With ICK hitting theaters this weekend, we caught up with Mena Suvari (American Pie; American Beauty) to talk about her role as Staci in Joseph Kahn’s new monster movie.
During our conversation, Suvari shared what drew her to the project, the unique challenge of blending horror and comedy, her experiences working with Brandon Routh and Malina Weissman, revisiting her high school days, and even whether she’d be open to another American Pie film.
Watch our full video interview with Mena Suvari below and/or keep scrolling to read the transcription. Plus, remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: What made you want to join ICK, and how did you see your character Staci fitting into the story?
MENA: I was really honored that he thought of me. I'd been a fan of his for a really long time, and so, it was really exciting when this project, when this opportunity came to me, and I think that pretty much off the bat, I was, you know, on board, just because of how much I admire him and his work. But, then I also really loved the story, and I really loved the character of Stacy. She's very unusual and different, and I felt like it would be a lot of fun to get to play her, to get to play a lot of these, these particular moments with her. The film is sort of horror centric, but it has great comedy involved in it, and I really loved the idea of having the opportunity to play in that space, because it's a lot of fun for me.
ROHAN: You’ve done both horror and comedy before, but ICK allowed you to blend both genres in a heightened way. What was that experience like?
MENA: Oh, so exciting. I mean, I don't know if I'll ever have enough words, because it's not just being able to be able to perform a role like that, but then to work with Joseph. It's such a unique environment. It's a very high energy paced set, and you know, he's very particular. He knows exactly what he wants, exactly what he needs. I felt that, at any moment, I could just rely on that, that he even if it was just one small part of something, I felt that I could trust him, that he knew 110% what he needed out of it. And getting to work with Brandon, getting to work with Malina, as my daughter, you know, it was really, really exciting every day.
I've mentioned how there were some moments where we would film a particular scene and then we would rush over to our editor Chancler and be able to see the scene edited, not just like watch a playback of a take, we could actually see the scene cut together, and it was just incredibly fast paced, but it was awesome. I mean, every single day brought something, and I loved my character, just for her, you know, really wild and weird personality. I've said that she's an opportunist. She's definitely that type of person who, you know, looks for any way to benefit herself, and I think, doesn't necessarily understand the effect that she has on others. She lives in this, like, particular space in her mind, which is very opposite for me. So, it's a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun to play her.
ROHAN: When performing opposite the Ick, what did you visualize? What kind of direction did Joseph give you to imagine the monster?
MENA: Yeah, I think he would let us know sort of like the scale of what we were working with. I'm trying to think, I mean, I had particular moments at the end with it, and then I become it, and so, it was sort of embodying that energy of what it really is, but I think for the most part, you know, Staci doesn't particularly pay attention to this. She really doesn't until the end where it consumes her, so at that point, it was, I think, really just trying to embody the scale of what it would be and the type of energy that it was. I was able to go through the sort of Icked process, which was a lot of fun. Again, one moment, it was about four hours in makeup to get all of these different bulbous features put on my face and my neck. And Jen Rade was our costumer, so we had these really, really wild outfits at the end where Peter Wong, who plays my husband Ted, who's also incredibly funny - It was so wonderful to work with him. Also aside, it’s also a particular type of like dry humor, which I really, really love. So, we just had a lot of fun on set. Many times, you know, we would do many different takes. It was hard to get through them sometimes, because they're so genius. Peter and Brandon and Malina have such incredible comic ability and timing, and so that was a lot of fun. But yeah, with Staci and Ted at the end, being part of the Ick that was also really exciting for me, because I got to play. I felt like I got to play so many types of things in this film. I got to experience playing my younger high school self. I got to experience playing this, you know, really sassy character, Staci, and then, I got to be a part of that horror, which was just really cool. I loved that, I loved that I got to, you know, play all in all of those different spaces and not just be this kind of, not that there's anything wrong with that, but just play one character the whole time. It was really exciting to play in all of these different ways.
ROHAN: You revisit your high school days in this film, which is interesting given your iconic role in American Pie. What was it like stepping back into that high school space while playing such a different character than Heather?
