Mena Suvari may be best known for her role in the high school sex romp, American Pie, or the high school sexpot in American Beauty, but typecast her at your own risk. In recent years, Suvari’s been taking on bigger roles in a number of edgy independent features.

Her latest finds her teamed up with horror maestro Stuart Gordon. In Stuck, she plays Brandi, a caretaker at a rest home who spends her off-hours dropping E and partying with her boyfriend. After one such evening, Brandi is driving home when she hits Tom (Stephen Rea), a homeless man crossing the street. Brandi panics and rather than driving him to the hospital, hides her car in her garage, with Tom stuck in the windshield—for three days. We chatted with Mena earlier this week about the real-life incident the film was based on, what it was like working with Gordon, and her fascination with the criminal psyche…

When did you first hear about this project?

I was reading the script up the street from my agency. I felt like my jaw literally hit the floor so many times. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that someone could be in a situation like this, which just seems to get worse and worse. I guess that really appealed to me; I thought it was very interesting. And I ran into [my agent’s] office after I read it, saying I had to do this. I had worked with Stuart before, on Edmund, so I was hoping that relationship would help sneak me in, and that Stuart would be able to see me in this. At the time, I didn’t know it was based on a true story. I just couldn’t believe what I was reading. I just thought it was a really out-there story.

I was reading a book at the time, called Stiff by Mary Roach. The secret lives of cadavers—have you read this? I think it’s an awesome book. Not that many people know about it, but it’s fascinating to me. In the book, she mentions this incident. That was even more of a shock to me, and made me want to be on board even more.

Do you sympathize with or feel you have to justify Brandi’s behavior?

I feel that the real woman, Chante, and Brandi are inherently good people. I’ve always been really interested in psychology, criminal psychology in particular, and what makes people do the things they do. I feel like Chante/Brandi were not in the right mindset when this happened to them. I don’t feel that they set out to be put in this situation. Brandi doesn’t aim for the man she hits. I think, if she were given the choice, she wouldn’t have wanted to do any of it, be put in that situation. So that was what was so interesting to me, really dissecting that: what makes someone snap, and go to that extreme? I feel that Brandi is somewhat ignorant about the system, and that she’s afraid. She is afraid to lose everything she has worked so hard for—which isn’t much, but she has her own little world, like this job that she’s not so crazy about. I think there are a lot of people in a situation like that, where she is faced with possibly losing her own life. It’s survival of the fittest, it’s primal instinct. Don’t we all have that within us, that if we were put into that situation, what would we do to save ourselves? I think that was what was really so fascinating to me. She ultimately snaps, and starts reacting, and loses the ability to think rationally about the situation. She has to justify it to herself.

My favorite line in the movie is when she says, “Why are you doing this to me?” I mean, that is so sick and twisted, the way I look at it. But she has to do that, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to handle the situation. She has to turn it around, validate it for herself. She tells [her victim] “Just go to sleep,” because she just wants it to end. I think that she is trying to avoid reality, but doing the best she can in the situation, and it just gets worse and worse and worse. She goes to her boyfriend thinking that he will take care of it for her, but he can’t. I actually watched Misery several times before we started shooting. Kathy Bates was my inspiration for this role. Going to that extreme.

How did your relationship with Stuart grow from Edmund to this film?

I think we only worked together for a couple of days on Edmund. Stuart and I just have a lot in common. The things we are interested in. That’s one of the things I love about Stuart—he’s a family guys, has three daughters, is very soft-spoken, but he has this sick, twisted imagination. It’s so dark! Being able to play something that could address those [dark] interests was one of my motivators. Stuart gives you that freedom on set to really go for it. He’s always supportive of any suggestions I have. I love the way he works—he doesn’t dissect a scene too much. He kind of lets that “reality” happen, and as an actor, I really enjoy that.

Have you seen any of Stuart’s earlier films, like Re-Animator?

I haven’t, no.

Do you share Stuart’s same disdain for the site of blood?

I never knew that about him! No, I don’t. My parents both worked in the medical field—my dad was a psychiatrist, and my mom was a nurse. I’ve always had an interest in science and biology and physiology. I’ve played with cadavers. That’s something that is fascinating to me.

How much did you study up on this character? Did you visit any of the original locations?

No, I wasn’t able to do much. The real incident took place in Fort Worth, Texas, and we shot in New Brunswick, which is pretty far away. I educated myself about the incident as much as I could. I didn’t get to meet Chante, she’s serving, like fifty years to life.

