The soon-to-be teen actress Kylee Russell (profile) recently did a brief interview to talk about her work on the independent film “Mississippi Damned” as well as future projects. Read the interview below. “Mississippi Damned“, (also starring actor Malcolm David Kelley (profile)), is doing really well and has already won 7 awards at 9 film festivals! Visit http://www.mississippidamned.com for a list of the awards and more.

Q: What drew you to work on this project and the role of Young Kari?
A: At first I didn’t want to do it because Kari had to deal with sad things and I didn’t want to cry. But my mom encouraged me to try it and I loved it! It was an honor to work with Tina Mabry and ALL the GREAT ACTORS of Mississippi Damned. They helped me to become a more emotional actor. I grew to understand and like Kari. She was smart, strong and understanding. After all she went through she made it out and followed her dreams. I learned I was strong too because I did cry and I was okay afterwards!

Q: What was your experience like working on the set of Mississippi Damned?
A: It was a good experience! Everybody was like family. We laughed a lot! Malcom David Kelly really acted like a big brother! Charles Parnell always had funny jokes for us! Every single person we worked with showed a lot of love and respect for each other. Tina Mabry was a great director. She always made me comfortable on set.

Being in Ahoskie was different. I got to experience nature. I even saw a mother deer and her baby cross the street and go into the woods while I was outside my trailer!

Q: What was it like being one of the youngest people on set? Was there a difference between working with the adults and the children?
A: Well, it was nice being one of the youngest because everybody gave me lots of attention and hugs. I learned a lot from the adult actors because they were so good at acting! I watched them and learned different ways to get into character. In one of the scenes Aunt Anna was hurt and I really cried. When we wrapped, they (the adult actors) all clapped for me as I got into the van and said I did a good job. Adam Clark, who played my dad, went over lines with me so I could get a better understanding of our scene together and make it sound more natural. They helped me to really feel and not to be afraid. They respected me. And that felt good.

I guess the only big difference between working with kids and adults on set are that you can learn more from the adults. But the adults on the set of Mississippi Damned knew how to have fun like kids! Even though there were a lot of sad scenes in the movie, we laughed a lot after.

Q: Which character, besides your own, do you relate to the most?
A: I relate to Aunt Anna the most because she was safe and had a soothing voice. Aunt Anna was quiet but she was strong and smart. She had a lot of love to give. Like Kari, she kept peace in the family. They went through a lot, but they never complained.

Q: What projects are you currently working on?
A: I recently did a National HSBC (Bank) commercial. I had auditions for movies and a TV series and got the call backs. I am waiting for that great role God has just for me! I love doing movies, but I really want my own TV show.

SOURCE/CREDIT: Morgan’s Mark Productions/Mrs. Tavares-Russell

Tags: Kylee Russell