Foxhole Spotlight: Lydia Lakemoore

Nominated for Best Actress... at the Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards for her role in our last short film Extra Time, Lydia Lakemoore returns to working with us in Foxhole. Here she talks about being covered in mud, leaves and bruises for her performance as cult member Shayla.

Interview by Zoe Morris

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE STORY OF FOXHOLE?

From the first moment I read the script I fell in love with Shayla. There was something within the silent details of the script that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Foxhole is chilling, there is a sinister intrigue within the script that makes it exhilarating to read for an actor.

tell us about shayla?

Shayla has been through so much by the time we actually see her in the film that she’s a shell of the seemingly confident girl she would have been months before entering Foxhole. Shayla, like all the girls in Foxhole is strong but they all have an Achilles heal when it comes to trust and love. If they didn’t, Foxhole wouldn’t exist.

Shayla became my own little sister, I wanted to protect her and care for her, she is all of us. Every girl who holds huge inner strength but has made mistakes. She’s flawed, she’s imperfect, but she’s real. I guess that’s why I was so drawn to her character, she made me need to tell her story.

Lydia on set with make-up and hair stylist Olivia Dench.

WHAT HELPED YOU GET INTO CHARACTER?

Well I was covered in mud, leaves, bruises and blood for the majority of my filming on a damp forest floor so must confess that there was little for me to leave to my imagination. It was helpful and wonderful being in such a vivid location because you feel as the character feels, you hear and see as they would see in that moment. I remember digging my bare toes into the damp ground and smelling the cold forest air, it was so visceral and so tactile that it held me in character.

what was the filming process like?

Wonderful and exhilarating. But it was one of the most physically exhausting characters I have ever portrayed on screen. Matching that intensity of emotion in every take was shattering and I was so concerned my energy would drop from slate to slate that I spent most of my off-screen time quietly resting for fear of physically running out of energy.

TALK TO US ABOUT THE CAST OF FOXHOLE?

The Foxhole cast is huge in comparison to a lot of the short films I have done but we ended up feeling like a big family. Being in my early 20’s I’m usually one of the youngest people on set but with many of the cast being younger than myself it felt somewhat more playful and mischievous. It created an amazing energy on and off set. We may also have spent a lot of time running around with the location dogs and taking selfies…of course.

Lydia on set with co-star Eleanor Brown and director Caris Rianne, Foxhole is their second collaboration together.

THIS WAS YOUR SECOND COLLABORATION WITH DIRECTOR CARIS RIANNE, HOW WAS IT THE SECOND TIME AROUND?

Caris is a phenomenal director to work for, I feel blessed that Foxhole is now the second production we have got to work with each other on. It’s also the first time I’ve worked with so many women in film. I’ve never worked with a female DOP and Eleanor Ring is incredible. Our producer, director, DOP, sound recordist and over 50% of the cast were female, and it felt like this glorious celebration of equality as we all came together to tell a story we all had so much faith in.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING ON FOXHOLE?

The location dogs mainly. But also, the supportive and empowering feeling I get every time I work with Rianne Pictures. I think I already said it felt like a celebration, striving toward a common goal with likeminded people, to me, there’s nothing better in the World.

HOW WAS THE PREMIERE SCREENING?

Great, I spent the whole evening asking myself why on Earth I kept doing that weird twitch thing with my mouth that no one else noticed but me, of course.

WHAT WOULD YOU WANT THE AUDIENCE TO TAKE AWAY FROM WATCHING FOXHOLE?

Love, determination and self-empowerment.

WHAT CAN WE SEE YOU IN NEXT?

My latest project ‘Kidnapped’ directed by Ollie Wiggins will be released later in the year and the feature film ‘Pandora’ directed by Carl Whiteley is also going into distribution, so it’s an exciting year so far.

You can follow Lydia on social media at @LydiaLakemoore and see her in the trailer for Foxhole below!