Born in Ashperton, England, and raised in Herefordshire, actress Chloe Farnworth is a star on the rise. After appearing in several short films and other projects based in her native Britain, Chloe Farnworth made the jump to the United States.
Currently, Chloe Farnworth can be seen in 12 Hour Shift, a dark comedy feature written and directed by Brea Grant, produced by Magnolia Pictures. Set in the late 1990s, Chloe plays the role of “Regina”, cousin to the film’s protagonist Mandy (played by Angela Bettis). The cast also includes Scream star David Arquette and WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley.
Welcome, and thank you for taking the time to do this.
Chloe Farnworth (CF): Of course, thank you for having me.
Congratulations on your role in 12 Hour Shift. How would you pitch the film to anyone who hasn’t watched it?
CF: Thank you. 12 Hour Shift is a dark comedy thriller about a nurse who has a few drug problems on the side. She also has an underground organ smuggling business going on. It’s a lot of fun, a lot of comedy with some crazy characters.
Brea Grant was the writer-director on this project. How was the overall experience of working with her?
CF: Yeah, Brea is fantastic. She’s such a lovely person. I did two auditions for the part and then they offered it to me. I went and had coffee with her. You know when you sit down with someone and you can just talk and talk? It’s really nice.
So yeah, I met her in a coffee shop with Tara [Perry], one of the producers who’s also in the film. We all talked about the part and the film. I was like: “Oh, this person’s so lovely. I can’t wait to work with her.” Then, when we got around to shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas, she’s just a really great director. She gives you a lot of space to do your acting, tweak you here and there.
[Brea] knows exactly what she wants in each scene. She’ll also let you do an improv take after, which is really fun because you can kind of do the scene in your own words and add in any other quirky things you want to. She’s a really good actor’s director because she is an actor herself and knows both sides very well. It makes her this amazing, perfect director who’s lovely to work with.
The film is set in the late 1990s. In your life, what are your own memories of that time?
CF: Cassette tapes. I remember making recordings on the radio of my favourite songs. I’d sit all day long, waiting for my favourite song to come on the radio and then I’d hit record. I could make my favourite songs, all in one tape.
What else do I remember? Very out-there, colourful clothing. Fluorescent tops and I used to wear these great big Bell Bottom jeans, I think they were very ’90s. You’d walk around and they’d get wet from the rain. It was a very cool thing to have torn-up, really big jeans. Apparently, that was a thing and I used to do it a lot. I don’t know if that’s something for everybody or just something I thought was ‘in’ at the time.
You know those Chokers you were around your neck? Eyeliner. I remember trying to put on eyeline when I was younger.
As you are originally from Herefordshire, was working in the United States always a goal for you?
CF: Yeah, pretty much. I grew up in a very rural upbringing. I was home-schooled my whole life. We didn’t have a TV, a telephone or anything else. It was very, like, hippie. I grew up not really thinking about other countries but wanting to be an actor. I used to put on shows for my parents all the time. I went to acting classes from when I was about 10 years old.
As soon as I worked out about Film and TV, because we didn’t have one until I was nearly 14, I was like: “That’s definitely what I want to do.” America, I guess, was in my mind from when I was about 16 or 17. I figured that’s where everyone goes to become something in the entertainment industry. So yeah, pretty much 16-17, I was like: “This is where I gotta be at some point.”
In your opinion, how is “Regina” different or similar to other characters you have played in your career?
CF: She’s really different. I haven’t played anyone like her. She’s very different, kind of out there and a lot of fun. I hadn’t really done a comedic part before. It was really awesome to get this part where I could be more comedic and not just a dramatic part, I guess. Yeah, very different to anything I’ve ever played before and a whole lot of fun.
One of your co-stars is David Arquette from the Scream franchise. How much do you think those films or others in the horror genre influenced 12 Hour Shift?
CF: Yeah, definitely. I think having someone like David Arquette in 12 Hour Shift as well – since he’s done similar genre films like that before, it adds a lot. He’s done a good few similar [films]. It’s definitely good and definitely plays a part in it, that he’s done the Scream films. 12 Hour Shift plays along with similar dark-comedy thriller.
Looking back on the time you spent shooting this film, are there days or moments that stand out in your mind?
CF: Yeah, I mean, a few. We shot some montage scenes at night time. My character goes out, goes driving and at one point, she takes a pee in what I think is a roller rink car park. It was such a fun scene to shoot because it’s all public.
Because it was at night-time and Jonesboro where we shot is kind of a super small town, the kids in that town I guess hang out in car parks. We were trying to shoot this scene where I pull my pants down and take a pee. But, there were these kids in the car park. We were trying to screen them from seeing me go over to the roller rink to take a pee. It was really comical and funny, the whole filming process of it. That was a really funny time.
Also, one day David Arquette brought a donkey to set, at lunchtime. He just came walking in with this donkey and it was so cool. He was so cute.
When thinking about your projects prior to 12 Hour Shift, what kind of learning experiences did you take from them?
CF: I think you learn something from every job. If I look back to when I was 19, some of… you do student films. And I think even the not so good projects, you can take stuff from and use it in the future. Yeah, it’s hard to say. You take things from every job, use them and pour them through your brain for the next job.
I’m constantly taking stuff in from previous jobs and then thinking about them on the next job and being like: “Oh, I could do this. That happened in that job, maybe it should happen in this job.” So yeah, always pulling from previous ones too.
From a career perspective, how have you found being an actor living in the pandemic?
CF: Here, everything has just stopped, pretty much since mid-March when we had shutdown. It’s been very quiet. The last two months, I’ve started to get auditions again which is lovely but still few and far between. Nothing compared to what it used to be.
Everything is from home, all self tapes. I’ve had a few Zoom callbacks, which is very strange because you’re kind of talking to people on Zoom and being directed through the computer. It’s very different to doing it in an actual audition room with people being there and giving directions. I
t’s kind of weird and also, you don’t know how many people are watching on the Zoom call. A lot of them are muted out and they can just watch. It’s very strange but I think in the future, it’s definitely going to pick back up. Things will get back to normal or somewhat normal. It’d be a new normal, I guess.
I think it’s just probably the rest of this year and early next year, it’s still going to be quiet. Callbacks from home, everything’s going to be online. It’s sad that everything has stopped. I hope that in the future, things can go back to somewhat normal, work can continue, things can be made.
Do you have any upcoming projects that people should be looking out for?
CF: I have something that I might be shooting in Iceland. But, I’m waiting to hear and for everything to be confirmed on that one. Then, apart from that, I’m just back to auditioning, really. I’m excited to see what the next job is. Back to the few auditions and hopefully one of those goes through.
Of course, we’re all living in a tough time with the pandemic. If you could offer advice to fans of you or your work, what would it be?
CF: Just to stay really positive and to know it’s not forever. This will be over at some point. Keep working hard, pushing for what you want and not to let the pandemic stop you from following your career. Don’t let it stop you, basically.
This interview has been condensed for length and clarity. The full conversation is available on YouTube, linked below.
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