Liana Liberato is best known for her roles in films like Stuck in Love, To the Bone and If I Stay. But this October she’s shaking it up with her new Hulu show, Light as a Feather, a horror-thriller centered around the sleepover game of the same name. As five friends take part in the seemingly harmless but truly insidious game, they quickly start to die off, one by one. At the same time thrilling, terrifying and heart-wrenching, Liana says this show is like nothing else out right now—so obviously it’s a must-watch.
The bubbly, passionate and down-to-earth actress sat down with Her Campus to talk about Light as a Feather, and succeeded in only further convincing us how badly we need to binge watch. We discuss how she got into acting, how she converted herself from a scaredy-cat to a horror movie-lover and what it was like to work with some of her closest friends.
Her Campus: When did you first get into acting? Was it something you knew you always wanted to do?
Liana Liberato: It was. It’s so weird, I have no idea what possessed me to want to do this. I remember trying a lot of other things and what a lot of other kids at my school back in Texas did, like soccer and softball and all those things. I just never took much of a liking to it. My mom put me in a theater class when I was about three to help me not be that shy and stop me from hiding behind her legs when people were talking to me. I just really fell in love with it. Throughout the years I would try different things, but I never really liked anything as much as I liked acting.
HC: Well thanks to Mom then, right?
LL: For real. It was so unintentional. She had no idea that I was going to like it as much as I did because a lot of kids do theater in their schools. I grew up in a small town and it was kind of the only thing to do other than a sport, and my mom was like “oh…oh you actually want to pursue this now. Well….ok.” My mom had no idea that I was going to take it this far.
HC: So what was it like to be acting while going through school? Were you in public school or were you homeschooled?
LL: I went to public school until about fifth grade. It’s weird because I believe that education is so, so important, but I didn’t feel like I had much of a place in my school. I didn’t really feel like I could connect with a lot of people, and academically I felt like I learned in a very creative and visual way. Back in the early 2000s in public school, in my small town, they didn’t really cater much to a creative mind, so I felt like I definitely had a lot harder of a time in school. Which is, I think, why I leaned so much on my theater class after school because I felt very welcome and comfortable there. I was ready to listen and take in what was being told to me. I think it made the transition from Texas to LA a lot easier because I didn’t feel like I had much to hold onto back home, for a while at least.
HC: Your new show, Light as a Feather, premieres on Hulu on October 12, and centers around the game of the same name. Do you personally believe in ghosts? Have you had any supernatural encounters and do you believe in ghosts?
LL: I totally think I believe in it, but I don’t think I’ve had any specific experiences. Growing up I would always watch—on the History Channel and the Discovery Channel—those ghost reality shows. I found them to be so much fun. I was totally into those things growing up. But I feel like we’d be crazy to think that there isn’t any sort of “other realm” or anything spiritually going on around us. I feel like the world, or the universe, is just way too big.
HC: The show has very similar vibes to the movie The Craft. Have you ever seen that movie and was it infused into the show in any way?
I haven’t seen that film, but I’ve heard that reference a lot. It was definitely a topic of conversation while we were on set, but this was a book and it’s kind of its own entity. I feel like our audience is going to be really surprised when they watch it, and reading the book I was surprised. I feel like it’s really, really unique. From what I know when it comes to certain television shows out there right now, I don’t think there’s a show like this one. It definitely dives into the very scary, thrilling parts of the game, but there’s some other really serious challenges that the girls go through. You get a look at their friendship in a very cool way.
HC: It’s not just horror. There’s more to the show than just the scary scenes.
LL: Absolutely. There’s a lot of layers to it.
HC: Speaking of the genre, are you a fan of horror movies?
LL: Yes, I love horror movies! I used to hate them, I was terrified of them, but then I got so sick and tired of being afraid of them that one day I just bought a bunch of old-time horror movies—like I bought The Shining, and Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist—and I was like, “I’m starting from the beginning and I’m going to work my way up.” I taught myself how to love them because I was so tired of being so terrified of them all the time. So that’s kind of how I fell in love with the genre.
HC: I can definitely relate to hating them at first.
LL: It’s not scary! And, I don’t know, it’s thrilling at the same time. I’m obsessed with James Wan, who does all The Conjuring movies, Insidious and Annabelle and all those films. I like the cult vibes to it. I think with horror movies you can really explore a very interesting vision.
HC: Going back to Light as a Feather, were there any scenes that you were actually terrified to film?
LL: There were definitely some specific locations that were a little scary to film on. We had to do a few night shoots, and the area was particularly creepy. We were alone in a cabin for a while, which was cool and weird.
