| Convention Report: Grand Slam 2006 |
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| It's a strange juxtaposition when you consider the actress Alice Krige against the characters she oftentimes portrays: From the Borg Queen in Star Trek, to the harsh madam Maddie in Deadwood, to her latest role in Silent Hill as Christabella, Alice can play evil with the best of them. What makes it so astounding is when you take into account the fact that she is such a gentle soul underneath. Krige is about as proper, well-spoken and nice as anyone in the industry! Perhaps the secret to Alice's success is that her characters can either lull you into a false sense of security, or they can disarm you with subtle charms. You only think she is trustworthy and full of integrity, when the reality is much darker. The South African-born Krige began by talking about her upcoming film, Silent Hill, which opens in theatres April 21. She also showed a pretty scary trailer of the movie, which is based on a video game of the same name. Calling the movie a "meditation on the nature of good and evil," she urged people to see it if they dare. "It's a dark universe. It operates on a multitude of different layers," she added. In the film, Alice plays a character who personifies evil — of course — a role that required her to inhabit a very dark space for three months of shooting. This eventually took its toll on the actress: "I was really unwell; it was a very hard piece for me to do." |
| Keeping the supernatural theme going, the first question from the audience focused on Alice's first major role after Chariots of Fire, the appropriately titled Ghost Story. The 1981 movie was famous for featuring a horde of legendary actors: Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman and Patricia Neal. The relatively young Alice was a bit taken aback by the part, as she was still pretty fresh to movie making. "I was 26 when I did this [movie], but I was new to the industry." The experience of working with these actors in Ghost Story is something she cherishes to this day. "It was the most extraordinary gift, because they had a kind of gallantry and charm that was not something that was manufactured or turned on. It was just who they were. They were an object lesson for a young actor in how to behave, and the attitude to take to your craft. They were quite, quite wonderful." Shifting gears to her now legendary role in Star Trek: First Contact, Alice remarked on things like the filming of the Borg Queen, and the physical hardships presented by the hard contact lenses she had to wear not mixing too well with the "dust of ages" from the old Paramount soundstage. But in spite of any physical problems, it was "one of the happiest pieces of work I've ever been part of." She also mentioned the camaraderie of Jonathan [Frakes], Brent [Spiner] and Patrick Stewart (Picard). "They were so much fun. It was like being part of a functional family. Which is quite unusual, is it not? They were so happy to see each other. They hadn't worked together for two years. They were teasing each other, joking around and playing the fool, then [director] Jonathan would say 'roll cameras' and 'action,' and it was as if they turned on this white hot light and they were totally in the moment!" On Star Trek and conventions, Alice was gracious as always. "This is the only piece of work I have ever done that has had this amazing afterlife. It has given me the greatest joy." Convention Report: Grand Slam 2006 (Copyright by StarTrek.com) Photograph by Steven L. Sears |