Sharni Vinson in You're Next
Sharni Vinson was thrilled to play a female character who can defend herself in 'You're Next'.
The Australian actress stars as protagonist Erin in the new home invasion slasher film, and she feels her character - who taps into her survivalist instincts and fights back against her would-be killers - is a breath of fresh air compared to other female characters in the horror genre.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, she explained: "I think, for me, I was really trying to find a role I could sink my teeth into. It's new, I think. What's not new is to see a female be the lead of a horror movie, but what is new is to see it done in a not overly sexualised and exploited way. It's really [like], 'stand up and cheer on female girl power', and I just loved the role model aspect that came along with this character."
The 30-year-old star - who previously starred in 'Step Up 3D' - originally auditioned for the part in an American accent, but reveals that producers were so enchanted by her native Australian dialect, they tailored the character to her.
She said: "I went and auditioned as an American and then in the room they said, 'We love the Australian-ism, can we keep that accent and see how that sounds?' So we tried to do that and then once they were set on the fact that they loved the Australian thing, the script was definitely reworked and re-tweaked so that it made sense.
"When a writer writes a character and they have the idea of what they want, and you can come in and they find what their vision was in you and they tailor a script to you, it's the ultimate [flattery]. That was really great."
'You're Next' is in cinemas now.