EW: Lara Jean Chorostecki teases her return on 'Hannibal': 'Freddie isn't just a foil' by Adam Carlson

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/05/02/lara-jean-chorostecki-hannibal/

 

Freddie Lounds may be a tabloid journalist more interested in a story than morals, but make no mistake: She is also a sociopath, playing on the same field as Hannibal’s widening bench of crazies. “I think it’s a really interesting character to see on TV: a female sociopath. We don’t often see that,” says Lara Jean Chorostecki, who plays the fiery-haired reporter.

Thus far on the series, we’ve seen Freddie actively interfere with the FBI’s hunt for killers. We’ve also seen her confront other characters with hard truths. That ambiguous balance — who and what concerns her, as with Kacey Rohl’s Abigail, who is suspected of being complicit in her father’s serial killing — continues throughout the rest of the first season, as more of the character’s “complex layers” are revealed: “Freddie isn’t just a foil, as would be so easy to dismiss her,” Chorostecki says.

Fans of Thomas Harris’ novels, upon which Hannibal is based, will remember that Freddie is actually Freddy — she is a he. But the pronoun flip is more than skin-deep. As Chorostecki tells it, creator Bryan Fuller came to her after she was cast with a specific visual inspiration. “[He] said to me, ‘Do you know of Rebekah Brooks?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I do, I’ve heard of her, of course.’ And he said, ‘Well here’s a picture. This is what we’re modeling you on.’”

Brooks and Chorostecki share curly red hair, but Freddie’s locks are a special effect onto themselves: “The hair was always the starting point,” Chorostecki says — it’s a nod to Freddy’s famous end in Harris’ novels, and it’s all of a piece with the character’s style. Freddie may be chameleonic, but she isn’t a coward. “She’s never been camouflaged. So even when she goes to visit [Mads Mikkelsen’s] Lecter for the first time, as you saw, she’s not really in discreet outfits at any time.”

Freddie returns on tonight’s “Entrée,” which also includes the introduction of a man claiming to be the “Chesapeake Ripper,” played by Eddie Izzard. “I had heard that he was coming in before that and just got very excited, and then I heard Freddie got to play with him and then I got even more excited,” Chorostecki says. Also expect her character to spend more time with Laurence Fisburne’s Jack; and as she points out, “We don’t really know yet what went on with her and Lecter after he threatens her in the office.”

How much has Fuller mapped out Freddie’s arc? Chorostecki says that he has the “Red Dragon” storyline planned for season four, if and when that happens, which means her character’s hottest moment is still a while off. For now, Freddie will continue to become more involved — even, on occasion, providing assistance — and she won’t come out of it without a little bit of blood. Keep an eye out in a few weeks, Chorostecki says. “[Freddie] certainly gets very close to the action.”

"Entree" Promotional Pictures

http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/04/hannibal-episodes-105-107-promotional.html

Murtz Jaffer Interviews Hannibal's Lara Jean Chorostecki

'Hannibal': Lara Jean Chorostecki On Filling Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Shoes by Annette Bourdeau

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/04/hannibal-lara-jean-chorostecki-interview_n_3014242.html

HuffPost TV: So what sparked your interest in the project initially?
 
Chorostecki: What wouldn't spark your interest? When you get Hugh Dancy on board, that would spark any woman's interest immediately. He's so fantastic in this series. People are going to be so amazed with his work. And to get to work with Mads Mikkelsen, who is already a superstar in Europe and has started to make his way over with "Casino Royale." It's been a real learning experience to work opposite him. And then of course you've got Laurence [Fishburne]. So the cast is heaven, with Bryan Fuller at the helm!

Speaking of amazing actors, did Claire Danes ever pop by set to visit [husband] Hugh?

Of course! And their baby is beautiful! He's a wonderful, wonderful little baby. She popped by just after they wrapped "Homeland." When Cyrus was born we got to see him a couple of times. And they also have a very beautiful dog, which kind of became our set mascot.

Can you tell us a bit about your character?

So Freddie used to be a he, for those who know the Tom Harris novel and the previous incarnations of this character. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was incredible in this part. The resemblance that she bears to "he" is a little bit here and there. Certainly Freddie is brave. She has a good eye for a story. She's patient. She's also a little obnoxious, like he was. [For my] character, Bryan showed me a picture of Rebekah Brooks the first time I met with him, who's a journalist who ran News of the World at a very young age. And now she's been arrested in the phone hacking scandal. She's got wonderful, ferocious, tangled red hair on her head. And as you will see in the promo shots, I also have a big tangled mess of red hair on my head. So right down to the look of Freddie, Bryan took that characterization from Rebekah Brooks. Fans of the mythology know where he/she ends up. I have been told that is the plan. Where we go in the meantime between now and the "Red Dragon" storyline is up to the brilliance of Bryan.

What's it like playing a she who used to be a he? How do you channel that energy?

I think it's actually freeing to channel the masculine energy, but I tend to not really need it. You get the freedom of not being compared to previous incarnations. I don't have to be scared of being compared to Phillip Seymour Hoffman because they're just not going to be the same.

