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Lexi Simonsen makes her lineament picture debut inThe 2nd , a young action flick asterisk Ryan Phillipe and Casper Van Dien as patriot view on opposite position of a far - fetched conspiracy possibility involving blackmailing a Supreme Court Justice into abolish the eponymic 2nd amendment to the fundamental law . In any case , the setup leads to some thrilling action sequences , include hand - to - paw battle and heated shootouts , with both Phillipe and Van Dien clearly suffer a jovial sentence in their roles as badass men of action .
Simonsen star as Erin Walton , the girl of the aforesaid Supreme Court lawmaker . When terrorist ( lead by Van Dien ’s character ) render to kidnap the teenage girl , the only gentleman who can hold open her is Vic Davis , dally by Phillipe , whose son ( Jack Griffo ) is trapped with Erin . Simonsen gives a strong performance in the film , balancing the standard expectations of womanly fright with a tongue - in - cheek sensibility that keeps the movie from being too dour or self - serious , and more of a appeal of fun action sequence prove off the impressive animalism of the actors and various stunt performers .
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While promoting the release ofThe 2nd , Lexi Simonsen speak to Screen Rant about her piece of work on the flick and about her burgeoning Hollywood calling . In accession toThe 2nd , she also asterisk inRoller World(due out later this year ) and play a outstanding function in the HBO Max fender , Vegas High . She verbalize about being hired forThe 2ndjust one Clarence Shepard Day Jr. before filming was rig to begin , but how her stage combat training aid her settle into the hectic pace of the activity - packed shot agenda . She discuss what it was like to move from Kansas to Los Angeles and how she initially planned on becoming a dance choreographer before deciding to take a chance and pursue acting rather . In any suit , her current calling flight is intelligibly work for her , and we ca n’t await to see what she does next .
The 2ndreleases September 1 on Digital and VOD .
I desire to talk to you about a whole cluster of things , but I think , first , we should chat about your motion-picture show , The 2nd . It ’s an activity film , and you get involved in some pretty exciting scrap scenes . As an thespian , is that a delight , or the price you pay when you get sign on to do an action movie ?
It was fun ! I love legal action stuff . I loved the animalism of it all . It was a really fun escapade , that ’s for certain .
I sympathise this is your feature picture show debut . You ’ve got short pants and a pilot under your belt , but this is your big coming out company .
It is , yeah !
When did it tap you , " I ’m gon na be in a movie ! " Was that a dizzy delight ?
I cogitate just recently , in all likelihood . We filmed this over a year ago . So , when I pay off the call a span of month ago to come in in for ADR , I had n’t try anything for a while . So I was like , " Okay , so this is take place ! This is exciting , alright ! " That was a heavy thing . I got to see some clips of it when I was doing that . It ’s kind of still sinking in a little bit . But I mean , once it come out and people see it and I can view it in its entirety , that ’s when it will be like , " Wow , this happened ! " It was such a quick … I recollect I was on curing for 13 day or something like that . It was a very quick process in general .
Did you get to spend any prison term with Ryan Phillipe and Casper Van Dien , behind the scene , or were they in - and - out 9 to 5 type ?
Yeah , we got to spend a flock of time together ! We were all there on localise together . I get to work with both of them and I got to get to do it the two of them . Ryan and I still keep in touch , and I follow Casper and his married woman on Instagram . Same with Jack . We keep in touch . It was nifty to watch them work , because they ’re just amazing at what they do , and to get to watch that work ethic … Ryan prepped for this beforehand . He was really prepping his body , working out and doing really acute workouts beforehand . He was ready to go , and it was awesome to get to work with him , to act with someone so compulsive and tireless .
I imagine , in an action picture show , you ’re taking some tumbles , getting some hits in , you ’ve draw a stunt team helping , but did you do anything in particular to shape up for the role ?
I auditioned for this the week before we start up filming . I got the call the Nox before , at , like , 7:00 , enjoin I had booked it . And they require me on set the next daybreak . fortunately , I had leg scrap training and that kind of combat grooming from school , and I grew up a dancer , so I ’m reasonably comfortable with the physicality of all that . Taking fall and knowing how to do that and all that material . Luckily , it was n’t so much of a blinding , " Oh God , what am I doing ? " berth . I did have a pretty good clench on the action part of it , so that was really helpful .
I get the impression , from chatting with you and from looking at your website and from watch you in the movie , that you always knew you were going to be a asterisk . I be intimate you ’re from Kansas , and I do n’t make out what the shot is like out there , but I imagine you knew that if you want to set up the life history that you have , you were gon na have to move off to one coast or another . Can you spill the beans a little second about that , if I ’m altogether wrong , or about the challenge of move away from home like that ?
You ’re not awry at all ! I grew up a terpsichorean . I move out here , started going to schoolhouse as a dance major . I wanted to be a choreographer or something in that manufacture . But when I got out here , I did n’t really know the industry . I did n’t love the dance manufacture a whole lot . We were expect to take an behave class as freshmen , so I was like , " Fine , I ’ll take it , " but I end up really loving it , so I switch major , and that was that ! I always get it on I was going to be in L.A. That was always the finish . I ’m much more of an L.A. girl than a New York female child . I favor the weather condition here . It was always in my mind , that I was going to do something in the performing arts . It was just a matter of what I could do , since I had never dissemble before and it never crossed my mind , until it came on my radio detection and ranging . When I first started doing it , I was like , " This is it ! I have it away this a set ! " That was the present moment where I was like , " Yeah , definitely . " I was n’t repped yet when I did the film , but after , I was like , " I require to do this all the sentence , forever . " So I go and I self - submitted , and I have the team I have now today , who I love so much , and here we are ! I made it happen when I want it to pass . I was n’t going to expect .
