Ceren Lee is the star of Machinima’s new pilot “Enormous” based on the successful comic series that began in 2012. Her character Ellen is struggling with the loss of her daughter in the apocalyptic viral outbreak, and has motivations of the same to save children, which have been deemed the future. Much like “The Walking Dead” the monsters are not the main focus of the show, in fact they are merely the catalyst that drives the human condition. We have the pilot episode available to watch just after the interview below! We hope you enjoy!
BSR!: How did you become involved in the project?
CL: Matt LaSalle th casting director became a friend of mine through different projects, and he called my manager and said “there is this role for Ceren, that she would be perfect for.” So I headed to the audition and I brought props, like a syringe and other things and I think that is what sealed the deal, because they were so impressed with my props.
BSR: Did you know much about Enormous before going to the audition?
CLI had not seen anything about the project, but as soon as I got the project I went straight to Google and then began reading up on the story and history, looked into the people involved and the illustrations. And then I read the script and that was the clincher, it was so amazingly written.
BSR: So what is the premise of this show, and what is going on with your character.
CL: Were post apocalyptic and there has been this strain of virus or epidemic that has wiped out the world. There are monsters; it’s just the end of the world. There is a group of U.N. search and rescue folk that have gone missing because there is no infrastructure, and their mission is to find children. And use the knowledge they gain on how they’ve survived and use whatever is in them as a cure for this.
Ellen lost her daughter in the apocalypse and because of how she feels with losing her daughter she is dedicated to the at all costs concept. She doesn’t care about the danger involved, because there isn’t anything worth living for if she isn’t redeeming her lost child. You find Ellen, who is grieving, but she has this outer shell, and she has a maternal softness that you see when she finds this kid. You won’t see the bad assness of her until later, with what’s to come. Because you see her with this team, a pilot and this boy, she lets a little bit of her guard down and every child is one step closer to her own.
BSR!: What was your favorite part in playing this role.
CL: My favorite part was the people we worked with. It was so Geurilla you know, and it made us feel like it was more than just a project it was our own. I wasn’t doing a job, everyone was working together on something bigger than the unit. There was this scene we shot in a stairwell and I’m carrying Dallas (the little boy) on my shoulders, and I’m carrying him on my shoulder’s he weighs a hundred pounds and I’m carrying him down the stairs. We had a dolly and a wheelchair as a dolly a director and Tim Daniel and a camera man. And we’re punking this massive real first unit work and having a blast, while I haul a kid down flights and flights of stairs on my shoulders. That badassness was my favorite part.
BSR!: What have you done before this?
CL: This was my first role as a lead and I’ve done a few things otherwise, but predominantly I’m a singer. I have two children and now I’m getting back into acting, so you could say before this my job was my children.
BSR!: What would you hope people seeing this would get from your character?
CL: I really hope when they watch this that just as I felt that it is a very character driven piece. The monsters are just a cherry on the sundae. You know what you come in for, just like “The Walking Dead” you’re watching to see what happens to your people, they’re real and have relationships. This is a very character driven piece and you want to know what happens to these guys. You want to know what happens to the monster but they’re really a bonus. So you want to know what happens next, and I hope everyone comes away with that.
BSR!: What’s next with this series?
CL: I emailed the producer this morning the same thing and he said, “We make more.” So I’m excited to continue this.
BSR!: Thank you so much for your time!