Toni Collette Says Sees Horror Movies as “Beautiful Dramas” and it’s Why She Thrives in Them
Toni Collette is one of the most talented and versatile actors working in the industry today. She has excelled across a variety of different genres, including comedy, drama, and, of course, horror. She delivered standout showings in two critically acclaimed genre pictures, nearly two decades apart. In The Sixth Sense, she played Lynn Sear, the devoted mother of a frightened child haunted by ghostly visions. Almost 20 years later, she delivered another career-defining performance in Hereditary, where she portrayed Annie Graham, a grief-stricken mother rocked by tragedy.
Interestingly enough, Collette doesn’t actually consider either of those pictures horror films. In fact, in a recent appearance on the CBC podcast Q With Tom Power, Collette admitted that she didn’t even realize that The Sixth Sense was a horror film until she caught a glimpse of an early cut of the tent scene where Mischa Barton appears as a vomiting apparition.
“I just thought it was a beautiful, spiritual story,” Collette explained. “I think the horror films that I’ve done are actually just beautiful dramas that have an element that pushes people just a little bit further. Hereditary is just a heartbreaking story about family grief and disconnection. But there’s something on top of them, which sensationalizes them just slightly.”
I normally grow frustrated when an actor tries to distance themselves from their genre output. I usually see that as poor form. However, Collette makes a valid point here. The Sixth Sense and Hereditary both straddle the line between drama and horror. Each has one foot in both genres. In each case, she portrays a well-developed character that pulls the audience into her experience. The horror elements are undeniable, but both films exist somewhere in the space between the two seemingly opposed genres, rather than belonging exclusively to one or the other.
It’s clear that Collette pulls these performances from a deeply personal place, but don’t even think about calling her a method actor. She has little faith in that technique, ultimately telling Power that she sees it as “absolutely indulgent wankery,” and “bulls–t.” In fact, she says that she rarely ever carries the roles she plays with her after the fact.
I think it’s charming that despite her substantial talent and enduring success, Collette doesn’t seem to take herself too seriously. She’s a breath of fresh air, for sure.
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