Did she have the same hairdo that you had? [In the film, Mena wears a full head of cornrows].

I saw pictures of her, and I didn’t see her hair like that.

Whose decision was that hairdo?

I think it was just a way to establish her as a particular kind of person, living in a particular kind of neighborhood. It’s a mix of cultures. I don’t want it to be “me.” I don’t want people to see the movie and say “Look! It’s little blonde Mena Suvari!”

Do you see yourself more as a character actress?

I don’t know, maybe. Maybe for this movie. But that’s exciting. That’s why I do what I do. I have people who come up to me a lot who say, “Oh, you’re so much prettier in person.” I feel like they are trying to compliment me, but it is weird. I’m acting—that up there isn’t supposed to be me. I don’t want to be this “celebrity.”

I remember I worked on this project once, called Sugar & Spice, years and years ago. My character had to get sick, throw up. The director came up and asked how I preferred to be shot, how I wanted the makeup to look. That was the most confusing conversation because I felt like…I’m supposed to be sick. I shouldn’t be made-up and perfect. I’m all for that—to me, that feels real. I enjoyed the way Denis Maloney, our cinematographer [on Stuck] shot it, and the way Stuart doesn’t have those concerns [about looking perfect]. That’s liberating for me, that’s exciting.

I did a film called Day of the Dead with Steve Miner. My character is in the army, so I was in fatigues the whole movie. It was awesome. I didn’t have to worry about hair or makeup or costumes. You can really deal with the material when you don’t have to worry about how you look. That’s not my goal. I don’t want to be pretty and perfect. If a part calls for that, great, but if it doesn’t, then I don’t need to look that way. I don’t understand why that is so shocking to people.
How was it working opposite Stephen Rea?

Wonderful. We worked together on The Musketeer, so it was great to work with him again. I was so excited that he wanted to be a part of it. That’s fun for m. It’s comforting when you work with the same people, whether it is behind the scenes or on camera. It’s like a family.

How challenging was it to play some of those scenes in the garage, where he is stuck in the windshield?

It was pretty intense. You didn’t have time, you couldn’t do a lot of takes, and I got frustrated. I said to Stuart, “I can’t go from zero to ninety in one second.” But I was trying to use that, and draw from it. It was very, very intense.

The material steeps itself in some very deep black comedy.

Yeah. Like the parts where my character says, “Why are you doing this to me?” Watching it with an audience, people react and laugh to that. Such a sick and twisted humor. But that was a concern of mine too. This film is based on a true story. The man, Gregory Biggs, he died. I battled with that, what we were really doing. I didn’t want it to be so weirdly humorous. There was a reality to this story, and I didn’t want to lose sight of that, or disrespect anyone. Our writer, John, was at a screening of it in Texas, and I heard that the son [of Gregory Biggs] came with his wife. I think had asked how much we knew of the characters… I guess Stuart saw them and they had a conversation about it.

Can you talk about the fight between you and the naked girl?

She was awesome. She worked as Halle Berry’s stuntwoman for years. She was great. Talk about fearless and full-throttle! She was encouraging me to just go for it! I was kind of holding back a bit, and she said, “No, just fucking hit me!” It was exciting. I’d never been in a fight before. I appreciated that. As an actor, it is freeing. You don’t want to have too many limitations on things.

So there is no chance you could have taken her in real life?

Well, I don’t know about that… now that I have learned her moves! She was great. I think Russell [Hornsby, who plays her boyfriend] really enjoyed that scene.

What can you tell us about Day of the Dead?

Apparently it has gone to DVD now—no theatrical release. I don’t know, there are a lot of behind-the-scenes things people don’t tell me. But Steve Miner is a great director.

How close is it to the original?

It’s very different. It’s like when they did the Dawn of the Dead remake. I save the day, it’s pretty cool. I played a corporal in the army. I did all my own stunts, and we spent two and a half months in Bulgaria, carrying guns, shooting. It was intense, but fun.

Do you have a favorite zombie film?

I really liked the remake of Dawn of the Dead. I did watch the original Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead to prepare. I was reading about a zombie movie that someone is doing that is using the Body Worlds exhibit. Sounds pretty cool.

What is your biggest fear?

I try not to think about it too much. I’ve really worked towards not being afraid. I think that is why I have always pushed myself, challenged myself, especially in the material I have chosen. I mean, I set myself on fire in this movie! I’ve had a phobia of the ocean, on occasion… what’s underneath.

Interview from FEARnet - Read more over at FEARnet.com