MENA: It was weird. It was very trippy, I'd say because, you know, playing in some of these flashbacks, I'm playing a cheerleader, and in my 40s, putting on a cheer uniform just felt really odd and unusual. And I know that Brandon and I have talked about this a little bit, but I mean, for me, that felt sort of like the most challenging, because you'd have to try to encompass that same personality that we had when we were teenagers, so even if it was like the tone of our voice, or different inflection in our voice, all knowing that we were going to be part of this de-aging process, it was a very, very strange experience, but really, really cool, because I'd never done anything like that before.
ROHAN: What was it like working with Brandon Routh on this project? I know you're starring together in your next film as well.
MENA: We have worked together since Ick. I absolutely adore this man. He is incredible. He’s just brilliant. He's such a giver. He has such a heart. He's so smart. I feel like I had just the most wonderful time working with him on Ick. But then, I also really learned a lot from him, just how to be the best person, really, on set. He has such an incredible, like I said, he's such a giver. He has such an incredible care and consideration for not only everyone that he's working with in the cast, but also the crew, and I just found that really unique and really unusual and really admirable. I'd never met anyone like that before, and he truly is such a leader, and I really admire him for all of that. And like I said, it really taught me a lot about the type of person that I wanted to consistently be on everything that I worked on, and I've taken that experience working with him and everything that I've learned since. He’s Superman. He’s a really, really, great guy. I adore him. I'd work with him on anything
ROHAN: And how about working with Malina Weissman as your daughter?
MENA: Incredible. I mean, Malina is, to me, she's like the epitome of cool. I just had such a wonderful time getting to work with her. She's, again, absolutely brilliant, intelligent, so witty. Her comic ability is incredible, and just her, again, she just has this coolness to her that I really, really admired. I think, if anything of what you're talking about what it was like for me at that age, I remember thinking a lot about how I wish I had felt that easy and cool and relaxed, because I didn't. I felt very, you know, more like insecure and lost than I feel like she ever gave off. And, that was really awesome to experience. I was so honored to play her mom. I mean, she's great. I love Malina.
ROHAN: You’ve mentioned some of the prosthetic work in the film. How was your experience with the practical effects, especially during your transformation?
MENA: Yeah, I've done work with a lot of different prosthetics, and that one was really, really fun. I mean, I loved, like I said, I loved how I was able to transition from the different aspects of all of these characters and, you know, and then turn into this monster, that was really exciting for me. I never have any reservations about that kind of stuff, because it's just a lot of fun. It sounds like a lot of fun. I'm always on bored. I dive right in and I trust so, yeah, I mean, we looked absolutely atrocious at the end with all of these, like I said, there were like, these huge, like, bulbous, like black plague type boils all over my face, and like stuff in our mouth was like black goo, and these really wild costume with feathers. And it was great. It was great. I think we only shot - we didn't shoot for a very long time in that. It was like six hours of just getting ready for this tiny little scene, but it was great. I loved the whole experience. It was a lot of fun.
ROHAN: Considering the nature of the film, did you and Joseph ever discuss alternate ideas for Staci’s ending?
MENA: No, not that I know of. I mean, from what I know, I've been consumed. What other life I take on, I don’t know. But, no, not that I could safely say. I think it would be great to continue this in some way.
ROHAN: Lastly, fans are always asking about American Pie. Have you heard anything about returning for another film?
MENA: Everybody kind of has different things to say. I've even seen that fans have put together trailers for what this next segment would be, and I think that's awesome. I don't know anything official just yet. I'd love to be a part of it. I think it would be really exciting, and I think audiences would really love it. But no, nothing that I could safely say, but I'm completely on board. I think it's time.
From acclaimed director Joseph Kahn comes his latest film, ICK, a pulpy horror comedy bursting with splattery bedlam starring Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman, and Mena Suvari. For almost two decades, a viscous vine-like growth known colloquially as “The Ick” has benignly crept into every nook and cranny of American life while the residents of small town Eastbrook remain blasé about its existence. The exceptions are former high school football star-turned-hapless science teacher Hank (Routh) and his sardonically perceptive student Grace (Weissman) who are thrown together by Grace’s mom Staci’s (Suvari) closely-guarded secret and a mutual suspicion that the Ick is about to unleash some monstrous mayhem.
A wild ride driven by a power punk spirit, ICK is a dizzyingly fun and hilariously grotesque homage to throwback PG horror flicks, as well as an ode to Millennial nostalgia manifested in soundtrack needle drops by American Rejects, Paramore, and Blink 182.