Susan J. Farese did a quick interview with actress Erica McDermott on her role as Mary Bulger in the new film, Black Mass.
Erica McDermott‘s star keeps rising! The Scituate, Massachusetts actress plays Mary Bulger, wife of Billy Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the highly anticipated, much buzzed about biopic film Black Mass. The film, which stars Johnny Depp as James “Whitey” Bulger, opens nationwide September 18th.
Erica, who played Tar Ecklund in The Fighter, will be also appearing in Joy, a biopic about Joy Mangano, that will be released in December 2015. Erica shared a few highlights about working for on Black Mass.
You were at the screening at TIFF and in Boston. Please give us an idea of your overall impression of the film.
Erica McDermott: The film is excellent! This group was very respectful of the story and told it in a human/authentic way. I saw the film for the first time last night at TIFF. Quite a bit of my work was cut from the film, but after seeing where Scott [Cooper, the director] was taking the story, I can see why.
The ladies of this film were outstanding as well. Julianne [Nicholson] and Dakota [Johnson] brought deep emotion to their scenes and characters. I was happy with the end result, and as small as my part was in the end – It was important to me to put my best foot forward and represent Boston as best as possible!
How long did you work on Black Mass?
Erica McDermott: I filmed for three weeks.
Were there any humorous moments during filming or behind the scenes ?
Erica McDermott: I loved when the actors would try out a Boston word or phrase, to see what I thought. Hearing Benedict say ‘Egg Nog’ 10 times in a row with a perfect Boston accent made me laugh…. I never realized that my accent affected the pronunciation of that word!! Who knew??
If you could choose any male actor to work with, who would it be?
Erica McDermott : It would be Edward Norton. I think he is the most incredible actor, and I believe I would learn a ton from him!!
How was it different working with Scott Cooper than with other directors?
Erica McDermott: Scott Cooper is an actor and a director, so he knows both sides of the camera
Thanks so much Erica!
Follow Erica on Twitter!
Susan J. Farese, MSN, RN, is a member of SAG-AFTRA, native of New Jersey and the owner/ president of SJF Communications in San Diego, CA. Follow her on Twitter at: @sjfcommo
