Damien Power's brand new action-thriller No Exit, which is based on Taylor Adams' acclaimed novel of the same name, is now streaming exclusively on Hulu, and ahead of its release, we caught up with the film's up-and-coming star Havana Rose Liu (The Sky is Everywhere; Mayday) to chat about her first major leading role.
Liu, who comes from a performing background, told us more about the unique challenges her role presented and how she was able to relate to Darby's harrowing journey over the course of the film. She also speaks on developing a special bond with her castmates, the physicality of her part, and a whole lot more.
The main cast also features Danny Ramirez (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier; Top Gun: Maverick) as Ash, David Rysdahl (Nine Days; That's Not Us) as Lars, Dennis Haysbert (24; Heat) as Ed, Dale Dickey (Hell or High Water; Iron Man 3) as Sandi, and newcomer Mila Harris (King Saud; The Hill) as Jay.
Check out the full spoiler-free video interview below, and keep scrolling for the full transcript!
ROHAN: When you first read the script, what did you find most compelling about Darby and the challenges she presented as a character?
HAVANA: I think she is this very complex character, who sort of blows up the stereotypes of someone who is struggling with addiction, the unconventional hero, and for me personally, I fell in love with her right away. I think she’s filled with all these nuanced bits about her, her strengths really end up being her weaknesses, and her weaknesses end up being her strengths and I think that’s such a powerful dynamic within a character, that path of self-discovery. For me, it felt like a needed experience, I felt like going through what Darby goes through and actively being able to pursue I that with her, as an actor, it felt like I was also learning so much from her. There wasn’t just one thing, the whole amalgam of the project, also the immediate connection I felt with her.
ROHAN: Darby is understandably the film's most complex character and she's also suffering through addiction - what kind of research did you do to get into that headspace and how did it inform some of the choices you made in the early parts of the film?
HAVANA: For me, I have a number of family and friends who have had close experiences with addiction and I also interviewed a number of people about it to experience the internal world of this character. I think addition is a very common experience, perhaps even more common than we talk about in culture and I think there is something to be said about everyone’s ability to relate to the relationship to addiction and self-esteem, shame, trauma - I think those aspects of her were really the motivation to interact with drugs in the way that she does, it was something that was very easy to tap into and understand from a human perspective.
I think I learned a lot more about addiction through the course of filming, I applaud everyone who helped me. I wish I could call out names at this moment, but out of anonymity, I appreciate so much how generous people were in sharing a lot of the stories they experienced in the process of having dealt with addiction or if they were currently dealing with it, now sharing their experiences with me cause it added all of the complicated nuance and heart that I think Darby deserved.
ROHAN: In addition to the emotional journey, this is actually quite a physical role for you since your character is really put through the wringer - can you tell me more about the sheer physicality of Darby and how that element enhanced your performance?
HAVANA: To be honest, I think the physicality of the role was one of my favorite parts about it. We had an incredible stunt coordinator named John Costello who single-handedly carried us through a lot of the choreography of the scenes, along with his amazing team, but emotionally carried us single-handedly. He imparted me with a lot of the confidence to be able to take on those things and really just let yourself live in them and flow in them.
I found that the less I was thinking about what I was trying to convey with that pain or that difficulty, and the more I was able to throw my body in the space and do what needed to be done, I felt so alive and so in flow. I come from a background in dance as well and some experimental performance, so I think those aspects of my history sort of parlayed into this part and just loving that sort of trust fall between these dynamics between characters, more physical dynamics, and also just the running of it all, the grit of it all, that she has to experience.
ROHAN: You mentioned your background in dance, and I felt like this film often seemed almost like a play since it's such a tight set and small cast - did you feel similarly in rehearsals and during filming?
HAVANA: Yeah, totally! I think what you learn from dance is a certain level of trust with your fellow troupe members, your fellow dancers, and we were, in a way, in a play or a dance of this choreography and a lot of the time was spent on that set really coordinating what happened when and the cues for certain things. When this needed to happen because there were moments that, in escalation, everyone sort of has a part to play and that just honestly made me feel closer to the cast, made me feel closer to the character, it made me feel this extreme trust of the stage of the visitor center and all that we were building there. I think it hit like a heart place for me that I didn’t think it would.
ROHAN: Since all of your characters have to be pretty distrustful of each other at the beginning, did you and your castmates do much bonding beforehand - because you're all also in New Zealand - or did you all try to approach it where you kept some distance from one another?
HAVANA: No, we did a lot of work to bond. Throughout the entire thing, these cast members feel akin to a family to me now, I respect each and every one of them in their craft and also their professionalism and really their kindness and compassion so much. I think that they really brought a ceratin level of depth and care to the craft - I think we all did - that made it an environment that was very easy to bond and come up with those dynamics and talk through what was happening and rehearse things.
There’s a scene where we’re playing cards and I think even just having those circle times together and being able to discuss all felt very integral to the piece. I also think that when you’re dealing with such difficult material and quite violent material, it’s important to have some level of trust established and I was just so lucky that these people were so light and loving and open right from the start.
ROHAN: Coming off this huge thriller, have you thought about your next project? Would you ever be interested in entering the superhero realm or maybe even doing something light like a comedy after this?
HAVANA: I’m down for any and all.
20th Century Studio’s suspense/thriller “No Exit” is the story of Darby Thorne, a young woman en route to a family emergency who is stranded by a blizzard and forced to find shelter at a highway rest area with a group of strangers. When she stumbles across an abducted girl in a van in the parking lot, it sets her on a terrifying life-or-death struggle to discover who among them is the kidnapper
No Exit is now streaming, exclusively on Hulu!