn't seen 'Abe Lincoln' prior to my chat with "American Beauty" Alex Lombard (that's how her publicist referred to her in the email invitation for this interview), but just as I expected from Lombard's responses, she plays a very small character here too. In fact, she deems that one of her scenes features her and Dominic Cooper in a "compromising position." The way she talks is as if she was in more than that one scene, but that is the only one that makes the final cut. Perhaps a director's/extended cut will reveal more .
Based on what we see in 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,' it's hard to predict the future for Ms. Lombard - but from what you'll read in my interview, you'll see that she's doing more than her fair share to make it big in Hollywood. Enjoy.
HDD – Luke Hickman: Alex, I haven't yet seen the movie, so what can I expect from 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter?'
Alex Lombard:Oh, I think you can expect a really fun wild ride. I think you'll find it very entertaining and very interesting.
HDD: Who exactly do you get to play in it?
Alex Lombard: I play Dominic Cooper's girlfriend. He plays a 900-year-old vampire who takes the young Abraham Lincoln under his wing and teaches him the ways of the vampire world.
HDD: How was it working with Dominic Cooper?
Alex Lombard: He was fantastic. He was really charming and sweet. He made me feel very comfortable. My scenes with him were predominantly - (sigh) I wasn't wearing very much. (laughs) He really did everything to just make me feel super comfortable on set. I could tell that he takes his craft very seriously - but he's a lot of fun to be with and to work around.
HDD: I hope this doesn't spoil what happens to your character, but were you around for much of the shoot?
Alex Lombard: You know, I just have a small part. Abe Lincoln sort of finds Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper) and I in a couple of compromising positions when he very first comes to stay with him, so I really just have a little part when [Abe] sort of happens-upon Sturgess' house.
HDD: I see that you were able to work with Christopher Nolan with your small role in 'Inception.' Now you've had the chance to work with – I know I'm going to butcher his name. Is it pronounced "tee-mer?"
Alex Lombard: "Tee-more."
HDD: Timur Bekmambetov. Thanks! You've gotten to work with some visionary directors. What was it like working with Timur?
Alex Lombard: He's fantastic. He's wonderful. He gives you a lot of room to play and a lot of room to, sort of, find the character. I really can't say enough good things about him. He's really a great guy and he's not super controlling. He knows what he wants, but he also gives you, as an actor, a lot of room to experiment – which is always a good thing.
HDD: Being a producer, was Tim Burton around for much of the shoot?
Alex Lombard: Not when I was shooting, but I could definitely feel his presence. I mean, his work is so highly stylized and he's got such an iconic cinematic style that I could definitely feel his presence; as soon as I stepped foot on the set, I could tell, "Okay. This definitely has the thumbprint of Tim Burton." It was really cool to be around.
HDD: Three years ago, did you ever think that you'd get to work in these huge films – 'Inception' and 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter?"
Alex Lombard: I didn't, I didn't. I was so excited and thrilled to have these opportunities. You know, it's so amazing to be attached to such great projects with such amazing people. I'm really just beyond thrilled.
HDD: Can you tell me a little bit about your background and how you got into acting?
Alex Lombard: Well, I'm from Charleston, so I'm a southern gal. I pretty much knew that I wanted to act from the moment I could talk. But because I lived in a small town, you know, the professional acting opportunities weren't readily available for me. So I waited until I was a little bit older, then I came out to Los Angeles. I did a couple things behind the camera first, and then I finally made my way in front of the camera.
HDD: Did you do any theater acting back in South Carolina?
Alex Lombard: I actually did a lot of theater acting because that was really the only thing that was available to me. I was in the community productions, but not too much with my high school. I associated with my high school, but did most of my stuff throughout the community. It was fun.
HDD: Well, I have an appreciation of small theater because that's what my wife does here in Salt Lake City.
Alex Lombard: What has she been in?
HDD: You know, it's been a while since she acted in anything because she's been devoting a lot of her time to directing.
Alex Lombard: Good for her! That's the way to go.
HDD: So, what can we expect from you next?
Alex Lombard: I have a movie coming out this year called 'The Man Without A Head.' I'm really excited about that. It's starring Shannyn Sossamon. Taryn Manning is also in that. And then I'm just now wrapping up a pilot that I wrote. I'll be shopping that around this summer. I'm super excited about it because it's the first TV thing that I've written. And then I wrote a film that I hope to make this fall. I'll be directing and starring in that as well.
HDD: So, you're doing everything -
Alex Lombard: I am!
HDD: - producting, writing, directing, acting?
Alex Lombard: Yep!
HDD: How has the process of making a television pilot been for you?
Alex Lombard: As a writer? From what I know so far, you write your pilot, then you have to start pitching pitches with anybody and everybody will see you in hopes that somebody likes it enough to option your work – that someone likes it enough to buy it.
HDD: Now, in researching you, I didn't find a thing about your pilot.
Alex Lombard: I don't even think that's out there yet, so High-Def Digest is hearing it first!
HDD: Awesome! Can you tell me about it?
Alex Lombard: It's a fish-out-of-water story that's semi-autobiographical about my writing partner, a young high-school aged Eastern European kid who is escaping communism and lands as a foreign exchange student in the rural south.
HDD: So the possibilities are endless.
Alex Lombard: The possibilities are endless with the hijinks that ensue in that situation. Being a southerner, that's an idea that's so close to my heart. I'm so happy to be writing about the south; re-envisioning that world is really fun for me.
HDD: So, I take it it's comedic.
Alex Lombard: Well, it's sort of a dramedy – kind of in the vein of 'The Big C' or 'Weeds.' An HBO or Showtime type of series is how we envisioned it when we were writing it.
HDD: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I look forward to seeing you on the big screen this weekend.
Alex Lombard: And that you! And have a great summer!
HDD: You too!
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