I ’m thinking about the unbelievable combination of talent , skill , and luck that it takes to get to be in a movie , to develop your craft as an actor . Is there anyone you need to shout - out , I do n’t recognise , someone who took a opportunity on you when you showed up at their threshold and were like , " My resume is empty , but I require you to believe in me ? "
Two hoi polloi . telephone number one , Brian Danner . He was my stage fight teacher at my school . He referred me and got me the audition for the movie . I was in his class , I had done his class for three eld , and he knew that they still had n’t found the girl , so he go me an audition . I totally have him to thank for that . Also , my agentive role now , Julie , at AKA . I had this film , and a few tiny little student short films , and that was it . But she totally encounter past that and saw me , and take a chance on me , and I could not be more thankful for that .
Was there anyone , like an actor , or a boob tube show , anything from when you were a kid where you were like , " I want to do that ! "
You have intercourse , as a kid , I do n’t recall I really knew what it think of all , but the show Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel , watching Selena Gomez in that … That show could have been really not well , but she take in this persona and made her witty and suspect and not super girly . I really connect with that , because I find like a lot of unseasoned girl are just … specially moderate girls , are more feminine , girly , whatever . That type . And it ’s always the best friend who gets to have that dry humor . And interpret her , I was like , " Man , that would be something cool . " But again , that was never something I call back I was adequate to of . I turn up watching dance shows like So You Think you could trip the light fantastic and things like that . I require to do that . I always knew that I wanted to be in front of the screen . I wanted to be on tv set , I just did n’t know what it stand for yet .
I want to see you that things get freehanded and more exciting . This is not the regular " ruby carpeting premiere experience " because of Coronavirus . In some ways , are you like , " Hey , I think this was gon na be bigger ! Like , parties and clobber ? "
It ’s so hard not to conceive that manner . I entail , really , I remember the conversation I had with my factor that was like , " Okay , when they book the premiere , we ’ll have someone dress you and we ’ll get a hairsbreadth and makeup person and blah blah blah , we ’ll do all this stuff ! " So when everything shut down , I was like , " Oh , dang . That would have been fun . " But it is what it is , and to think about that does n’t make it any promiscuous , so I ’m really rosy that it ’s get out at all , and that I get to talk to people and do thing like this , and it ’s not all numb in the water . Even after all of it , I consider myself very lucky . It ’ll just be even more exciting the next time we get to do everything in person again .
Hopefully there will be clip for a big party and a red rug for Roller World . Can you tell me about that project ?
Oh yeah . That ’s such a playfulness group of friends . I love all those guy . Everyone . All the awesome world on that . It was just something that was … Tamara , she wrote it and directed it , and she made it so fun . It was a blast . That ’s another example of doing something to do it , because you have intercourse it ! You ’re not getting paid a lot , but you ’re doing it because you bang the multitude and you bang the body of work , and that ’s a great example of that .
Are you on skate , kick ass and undertake mass ?
Yeah , we ’re like … It ’s like a vampire crimper skating cult definitive style of movie . It ’s jolly shticky in some ways , the art intention is super fun , and I suffer to roller skate ! I vex to paint my own skate and that was so much playfulness .
I ca n’t wait to see it . Your other high - profile project is for HBO Max . Can you recite me a small morsel about Vegas High ?
Yeah ! That was so fun . It ’s a 90s , kind of hour - long dramatic situation clowning . Some of the best masses I ’ve ever worked with . I just make out every individual mortal on that set , from the crew to the actors to production . Everyone . I ca n’t say a whole lot about it . It ’s still swim in the body of water , it ’s not dead . But we ’re waiting for something to happen . Hopefully we ’ll sleep together more in the next twosome of months . There ’s still lot of possibility for that .
They just announced that the web boob tube stations are pushing back the offset of the gloaming time of year . I ca n’t imagine that , no matter what happens with Vegas High , we wo n’t get to see it in some form eventually .
I ’m hoping so . No matter what , I ’d trust that it would get unloose . It was such a great task to work on . Gillian Robespierre , who directed it , she ’s phenomenal to work with . She ’s one of my favourite directors . I watched all of her stuff beforehand . And Sarah - Raquel Jimenez , the writer , she was so dandy and she just made some really awesome characters . I could not be more thankful to be capable to bestow one of her people to life .
I trust we get to see it soon . I get the sense that you ’re really hitting the ground running with your career , and I foresee we ’ll be hearing a mess more from you in the near future . Do you have any straightaway next - spirit level ambitions for your next few geezerhood in Hollywood , or would it glamour it if you told me ?
I just want to keep puzzle out , you know ? I want to keep working with new people , I want to get together new masses , figure out with multitude I love , mass I rely and admire . I have intercourse TV , so if I could get on some TV stuff … There ’s nothing like establish a movie , though . Coming together and doing the whole thing in one go . Just continuing to work would be great ! I ’ve been reading a lot , and so I would bed to be able to shop the right hand for a book and adapt a script , get that up and running play , acquire something or partner up with someone to grow something like that . Those are some big affair that I would really be intimate to do .
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