 Acting
careers can take you in some
unexpected directions. Just ask
Zoë Hunter. She was trained for
dance and studied acting for
several years. She was in
numerous theatrical productions
and off Broadway plays. Her
career was progressing at a
steady rate and then she was
offered the showy role of Piper
King in Tony Urban’s horror
film production of
‘Klownz’ (1993).
Overnight she made a mark in the
horror genre. Next came a couple
roles Crazy Ralph Productions
– she was Buffy in
‘Kottentail’ and
Tiffany in ‘A Pound of
Flesh’. She followed those
parts by playing “like a
zombie sorority girl” named
Natasha in ‘Alpha Dead’
(2004). Next came the inevitable
title of Scream Queen of The
Month, which she held in July
2005 and gave her added
visibility. Currently she has a
couple of horror gems in the
works that seem destined to
cement her status as a scream
queen. She just completed filming
her showy role as Skylar in
‘Witchcraft 13: Blood of the
Chosen’ and is soon set to
begin filming her part as Angel
in the deliciously titled
‘Psycho Cheerleaders’.
As you can see in this exclusive
racksandrazors interview Zoë
Hunter has the “acting
chops” to make it big in the
genre as well as a great
adventurous personality – a
very winning combination! Owen:
Hi Zoë,
you've studied acting
and worked on stage and in a
variety of mediums and
such. Did this entire
career in horror and your
subsequent scream queen status
come somewhat unexpectedly with
your role as Piper King in
Tony Urban's KLOWNZ
(2003)?
Zoe:
Yes, Piper was my first lead
female horror scream queen.
Previously, I had worked on a
short thriller in which I played
a killer named "Forsythia"
but never a scream queen.
Owen:
So tell me about that
"click" when you
realized horror could be a
big career move? How did
the promotional aspects of being
a scream queen snowball from
there? And what does maintaining
that title entail in your
experience?
Zoe:
I am still getting used to horror
being a career move. I spent my
first 20 something years studying
for the musical theatre and
singing/dancing so it was a big
stretch from that. What I found
was the horror genre and
filmmakers construe a relatively
small world, so it was eventual
that Klownz would lead to other
horror roles. As for
maintaining, I am continually
making new contacts and
auditioning for horror roles as
well as others. Also, I have
plans to build an extensive
website with new photos etc. in
the horror and gore genre.
Also, I have a couple of projects
in the works and look forward to
expanding to sci-fi and
thrillers as well.
Owen:
Well, what helped cement that
status was your title
as July 2005 Scream
Queen of the Month from the
magazine/site. How is that
title chosen? Do you
submit pix and a resume? Do
they approach you? I'm
curious.
Zoe:
I don’t quite remember how I
received that title...I just
remember receiving an email that
I had been selected and I could
promote the link and site a
couple of weeks beforehand.
Owen:
Now you are currently wrapping
filming in Houston as Skylar in 'Witchcraft
13: Blood of The Chosen'.
Tell me about your work in that
film.
Zoe:
I wrapped my work on the film
this past Monday, and it was a
wonderful experience. The crew
was very professional, the set
was amazing and Mel House (our
director) really worked new life
into the series. I think it will
be the best one ever! Plus
13 is my lucky number, so it has
to be successful. As for my role,
Skylar was fun to play.
Diabolical, sensual and
cheeky…those were my
motivational adjectives while
playing her. Great fun.
Owen:
So what draws you to
choose your projects - is it
location, money, the part, the
challenge, the exposure, a gut
feeling...how do you decide?
Zoe:
Hmm… Generally, I choose a
project that challenges me; a
role that I haven’t played
before or find really fun.
Also, I love to travel so I am
really open minded to
scripts/projects that shoot in
other parts of the US or
abroad. I am dying to shoot
a vampire film, and love
historical horror as well, with
corsets and bustles.
Owen:
So as a trained actress how does
one "act" like a zombie
--- I'm referring basically to
your work as Natasha, the zombie
sorority girl in 'Alpha
Dead' (2004)?
Zoe: Natasha
was really fun to play as she
started out extremely jaded and
bitchy (as well as slutty) so it
was easy to love her zombie side
or should I say zombie slut
side. I basically cleared
my mind, got the drool going, let
my eyes roll into the back of my
head and went with it!
Owen:
I also see you
have the deliciously titled
'Psycho Cheerleaders'
lined up this year. Who can
resist a title like that?
Tell me about your work on that
project as Angel.
Zoe:
We are in preproduction for that
project (it was pushed back for
the spring), so I don’t want
to ruin too much of the
plot...lets just say that Angel
is a cheerleader without a
heart. She also gets
zombiefied and I can’t
wait!!!
Owen:
You also worked twice in 2004
with Crazy Ralph Productions in 'A
Pound of Flesh' (as
Tiffany) and 'Kottentail'
(as Buffy). How was your
experience working with that
production company? What
about working with him made you
come back a second time?
Zoe:
Working with Tony Urban
and the whole Crazy Ralph family
is always gut-busting fun. I love
the scripts, and working with a
lot of the same actors makes for
a wonderful ensemble cast.
We always have a great time
shooting and I look forward to
shooting with him again.
Owen:
So as a woman deemed a scream
queen I'm sure you are asked to
do some pretty gruesome things on
screen. Do you have
boundaries in that regard...i.e.
-- I will do this, but not
that...if so would you care to
share one or two of them?
Zoe:
One of my favorite
aspects of working in horror is
the blood and guts. I love the
gore. I don’t really have
limits as for dying, though I am
slightly claustrophobic so I
don’t think I could shoot a
"buried alive" scene or
one in a coffin or trunk. I
love being shot, burnt, drowning,
etc, great challenges for any
actor.
Owen:
What other projects do you have
lined up in the future?
Zoe:
I am currently in preproduction
for a romantic comedy feature
shooting in NYC called "Together",
as well as the previously
mentioned "Psycho
Cheerleaders" set
for the spring 06. Also, I
am shooting a small part in an
indie feature this week, "Playing
Doctor" and have
several auditions over the next
few weeks.
Owen:
What frightens you in real
life?
Zoe:
OOh...I love this
question, although I am sure it
will be used against me by some
director who reads this,
haha. I am afraid of really
high heights, being buried alive
and short haircuts..lol...no
really. I cut my hair short for a
role in college and cried for 2
years. I looked like a mushroom
head. I am also afraid of
Pam Anderson look-alikes, long
nasty needles, and sports
fanatics.
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