Emmy Raver-Lampman, Star of ‘Gatlopp’, Will Never Watch ‘The Exorcist’ Again
In Alberto Belli and Jim Mahoney’s new film Gatlopp, four old friends come together for a night of drinking, reminiscing, and fun. But, when one of them pulls out a strange board game, the night takes a turn for the absurd. These four friends need to try and beat the game or be damned to eternity in hell.
One of these friends is Sam, played by Emmy Raver-Lampman of The Umbrella Academy fame. She plays the female friend of the group, a hard-working woman who just wants to get ahead in a male-dominated world. But, in the hustle, she’s lost sight of what really matters in life.
We sat down with the Gatlopp star to chat about her love of board games, her fears of The Exorcist, and more.
Dread Central: What attracted you to the script for Gatlopp?
Emmy Raver-Lampman: I really love the dynamic between these four friends. There’s a lot of stuff bubbling under the surface and a lot of things going on behind everybody’s eyes. And I think there’s, you know, grief and betrayal and secrets and, failure. They’re all kind of at a crossroads in their lives where they all know that they all need each other. But everyone is too stubborn to be the first one to admit that.
And also, you know, on a personal note, I love board games. My parents were definitely more go outside and play than sit at home and watch TV. I didn’t have a Nintendo or PlayStation. So I grew up playing a ton of board games with my friends and with my parents. And one of my favorite movies, when I did get TV time, was Jumanji.
DC: <laugh> Hell yeah.
ERL: You know, so I think [Gatlopp] has so much of that. So I think there were a couple things [that attracted me to the film], but those were the kind of the top two. The adult board game that kind of comes to life. And then the relationship between these core four individuals.
DC: So what was your favorite board game growing up?
ERL: Oh, man, I loved Clue. And I liked Life a lot as well. I played a lot of Life. And I played a ton of Scrabble with my dad. He’s a big, big Scrabble lover.
DC: Like you mentioned, the relationship between the four core characters is such a huge part of Gatlopp. What was it like developing that dynamic with the other actors and creating this really great chemistry between the four of you?
ERL: It was honestly instantaneous. I did a chemistry read with Sarunas [Jackson]. And the moment that he popped into Zoom, me and Alberto, the director, we just knew this was our guy. He’s got his charisma just kind of came through the screen and Jon [Bass] is lunatic in the best way. I’m obsessed with him. <laugh> I’ve never met someone who makes me laugh so hard. And Jim [Mahoney] is just the heart and soul of the group, I think. He’s just such a sweetheart.
We made Gatlopp in 12 days. It was very, very quick. We were shooting like eight to 12 scenes a day. There was no time to breathe. We had to jump in and from day one, pull off this friendship that is decades old. And I think the four of us got on so well. We still have the Gatlopp group chat. Oh man, we talk all the time and still go out to dinner and, and still literally laugh about moments that we spent on set. So what you see on the screen is real. We really do and did get on almost instantaneously, it was actually kind of wild.
DC: I love that. You can really tell that you guys felt like best friends in the film and it’s so cool. What was the funniest like moment on set for you filming-wise?
ERL: Oh, it was definitely Jon getting shot by the arrow and bleeding out on the table. I’ve honestly never been more unprofessional than when we were trying to do that scene. If you go back and watch it close enough, you can see the corners of my mouth are pushing like the entire scene because I am. I broke every time on my coverage, and on Jon’s coverage, especially. And I’m leaning over him and he’s pulling me to his face and he’s like, ‘don’t do the thing where you say 1, 2, 3’. And I couldn’t give a straight face. Poor man was laying on a table, sitting in a pool of wet, sticky fake blood with this pump attached to his leg. It was the worst scenario for him. And for some reason, it was hysterical for me and Sarunas and Jim. We couldn’t keep a straight face <laugh> so still to this day we still talk about it.
I mean, Jon has a completely different version of that evening. Of course, it was the end of the day, we only had like 30 minutes to get the shot. I messed up almost every take because I couldn’t keep a straight face. <laugh>
DC: That is incredible. Are you a big horror movie person? Do you love horror movies or are you new to the genre?
ERL: I’m actually really new to the genre. When I was like 11 or 12, I went to a sleepover party at a friend’s house when I was growing up. She thought it would be a great idea for the group to watch The Exorcist. Oh, and I’ve still never recovered <laugh>
DC: Oh, that’s not a good sleepover movie.
Oh yeah. I’m actually a huge fan of true crime and documentaries and podcasts. I love a murder mystery novel, I love a psychological thriller. Horror is not my bag, but somehow I have found myself in this genre and to be completely honest, I’m really loving it. It’s really exciting. And it’s fun. It’s really challenging because the highs are so high and the lows are so low. Yeah. It’s finding those balances and in this genre as an actor, you’re just working in absolute extremes. So I’m easing into it, but I still don’t think I’m ever gonna watch The Exorcist again.
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