As the premise of the show explains, there are definitely some losses in our group on the show. If I can think back on my career, I don’t think any of my characters have truly experienced death the same way that McKenna has. Even though the process of filming is different [from actually experiencing it], when you’re in that moment you have to convince yourself that something truly horrible is happening and that is really scary. Especially when you’ve bonded so well with you cast mates. Watching them endure certain things…it kind of gets you shook.
HC: How did you deal with that? Did you all just go home, relax and try not to think about it?
LL: We had some really busy days. One minute we’re freaking out and crying and screaming, and another minute we’re pretending to be freaking out about a test, or driving to a dance or a party. So it was pretty easy to disconnect after, especially since after a scene is over whoever it is that’s going through that horrible traumatic experience is like “oh what’s for lunch?” and then you just kind of move on.
But the days were really long and we were really exhausted. I can’t speak on behalf of everybody, but I feel like we all just left everything we possibly had on that set because we gave everything to the show. So really when we got home we just passed out, got our energy up and went back on set and did it all over again.
HC: On Instagram you posted about how close the cast of Light as a Feather became during filming, and how proud you are to call them your “first TV family.” Was part of that connection because of the long days spent filming? Can you talk a little bit about your relationships?
LL: It’s actually really crazy because ironically I knew about half of the cast before we even starting filming. I’ve known Haley Ramm, who plays Violet, for like 10 years. We grew up auditioning together and we did our first film together last year, so when she signed on as Violet that was so cool and exciting. I’ve known Peyton List for a while as well. She’s dating one of my best friends, Cameron [Monaghan]. So it was really cool getting to work with some of my closest friends for a whole summer. Yeah, the days were really long and really hard and you’re doing a horror show and there’s a lot of elements that come into play with the type of scenes that are required of you, so there’s definitely a kind of camaraderie and a bonding that happens when you’re on set.
Also, before I signed on to this show I was really apprehensive about filming a TV show because I was like, “I don’t know if I want to be stuck on a show for a very long time. What if I don’t get along with the people I’m working with?” You never know what you’re going to walk into, and I have no idea how I go so lucky. There’s not a single bad egg in the bunch. Everyone is so much fun and so lighthearted. We had the best time, we really did. And we all still hang out all the time—I’m obsessed with them.
HC: Light as a Feather is also your first series-long role on a television show You said that you were apprehensive about it in the beginning, but how do you feel about it now?
LL: I totally love it. I grew up doing film, and aside from some small roles on TV shows when I was just starting out, my entire career has basically just been movies. So I think a lot of my hesitation was really coming from it being very uncharted territory. I’ve never been a series regular on a show, so I was like “oh this is unfamiliar and weird and I wonder what I’m going to think of it.” But the moment I set foot on set I knew that it was going to be special, so now I’m definitely so open to TV. I really hope that we’ll have another season.
HC: You’ve said before that you’ve always been encouraged to follow your passions and pursue anything you’re interested in, no matter where life takes you. Where is life taking you next? What are some things you’d like to pursue in the future?
LL: That’s definitely still true for me. There have totally been times where I’ve sat back and been like “is there anything else that I feel like I’d like to explore aside from acting?” I feel like there’s definitely been a few things. I pursued writing for a while, and also directing. Directing in particular is something that I would like to try maybe in the future, but there’s still so many things that I’d like to do in my acting career. Which blows my mind that I even can say that after doing this for 15 years, but there’s still hurdles that I need to jump over. But I think that’s what makes this field so exciting is that there’s never the same day twice, and there’s never the same problem or exciting situation that happens twice. Every day is a new day, and there’s a lot more that I’d like to do.
HC: That’s a great way to put it: that there’s always something more than you can work for in the industry.
LL: Exactly. I feel like that’s so important in a career. I can never stay stagnant. I feel like it’s so important to constantly be challenged in your life and acting has totally been that for me.
HC: Do you have any dream roles or actors and actresses you’d love to work with?
LL: Absolutely! I really, really love Michelle Williams. She’s hands-down my favorite actress ever. So any way that I could work with her would be an absolute dream. When it comes to roles, I’m pretty open-minded. At the end of the day, I just want to read a really good script and be entertained. I’m not the type of person who’s like, “I have to be in the lead in this,” or “it’s that [role] or nothing.” I just want to do good stories. For me, watching films and television growing up, that was my escape and that was a great time for me to get out of my head and immerse myself in another person’s life or story and that’s what I want to do for other people. If there’s any way that I can contribute to a film, I would love to do that.
Light as a Feather premieres October 12 on Hulu!