Did you ever think you might one day share a role with Phillip Seymour Hoffman?

No! I think it was TVLine that broke the casting announcement, and the headline was something like Hannibal Taps "Camelot" Actress to Fill Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Shoes. I remember my agent and I just went "Wow!" You couldn't pay to get a title like that. It's wonderful to have my name and his name in the same breath, but no, I did not expect that at all! [Laughs]

Who do you think the show will appeal to?

I really think everyone. Bryan's been calling it operatic, because horror really has an operatic feel to it. Anyone who's a fan of Bryan's work will just adore it. There is something for everyone. That said, it is also gory, so be forewarned. But I really think those who get a little icked out by the gore factor, it's not in a gratuitous way. It's an exploration of the psychological stuff that comes along with this kind of storyline.

Were you ever icked out by anything on set?

Yes! [Laughs] I have a fear of things growing on things. I don't know where it came from. But I go hiking a lot, and sometimes I can't handle moss growing on trees or tumors on trees or mushrooms. The special effects team does some amazing stuff. In the second episode, there's some things growing on some things, that is pretty gross. One day I was on set and one of these special effects things walked by me and I had a little bit of a scared moment seeing this person covered in things!

How does "Hannibal" compare to projects you've worked on before?

It's really different, having come off a long stint of period pieces. It's really nice to be back in modern-day costumes. It's fun to be in heels not on cobblestone streets! [Laughs] I've been really fortunate. I did "Camelot" a couple of years ago and also worked with a really incredible cast on that production. Joe Fiennes was amazing, Claire [Forlani] was amazing, James Purefoy was fantastic. You often get a richer vocabulary when you're doing period pieces, but Bryan's vocabulary is so rich and wonderful, anyone who knows his work knows his writing is very intricate.

Speaking of James Purefoy, do you think that "Hannibal" will appeal to the same audience that watches "The Following"?

Our show is in the same realm, of course, because they're both about serial killers, but it's different. People are naturally going to draw the parallels. When you put the Bryan Fuller stamp on it, it's so surreal and so inventive in some ways that I think it will stand out on its own as well. They're both two quality TV shows. I hope it will attract the same audience. You'll get a double-dose of horror through the week!

TorontoVerve: 'In the Belly of the Beast': Actress Lara Jean Chorostecki Talks About Her New Role in NBC's Hannibal

http://www.torontoverve.org/2013/04/in-belly-of-beast-actress-lara-jean.html

Some highlights below, the whole interview here:

http://www.torontoverve.org/2013/04/in-belly-of-beast-actress-lara-jean.html

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TorontoVerve: You play tabloid blogger Freddie Lounds on the show. Your Freddie is quite different from the "Red Dragon" novel and film adaptations (Manhunter & Red Dragon), isn't it? 

Lara Jean Chorostecki:: Yes, because Freddie was a ‘he’ in the novels and movies, and now Freddie is a ‘she’ so that is already a huge difference. And ‘he’ was previously played by Stephen Lang (Manhunter) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Red Dragon). Before shooting Hannibal, I watched Red Dragon. First of all, Philip Seymour Hoffman is incredible in it, but second, he’s so schlubby and so wonderfully sleazy. I would say that female Freddie is also wonderfully sleazy, but in a more sophisticated way. She wears high fashion and she’s very good at what she does, but she absolutely has no moral compass whatsoever. Nothing yet has fazed or scared this girl, but fans of the book and movies know that something will eventually very much terrify her.

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TorontoVerve: Show producer Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me) asked you to draw inspiration from News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks who was charged with the phone hacking conspiracy. What did you draw from her?

Lara Jean Chorostecki:: There was a Vanity Fair article written last year by Suzanna Andrews called "Untangling Rebekah Brooks" and that gave me a ton of insight because it outlined so nicely what her rise to fame was and maybe some devious things that happened. Time will tell in her trial what she’s guilty or not guilty of. So what I drew from her was the idea of someone who is unapologetic and pretty fierce in pursuing an ultimate success for herself. The way Bryan described her is even though she’s under suspicion and being investigated for some not-so great things right now, she’s still the type of woman who can find her way around anything. And even though she may get you fired, the next day you might just send her ‘thank you’ flowers because she managed to find you a better job. So that drive that I sense in her is definitely what inspired me.

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TorontoVerve: In "Red Dragon", Freddy's unscrupulous tactics result in much friction between him and FBI agent Will Graham. How does your Freddie mix things up with Graham and Lecter in the series?

Lara Jean Chorostecki:: Actually Freddie and Will Graham have quite the antagonistic relationship. I don’t think he’s too fond of me. I think when you watch the series, you’ll probably get a sense of that. I also had a lot of fun with Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky) who plays Hannibal. He’s incredible and such a good actor. He’s so inspiring to work with. Freddie’s interaction with Hannibal in particular gets interesting at times. I think he finds her pretty fascinating. There’s a lot of thematic stuff throughout our first season with identifying parts of yourself in other people. When Hannibal first meets Will, he identifies a part of himself in Will, and everybody is identifying a psychopathic quality in each other. I gotta say that the most fun I had was when Freddie interacts with Jack Crawford, who’s played by Lawrence Fishburne (The Matrix, CSI). When I get to sit down with Jack, he’s just so intimidating and I have to be absolutely unafraid of him. Freddie doesn’t appear in the pilot. She appears in Episode 2 for the first time and when Jack says my name, you sense there’s already a history between us where I’ve gotten under his skin a number of times.

