It’s a Hollywood cliché to never work with children or animals. Thankfully, actor Johnny Sequoia didn’t pay attention.
As the star of last weekend’s much talked about horror debut, “Primate,” Sequoya leads a young, all-star cast in a battle for survival against a murderous chimpanzee, and worse, a chimpanzee raised to be Sequoya’s character’s brother. The film held its own at the box office compared to blockbuster Avatar: Fire and Ashes and sleeper hit The Housemaid, thanks in part to Sequoia’s sensitive (but still frightening) work under director Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The First Omen).
At 23 years old, Sequoia is something of a veteran. She began acting at the age of eight and eventually landed the lead role in the NBC series Believe, created by Alfonso Cuaron and Mark Friedman and executive produced by J.J. Abrams. Sequoia, who is turning her attention to adult roles as she begins a new chapter, spoke to Variety about her academic approach to the art and the surprising way she used the late Jane Goodall to play her.
Director Johannes has a very specific point of view. How much did you know about his work before reading this part?
I was always too scared to watch his movies. After I got this role, I had a hard time completing “47 Meters Down.” Honestly, it was hard for me to watch his work while preparing because he’s such a great director at building suspense. That’s very scary.
He previously said that he initially envisioned your character Lucy as a “nerd,” but changed his mind because you brought an interesting interpretation to the role at the audition. What was that?
I rooted myself in my relationship with Ben the chimpanzee. I don’t think that was the route I was expecting because this is a horror movie and you’re supposed to be scared. For me, the scariest thing is turning the thing you love the most into your enemy. I also took a big risk at the audition. I gave a very loud “horror girl” scream there. That wasn’t written in the script. I watched the producer, Johannes, and the casting director jump out of their seats and land again. The casting director said she peed a little.
It was a great success.
It was also done in person, which I was very grateful for. I was able to own this space and tap into their energy. I’m glad it went well.
It’s probably very rare for an actor of his generation to audition in person.
Old school approach!
At this age, it’s a big deal to be number one on the call sheet, not just for theatrical movies.
I thought a lot about my younger self playing this role. The first time I was on a call sheet was when I was a kid, around 10 years old. I starred in a TV show called “Believe” created by Alfonso Caron and J.J. Abrams. I haven’t been there since this movie. I think the most important thing when leading a set is just being kind. Approaching with kindness allows you to let go of expectations and pressure.
What did you learn during these “number one” experiences?
Growing up in this industry isn’t easy for anyone, and I’ve had my share of challenges as well. I was cast in the pilot for American Housewife, but I wasn’t interested in any other series. I was only in the pilot. I’ve had experiences that have probably made me feel embarrassed or made me think, “Oh, should I just quit?” — and I worked harder with them. It’s similar to my war paint. Thank you for everything. It inspired me to take my craft more seriously.
You are 23 years old and I think you are doing well. One of the impressive things about “Primate” is the lack of CGI. There is a performer wearing a chimpanzee costume. Will you ever get used to it? Isn’t every take scary?
I felt like a kid in a candy store. They don’t make many movies like this anymore. Ben was practical and so were our wounds. We used a projector to show the stars in the sky, and our staff painted a 1,000-foot mural of palm trees. There was so much love, craftsmanship, and care that went into this film. Ben was part of a 50-person “chimpanzee team” and it was really scary. When he’s on top of you, your body doesn’t know what’s real. I walked away from some takes shaking uncontrollably.
Without giving anything away, it seems like the key scene in the movie is you hiding in the closet from Ben. The closet is a rickety old thing with slats that are almost invisible.
That was the first day of shooting. Victoria Weynat, who plays Kate, and I were thrown into the deep end. Neither of us had ever done a horror movie, so I’m grateful that we were able to start there. It set the standard for what is expected of us. Our producer, Walter Hamada, gave us some interesting advice before we started. He said, “The audience will be as scared as you are, so you should be scared too.”
Your director has said that “Cujo” was a big inspiration point for this film. Did he show you any movies or give you any pointers for your character?
I love to prepare. I go to a music conservatory and work on music like a student. I watched every ape horror movie I could find. The top pick is definitely “Monkey Shines”. It’s from the early 80’s, but I really loved it. I also listened to a lot of Jane Goodall videos and biographies to understand her research on chimpanzees. I made the character’s mother look like Jane. In the film, my mother was a linguistics professor who researched the connection between chimpanzees and humans. Who better to learn from than Queen Jane? I also took stunt training and learned ASL for this movie.
The film stars Oscar winner Troy Kottle. Talk about your dynamic.
He is the best scene partner you could ask for. I was a little intimidated working with him, especially learning a new language. I showed up exactly in the role and wanted to work with him. He couldn’t have been more kind. He really spent a lot of time sitting down with me and working through the role, looking at the script as a whole and finding moments that I could incorporate into ASL.
What’s next? I heard that you are currently producing your own works.
We focus on developing and producing unique content. We sold a program that was in development. I can’t say anything more specific at this point. However, doing ‘Primate’ has helped me a lot with future projects and I am also passionate about being on the other side of the camera.
