‘The Mule’ Georgina Haig Exclusive Interview

Georgina Haig The Mule Interview
Georgina Haig in ‘The Mule’ (Photo Courtesy of XLrator Media)

Georgina Haig built on the fan following she developed as a part of the sci-fi series Fringe by playing Elsa from Frozen on the fourth season of Once Upon a Time. Haig’s a welcome addition to this season of Once Upon a Time, however prior to taking on the job of bringing the popular animated character who inspired millions of Halloween costumes to life in Once, Haig worked on the Australian independent film, The Mule.

The Mule‘s one of those films you absolutely shouldn’t decide if you want to see simply by reading the synopsis. While the couple of sentences describing the plot do set things up, the tone of the film doesn’t come across from reading a few lines. The Mule‘s smartly written with a terrific cast, and it’s not at all what you expect it to be.

The Plot: “It’s 1983. A naive man with lethal narcotics hidden in his stomach is detained by Australian Federal Police. Alone and afraid, ‘the Mule’ makes a desperate choice; to defy his bodily functions and withhold the evidence…literally. And by doing so becomes a “human time-bomb,” dragging cops, criminals, lawyers, and his mother into his impossible escapade. Inspired by true events.”

The Mule will be available digitally and in limited theatrical release on November 21, 2014.

Georgina Haig Exclusive Interview

I really enjoyed The Mule, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it after just reading the synopsis which doesn’t let on how really twisted and humorous the film actually is. How did you feel about the reading the synopsis the first time?

Georgina Haig: “Well, I read the synopsis and was actually intrigued. I’m really into black comedy and genre stuff. Anyways, I read the synopsis and thought, ‘Oh, that sounds crazy but great.’ Then I read the script and I just thought it was done so well. Yes, it’s a difficult thing to watch and to experience the character going through – trying not to go to the toilet for 10 days – but they gave it such a great backdrop. You know, 1983, the America’s Cup, which is the yacht race. Also, all the crime stuff going on, and the family drama on top of it. I just thought they told the story in such a way that made it really accessible, and it was also funny so it was a lot to deal with. This is going to be a lot for people, but there’s going to be enough releases [in the film] for people to be able to deal with. It just seems like a great, original, idea to me. I was really intrigued by it.”

It’s definitely not something we see every day.

Georgina Haig: “No, no. I just hope, because you say that you read the synopsis and you didn’t know if you’d like the film, I hope people who feel that take a chance on it, you know? Because, yeah, it really will surprise people, I think.”

It’s one my favorite films I’ve seen this year because it did take me by surprise, and that doesn’t happen very often. What was it like for you working opposite writer/director/actor Angus Sampson?

Georgina Haig: “Yeah, Writer-Director-Producer. Angus was on top of everything. It was so good. Leigh [Whannell] was there, obviously, and Tony Mahony, he was directing as well. He would do a lot of the technical side of things, and then Angus would often give performance notes and stuff. It was great because he and Leigh wrote it, with a third writer as well, and they knew exactly what they wanted. They couldn’t be more specific and, as an actor, that’s really helpful. You just feel in really safe hands, because there’s such a strong vision driving it. I really enjoyed working that way. And also, if something needs to be changed, they just change it. No huge processing meeting to play around with stuff. There’s a malleability to the script. It’s definitely my way of working, and it was great.”

Some writer/directors are really precious with their words and don’t want the actor to be able to collaborate quite so much. But you didn’t find that with Angus?

Georgina Haig: “Well, I found that if there was something I was questioning, he could usually give me a pretty good reason why it shouldn’t be changed or why it should be; I think they were sort of precious about it, because it was their vision, but I think they were good at expressing why they wanted to keep it a certain way. Then, some things that needed to be changed, they did, so they were able to do that too. I agree, that is often the case.

I also think that to make something truly original, you do need an almost dogmatic approach creatively from a couple of people who really put their foot down and say, ‘No, this is how it’s going to be.’ Otherwise, things can get watered down too.”

Then it becomes filmmaking by teamwork, which sometimes doesn’t work.

Georgina Haig: “Right, right, right. Exactly. Yeah, I agree.”

Does it amaze you how popular The Mule‘s trailer has been?

Georgina Haig: “Yes, it’s amazed all of us. It’s the third most viewed trailer in the U.S. right now. It’s like Exodus: Gods and Kings and then The Mule, our little movie. It’s brilliant. I just hope that that momentum works for the film and that people are intrigued enough to download and watch the whole thing. I really believe in it and I just really want it to find an audience. I just really hope that people take a chance.”

Did you develop a backstory for Jasmine?

Georgina Haig: “Yes. Her backstory is that she was a private school girl, grew up in a very privileged way, and could have done anything with her law career, but decided to do Legal Aid because she felt like she could make a difference. I think what she can’t admit to herself is that she does want a bit more prestige than she’s letting on. Also, I think she’s been very frustrated in that role and that she feels like she hasn’t been making as much of a difference as she thought she would. It’s been really hard work for her to break into so I think when she sees the opportunity to stick it to misogynistic cops, and at the same time get a bit of publicity for this cause and for herself, she goes, ‘Yeah, why not?’

I think what’s interesting about her character is that they did make her a bit more self-serving than they could have, which was great, because it was real, and it made her a bit more interesting I think. She wanted to win. She was willing to put Ray (Angus Sampson) through what he needed to go through to get there, which was good.”

Did you know from your first reading of the script exactly how you were going to approach her or did she evolve in your mind?

Georgina Haig: “When I read it, I got her straight away. I think I could base her on quite a few people I know and I saw a lot of similarities to myself as well in her. Yeah, I could really picture it from the start.

It’s really interesting too, when you see a final product, the way filmmaking can manipulate your own performance, if you know what I mean? I think the scene where I’m smoking the joint in the car, they changed the context of that a little bit. They put in the ‘Winning is Everything’ tape that she’s listening to, which wasn’t there originally. That’s what works so well, because it works with the theme, but at the time it was just her taking a moment to herself. Then, by putting that tape on, they made her goal stronger, that she wants to win. I was interested to see the way that they use editing and sound to change the performance to what they needed.”

Would you have changed your performance at all for that particular scene had you known that’s how they would edit it?

Georgina Haig: “Probably, but it’s kind of good that I didn’t because they got what they wanted the way I did it. I kind of liked the simplicity of it. I was like, ‘Oh, cool.'”

Did any of the people you sort of based her on know that they helped to inspire how you played the character?

Georgina Haig: [Laughing] “No.”

That’s probably a good thing, right?

Georgina Haig: “Probably. I grew up in a similar world; I went to a private school. My family…they didn’t have a lot of money but they managed to put me through a private school and so I’ve been around a lot of people with similar aspirations, I think. I went to Melbourne University for a little while in Melbourne, which is very prestigious uni, and yeah, had a lot of friends in law, or whatever profession. I met a lot of ambitious people. I myself am quite ambitious so I definitely had lots to draw on. But also there’s a way of talking. A lot of the film’s about class as well and the way she talked is quite different than the way Jeff Morrell talked. That accent I’d grown up listening to. I knew what it sounded like, and that was good.”

Hot off this film and Once Upon a Time, are you seeing a lot of really interesting scripts come your way?

Georgina Haig: “Yeah, there’s a lot. There’s been lots of interesting stuff. I’ve been playing catch up a little bit, because I was doing Elsa and there wasn’t time to audition, so now I’m playing catch up. I’m not really sure what’s next at this point, but hopefully something interesting.”