Michaella Russell, best known for her unforgettable role as ‘Charlie Holmes’ in the hit soap opera Isidingo, is back on the big screen with horror movie All My Friends Are Dead (#AMFAD).

 

• After relocating to the United States, Michaella’s star has continued to rise, with standout roles in movies such as Next Assignment: Project X and Echoes of Violence.
• Now, in 2024, she takes on a gripping new role as Officer Shaw in the American slasher film All My Friends Are Dead (#AMFAD).
• The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and has already captured audiences worldwide.
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In this latest thriller, Michaella plays a central character in the horror All My Friends Are Dead (#AMFAD), a story that follows a group of friends whose weekend getaway for a music festival turns deadly. As the group grapples with mysterious murders tied to the seven deadly sins, Officer Shaw’s role becomes key to unravelling the dark mystery. In this exclusive interview, Michaella talks about her career journey, her transition from South Africa to Hollywood, and her latest role in this thrilling new film.

 

 

ST: What drew you to the role of Officer Shaw? Did you relate to her character in any way?

MR: Officer Shaw was a character unlike any I’ve played before. I was delighted to be considered for something so different. This was an opportunity to throw myself at an action intensive, central-character in a deliciously sinister slasher creation. I adored the challenge of it, the opportunity to develop new elements of my craft and lean into a genre that has had me captivated since I was a kid, hoping to provide the same chills and thrills that iconic pieces like the Scream franchise did for me.

 

ST: What was your favourite scene to film in #AMFAD, and why?

MR: My favourite scene/s to film without giving anything away, probably falls near the tail-end of the film, the moment/s making up the full realization of my character. It was condensed and gritty and anything by but pretty. It must also be said that acting opposite Jade PettyJohn was a true gift in these moments. I enjoyed such trust and synergy with her which made even the most challenging moments effortlessly immersive and joyous.

 

ST: #AMFAD explores themes of friendship and betrayal. What message do you hope audiences take away regarding these themes?

MR: Weirdly enough at the heart of both the themes of friendship and betrayal, sort of the overlap in the metaphorical Venn Diagram of these emotions; is loyalty. It is loyalty no matter how warped or corrupted that I believe stands out to me. The lasting message I hope that the take away from this film is; one of love, this is a broken and bleeding love story and a call to not breed the same pain you sustain.

 

ST: You have a background in Neuropsychology and Economics. Did your studies influence your approach to acting or your character in any way?

MR: I believe this question tackles the age old conundrum of nature versus nurture, how much are we a product of what is intrinsically within our cellular code and how much are we the result of experiential learning, external factors and the things we go through? I gravitated towards certain fields of study because I have an affinity for those disciplines and in turn I have enjoyed the same aptitude for performance as it harnesses the same strengths within myself. I can’t say one can be removed from the other. It was and continues to be a treat to explore these areas of fascination for myself in the hope that while doing it I honour the stories I tell, the characters I portray and the people I reach through the lens.

 

ST: Can you share any behind-the-scenes stories or challenges you faced while filming #AMFAD?

MR: I can share what a wild ride it was actually getting to set in the first place. It was an arduous and totally improbable journey, I needed to get up to Vancouver, BC in Canada from Los Angeles without any of the correct paperwork in the impossible time frame of less than two weeks. It was nuts as the process of securing the right work permits and Visas as a person traveling on a non-US passport can take months to organize. I knew it was almost certainly impossible and overwhelmed with excitement and possibly dumb optimism I turned to my dog and said; “well buddy, you’re going to the doggy hotel for a while and momma is going to deliver two world class performances”.

 

The first of which would be at the border to Canada, and the second, God willing, would be on set! To compound things this happened during a strike in the immigration department of Canada and just before the writers and then the actors strike in America, a perfect storm of ‘you’re never going to get this right’ but, I love me some crazy odds and luck shone kindly upon me.

 

ST: What can fans expect next from you after your role in this film? Are there any upcoming projects you’re excited about?

MR: I am thrilled to have thoroughly dipped my toes in the horror world and fans can expect more of me in this medium along with some action packed roles that little uncoordinated me would never have dreamed I would be trusted to do! It’s a joy and something I am having a tremendous amount of fun exploring. Courtesy of NDA’s I can’t share much else but I’m gearing up and can’t wait to take audiences on the adventures to come.

 

ST: As an actress who has worked in different genres, how does a horror movie set compare to the others you’ve been on?

MR: There is a LOT of fake blood! A LOT, a LOT! In addition to this element and depending on the type of horror, with this particular film lending its self to the slasher genre, there were also plentiful devilish contraptions and bespoke stages created for rather complex and gory set-ups we captured throughout. All this crafted by an incredibly skilled art department and set designer in conjunction with a brilliant make-up department and wardrobe and and and…I guess what I’m saying is that it was a truly collaborative set, you felt every department, every influence and hand involved in each moment of filming. More so than in some other instances, I felt that production was a living breathing organism of many vital parts coming together and all focused on creating this terror baby.

 

ST: How did you prepare for the action-packed scenes, such as the van breakdown, and did you do any of your own stunts in #AMFAD?

MR: I have so very much respect for stuntmen, stunt coordinators and the actors who do their own stunts. Walking into this as I am with any opportunity in film, I was totally on board to throw myself fully at the challenge of doing as much of my own stunt work as possible, I was in that get-up on set for every scene, I ran the stunts, worked with the stunt team and coordinator, ran the set-up’s, ran laps around the building, got my heart rate up, ducked, dove, swung. I did it all and adored it. I was NOT in as good shape as I thought I was, however horror movie boot-camp should be a thing, I dropped about a size and a half in a few weeks (much to the wardrobe departments chagrin), best crash workout plan I’ve ever been on. All the above being said I can’t thank my stunt double enough for protecting me from potentially hazardous setups when certain moments demanded it and for the stunt department in general for doing the same for each of my fellow performers when in similar setups.

 

ST: Were there any particular horror films or characters that inspired your portrayal of Officer Shaw?

MR: Curiously I was drawn to characters, motifs and themes covered extensively by Shakespeare, the idea of deception, masks and resisting the urge to trust that which we see on the surface and instinctively gravitate towards for seeming safe and unthreatening. The genre and feel of the film inspired me the most however. I wanted to conjure the same response in those who watched my character as the one I have had watching other characters in similar worlds, to generate the sickeningly delicious gasp moment! The delight of being fooled, seduced into belief, the empathy and sorrow we feel for a character so warped yet somehow impossibly redeemed by their relentless devotion to love or love as they the character so brokenly understand it. There are few characters as compelling as those we both hate and love, condemn yet feel for. I wanted to be, to harness and portray, that character.

 

ST: How does the film’s use of social media and influencer culture add to the horror? Do you think it reflects a certain fear in today’s society?

MR: I think there is always some risk when making reference to technology in a film as technology is an ever evolving and changing thing and it changes fast. The fear is that technology will change so quickly that it may date an offering rapidly, making it irrelevant or unrelatable however in this case social media and tech in many ways is a character all of its own. It speaks more to the spirit of dependence on tech, the disillusionment we suffer as a people pouring ourselves into devices, emboldened and empowered behind our screens, detached from the world we are deceptively led to believe we are so “connected” to as a result of these technologies. We still live and breathe and move through a living and breathing and moving world, I hope it’s a call to all to touch some grass and make some eye contact.

 

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