Actors Thomas Mann and Zoey Deutch, stars of the supernatural film Beautiful Creatures, sat down with Shakefire to discuss their roles in the film and what it was like working on the project. Mann stars as Link, the best friend of Ethan, and Deutch stars as Emily, Ethan's bitter ex-girlfriend who dispises the new girl Lana. 

Shakefire: Did either of you read any of the books before filming?

Thomas Mann: No, she did. I did not. When I first met with Richard, he told me about the books, and he told me how his script varied a lot, just because when you adapt a 600 page book you have to consolidate a lot of things so he didn’t want me to get things confused. He said, “Read it if you want but I’m not asking you to read it for the movie because it’s a different take on it.” So I didn’t want to get anything muddled in my brain and just stuck to Richard’s vision and then read the book after.

SF: You both worked with some big name actors like Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson. What was it like working with them and what did you take away from the experience?

TM: Working with them is really intimidating at first.

Zoey Deutch: The idea of them is intimidating. They’re not intimidating. They’re lovely people.

TM: Once you meet them and start working with them on set it really is just the best acting class you could ask for.

ZD: We got paid to go to acting class, dude!

TM: I mean they were just all so smart and have so much life experience to share with you. It was really nice. There were times where Emma Thompson would just give me directions instead of the director and he’d be like, “Yeah that sounds good. Let’s do that.” You’re not going to say no to Emma Thompson. And Jeremy also and Viola; it was just amazing getting to be near them and I just feel very lucky.

SF: The conservative views seen in the film seem almost foreign. Do you think that was exaggerated in the movie to the same extend as the supernatural elements?

ZD: No. First off, I had to do a lot of research because I’m personally Jewish so I had no idea. She’s evangelical and religiously extreme so I went to a lot of evangelical churches and talked to a lot of people and tried to understand that perspective. In no way did I judge it, because I couldn’t judge it, obviously, because if you judge the character and the character’s viewpoints and feelings and community, that’s what religion is; a community, then it’s not going to feel real to your or the audience. And with the people I met, no, it didn’t feel forced or exaggerated.

TM: Well, I think the fictional town of Gatlin specifically just seems like it’s sort of stuck in time, stuck in the past. I don’t know if it’s exaggerated for maybe how things were 100 years ago. Still…

ZD: Still it’s shocking.

TM: I know, but I’m saying especially in the movie it’s a heightened version of that. It has a lot of social commentary about the fitting in and right or wrong, good versus evil. I would say it helps build the strong, tense atmosphere, for sure.

ZD: I think the idea is that it’s so closed minded that it has just been built up to this crazy, it’s not even their fault. I mean, it really isn’t. They have no other perspective. It’s not even their fault.

SF: Having read the books, what part are you most excited for fans to see in the film?

ZD: There’s a scene between Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons that’s just ridiculous. You watch the scene and it’s like “Acting awesome, acting awesome, fire, magic, awesomeness!” You watch and you’re like oh my god, it’s so much good acting.

TM: Emma Thompson in that scene just kills it for me; it’s insane.

SF: It’s a very Southern film. Did you have any difficultly in adjusting to the heavy accents?

TM: We had a great dialect coach, Rick Lipton, who was very knowledgeable about not only the way people speak but why they speak that way and how the culture has influenced them. We really wanted to make these kids feel like authentic small town kids. We didn’t want to be too sophisticated or too cool. We didn’t want to seem like an actor living in Los Angeles. I wanted Link especially to feel like a very simple guy, which I think makes him so easy to corrupt. Yeah, I would say it was a lot of fun learning it.

ZD: I don’t know what it is but I guess I have a Southern vibe. I’ve played a couple very different Southern parts. For this one, I thought it was important to feel like she had two accents; one that was really the way she spoke and the other one was how she spoke in front of people because she’s so appearance obsessed and status obsessed. I loved it. I love accents and it was really fun.

SF: There are a lot of movies and books that have come out in recent years that have to do with the supernatural and love that gets intertwined along the way. What do you think sets Beautiful Creatures apart from those other stories?

TM: I hope it stands on its own to something really special. I think the aesthetic of the movie is very strong and there’s a lot of humor in the movie too, which I think people aren’t expecting. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s almost a voice in the movie that knows all this stuff is sort of ridiculous.

ZD: It’s sophisticated in this weird kinda way. I think there’s something to say that there are these incredible actors of such extreme talent.

TM: There’s a real maturity to the movie you don’t find in a lot of these other teen romance movies.

ZD: It’s also from the perspective of a male, of a teenage boy, and the girl has the powers. It’s the guy going after the girl. I appreciate that. I think that’s really different and I think that’s going to allow for guys to really like it as well. They’ll understand that it’s not wrong to fall in love with someone and be all charming.

SF: What was the best and worst part of filming?

TM: The worst part was the humidity. Literally, it was the middle of the summer in New Orleans. Even the small towns outside of New Orleans seem to be hotter than it was in New Orleans for whatever reason, especially the civil war reenactment scenes. You’re wearing a wool coat over three layers and the sun’s blaring down.

ZD: Were you wearing a corset and three petticoats?

TM: I wasn’t wearing a corset.

ZD: They had these standing boards for us because we couldn’t sit. Leaning boards I guess they’re called. You couldn’t use the restroom so there were some issues. No drinking or eating involved at all, all day. Just think about that for a second.

TM: I’m so glad I didn’t have to wear that.

ZD: So great being a guy, right? So yeah, I forgot about that. I blocked it out, haha.

TM: And the best part was being in New Orleans and getting to work with all these people and making new friends. We had a great time. Working with Emmy was great. I had a lot of scenes with her. Everyone was so much fun.

ZD: I think it was just being around the professionalism and talent and awesomeness of everyone; the crew and cast and everyone. Everyone was really great.

Beautiful Creatures is currently playing nationwide. Check out the official fan page on Shakefire and read our review!