Barbara Hershey at the N.Y.C. premiere ofThe Manor.Photo: Dave Allocca/StarPix for Amazon Studios
In Barbara Hershey’s new thrillerThe Manor, the real horror comes from within.
Speaking with PEOPLE about Blumhouse Production’s latest thriller — a new installment in theWelcome to the Blumhousefilm series — Hershey, 73, says “the most interesting aspect” of her character, Judith, was her internal struggle.
“If there’s a monster outside or something inside of you causing [visions], which is worse?” she ponders. “When [Judith] starts to question herself about dementia, that’s got to be just really tough.”
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Barbara Hershey inThe Manor.Kevin Estrada
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Hershey knows the thriller genre well, having appeared in films likeLantana,11:14, theInsidiousseries andBlack Swan. Still, she tells PEOPLE that she’s not drawn to specific types of movies. “I go for the material if I haven’t seen it before,” she says.
When it came toThe Manor(part of which was filmed onHalloween!), Hershey explains that the character of Judith appealed to her in part because “Usually people, as they get older — especially women — are portrayed in certain clichéd ways. And she sort of broke a lot of that mold.”
“She’s playful, and she’s ironic, and she’s angry, and she’s funny and she swears. And she’s vital and alive and a whole human being,” Hershey adds. “I’m sad to say that’s unusual for someone my age, but it was refreshing to read that and want to play the part.”
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Hershey shares that, for her, making films feels “like being shipwrecked with people, and you get to know them really deeply, really fast.”
“Then the ship comes and takes you back to your life. And very often, it isn’t that you don’t like each other or wouldn’t be thrilled to see each other. But [under] the circumstances, you don’t see each other after often,” she says.
When asked whether she and herBlack Swanonscreen daughterNatalie Portmanstill keep in touch, Hershey says, “I haven’t seen Natalie since the film, but I’d be thrilled if I did. We got on really well. She’s wonderful.”
As forBette Midler, her costar in the 1988 tearjerker dramedyBeaches, Hershey praises her as “naturally funny, intelligent and warmhearted.”
“We kept in touch for a long time, and then she moved to New York and I live in L.A. so we don’t see each other that often anymore, but I love her dearly,” Hershey tells PEOPLE of Midler, 75. “We actually did stay together after the film quite a long time as friends.”
The Manoris streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
source: people.com
