Lights Out Exclusive: Alicia Vela-Bailey Talks Bringing the Evil Diana to Life; Annabelle 2
My first question for Alicia Vela-Bailey, who played the big bad in Lights Out (review) was, “How hasn’t anyone interviewed you for this movie by now?” Vela-Bailey said with a laugh, “I think they’re all too scared!”
Well, we’re not so sit back and relax as we bring you an exclusive interview with the lovely woman who’s currently scaring the hell out of audiences everywhere!
“I love horror movies, so being able to take part in something the allows me to scare people is just a lot of fun,” says Vela-Bailey, who can also be seen in The Purge, Hostel: Part III, and the upcoming Underworld: Blood Wars. “I was actually coming in to audition to be the stunt double for Diana, and thankfully they liked what I did so much, they basically said, ‘Ya know, we should just use you for everything!’ [Ed. Note: Some of her previous stunt work includes appearing as the “Juliette Creature” in “Grimm” and working as Shelley Hennig’s stunt double in an episode of “Teen Wolf”.]
Vela-Bailey continued, “I met with David [Sandberg, the film’s director], and he showed me some artwork of what this creature was and what it was going to look like. We talked about how Diana was going to move and what the possibilities were. Because of my dance and gymnastics background, I was able to pull off some really fun movements like walking on my hands and crawling all over the place, jumping, and kind of doing all these contortionist movements… it was so much fun!”
When talking about what she was wearing that helped convey the menace of Diana…
“I wore a black full-on bodysuit with prosthetic hands, neck, and face along with this crazy creepy wig. That one was a lot more comfortable to me because of the zipper in the back; I could just get out of it when I needed to and breathe a bit more. The hands were a bit cumbersome; even simple things like checking my phone was tough. Thankfully, my husband got me a stylus pen so I could do things like check my e-mail and stuff between takes. Even going over to craft services to get a snack proved difficult! I was like, ‘Can someone help me?” Vela-Bailey says with a laugh. “It was so funny… on food breaks people would distance themselves from me… all the time! I would get stared at all the time, or even when someone walked around the corner, they were like, ‘Oh, my gosh, you scared me!’ I could be just hanging out in a corner minding my own business, and somebody would walk by and jump out of their skin! I was just trying to stay out of the way and not scare anyone!”
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Vela-Bailey continues, “It was awesome! I always love dressing up for Halloween in all these eerie costumes. I grew up in Hawaii, and my dad used to love seeing what I’d come up with. It’s always been fun for me, and now I’m like, ‘Wait, someone’s gonna pay me to do this? YES!’ Interestingly enough, though… when I was in this suit, I preferred to stay in the dark. It was almost as if on some level wearing it made me feel a bit self-conscious, like, ‘Oh, my god, you scare people! I should just stay in the dark so no one can see me!’ Wearing this suit and becoming this character, I sympathized with Diana in a way. I mean, she just wants to hang out and be part of a family!”
In terms of fan reaction…
“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when people got to see this movie. I am so happy with the reactions this movie has been getting. When I was on set, I was just doing my movements and listening to David, and we’d try different versions of different things and, you know, just play around with it. Everyone there would be like, ‘That looks so creepy’ or ‘That looks so cool,’ but I was so busy I never got to see how anything looked. When I saw the movie, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what everyone was talking about! That does look cool!’ I did get to see it with an audience, and that was too much fun! I took my mom, my sister, my husband, and a bunch of friends; and we all went. Everyone was joking around by saying things like, ‘Nobody knows that Diana is sitting right behind them!’ Seeing the reactions of the audience… I don’t think I’ll ever forget that! It’s like a dream come true.”
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Vela-Bailey is currently working with Sandberg again on Annabelle 2, in which she plays “Evil Mrs. Mullins.” We inquired whether or not she could tell us about her character.
“David requested me to be on this one and I was so excited because I LOVED working with him on Lights Out, so the chance to work with him again… HELL YEAH! I said yes to the job without even knowing anything about my character, not even her name, but let’s just say I share a connection with the name Mullins and that this was some form of serendipity! Annabelle 2 has been lots of fun! I love playing evil. Certain things about my character do remind me of Diana, but Mrs. Mullins is DEFINITELY different and I’m really excited to see where she goes.”
David F. Sandberg directed Lights Out from a screenplay by Eric Heisserer, based on Sandberg’s own short film. James Wan produced alongside Lawrence Grey, Eric Heisserer, and executive producers Walter Hamada, Dave Neustadter, Richard Brener, Michael Clear, Jack Murray, and Ben Everard.
For more info visit the official Lights Out website, “like” Lights Out on Facebook, and follow Lights Out on Twitter and Lights Out on Instagram.
Synopsis:
From producer James Wan (The Conjuring) and Lawrence Grey’s Grey Matter comes a tale of an unknown terror that lurks in the dark. When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out… and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety.
A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged. But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger… once the lights go out.
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