Devil
From the mind of M.Night Shyamalan comes a new thriller called Devil. Directed by John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine, The Poughkeepsie Tapes), the film tells the story of a group of people trapped in a lift, and one of them is the devil!
To celebrate the release on September 17th, we are profiling one of the film’s leading characters and one of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars Chris Messina.
You may not recognise the name but you will certainly recognise his face....and what a face it is!
Chris first gained notoriety as the clean cut republican lawyer ‘Ted Fairwell’ on the hit TV series Six Feet Under.
It was only 6 episodes but for Messina it was a turning point in his career, he recalls. "I remember walking out of my house, and the UPS guy being like, 'Ted!'"
The picture of 'Ted' to the right doesn’t really illustrate the kind of character Messina was playing in Six Feet under however it does highlight some of his other unique qualities.
In 2007 Chris played a leading role in a small independent picture titled Ira And Abby, a comedy that follows the life of a hastily married couple who quickly devolve into a life of affairs, meddling parents, and therapy. The film won best comedy at the HBO Comedy Festival earlier that year.
Messina is a self-described chameleon who loves to change his appearance for whatever role he is playing and for Ira And Abby Chris grew a beard and packed on 30 pounds in order to get into character.
In the same year Chris was included in Variety’s coveted ‘Top 10 Actors to Watch’ which must have been a premonition because the following year he landed supporting roles in two of 2008’s biggest films - Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Julia and Julia.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is heralded as Academy award winner Woody Allen’s triumphant return to form and garnered the Hollywood veteran rave reviews.
Chris played the role of Vicky’s totally acceptable yet ‘square’ husband but when his wife meets the mysterious and intriguing character played by Javier Bardem infidelity ensues and Vicky begins to have second thoughts about the life and husband she thought she wanted.
Chris then goes on to star alongside Amy Adams and Meryl Streep in the hit foodie film Julia and Julia.
As a film based around food, there was inevitably a lot of eating on set! As Chris fondly remembers 'The first time I ate a lot of food, it was like 32 bruschettas. The first 4 or 5 were delicious.
'Around 7 or 8 they were turning, and I thought I was going to throw up, then Nora (Director) yelled from the other room, 'Robert de Niro would do it.' So I kept going.' what a trooper!
Catch Chris Messina in Universal Picture’s Devil, in cinemas nationwide Sept 17!