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TorontoVerve: I think it’s great for your character because Freddy Lounds doesn’t have much to do in the novel, but now it really looks like they’re going to flesh out the character and introduce her to people whom ‘he’ originally never met.

Lara Jean Chorostecki: Absolutely, yeah, she appears in 6 of the 13 episodes so strongly. I interact with almost everyone and it’s been a real blessing to be that type of character. I think that Bryan has brilliantly utilized this character to be able to fill things in when needed and come in and stir up trouble. Also, Bryan has plans for a good long run and it’ll be really exciting to see what he does with Freddie until maybe something happens to her -- I don’t know, we’ll find out.

The DailyQuirk: Interview with ‘Hannibal’ star Lara Jean Chorostecki

http://thedailyquirk.com/2013/03/23/an-interview-with-hannibal-star-lara-jean-chorostecki/

The Daily Quirk: Next, we’re going to see you as Freddie Lounds in NBC’s Hannibal. What attracted you to the role?

Lara Jean Chorostecki: She is quite something. People who are fans of the Thomas Harris books, or even the movies, will know that she was a he. And they know how Stephan Lang and Philip Seymour Hoffman played the character before, but she is very, very different from those interpretations. Bryan Fuller, who is the creator of the show, sat down with me when we first were starting to shoot back in August. And he showed me a picture of Rebekah Brooks. I don’t know if you’ve heard of her but she ran news at the World (News of the World) and The Sun and News International, and she has now arrested currently under suspicion of a phone hacking scandal in the UK. And if you see a picture of Rebekah Brooks, you’ll notice that she has this massive, beautiful mane of red, curly hair. So he showed me this picture and said ‘This is who you’re based on.’ So we had a little chat about that and one of the great anecdotes said about her was that ‘She’s the type of woman who can get you fired, yet have you send her thank you flowers.’ And I went home after this meeting and read a great Vanity Fair article about Rebekah Brooks by Suzanna Andrews called ‘Untangling Rebekah Brooks.’ So I read it before shooting Episode 2 and it was a great kind of insight into who Freddie might be. She’s a younger version and I call her spirited. She’s unflappable and she ignores the rules at every point possible, if she needs to. And she’s really good at her job, so I think that’s something. She sometimes fails, but she always manages to find her way around things.

The Daily Quirk: Because this role has been portrayed twice before by Stephan Lang and Philip Seymour Hoffman, were you ever hesitant in taking on the part?
Lara Jean Chorostecki: No, not really. I think the gender switch always gives so much freedom and Bryan has a brilliant way of inspiring his actors to, first of all, want to work really hard for him, and also to feel very confident in your ability to create a character that is entirely your own. So I loved both interpretations and I actually rewatched Red Dragon right before I started, but they’re so different. And the interpretations are so different down to even the costumes that I’m wearing. Our costume designer is amazing and has Freddie outfitted as fresh and central and so high fashion, she always looks her best. So everything is so different about it that I think I felt really confident about making her my own without having to worry about comparing. And that would be a really scary comparison because they are amazing!

The Daily Quirk: Now, are you anything like Freddie in real life?

Lara Jean Chorostecki: I like to think not, because she doesn’t have much of a moral compass. So I like to think that I have a little more of a moral compass but it makes her like Sybil in that she’s so much fun to play, because I have these little parts of myself that don’t get to come out very often but I now get to bring out and kind of fan the flames of these personality traits that I don’t think I really have. But I certainly am a passionate person and I certainly can be a go-getter, so in that sense sure, there are parts of myself that I’ve been able to explode and make them so much bigger to be able to explore her. When people see her and her personality, I’d like to think I’m a lot nicer. At least I hope.

The Daily Quirk: You could say that you have one thing in common with Freddie, in that you’re both writers. Your poem “Casa Loma at Midnight” was just recently published in the Great Lakes Review and Freddie is a journalist. What inspires you as a writer?

Lara Jean Chorostecki: I’ve been writing poetry since I was really little. My parents took me camping a lot and every summer we’d go to a different provincial park in Ontario and since then I’ve continued that tradition. My partner, he and I love to go camping, so we go to provincial parks and national parks and that is where I’d say I draw most of my inspiration, from the outdoors. That particular poem is actually about Toronto, but it’s still about outdoors Toronto. So yeah, my main inspiration is outdoors, experiential kind of stuff. So nothing like Freddie, she’s a criminal justice journalist.

The Daily Quirk: You could say that you have one thing in common with Freddie, in that you’re both writers. Your poem “Casa Loma at Midnight” was just recently published in the Great Lakes Review and Freddie is a journalist. What inspires you as a writer?

Lara Jean Chorostecki: I’ve been writing poetry since I was really little. My parents took me camping a lot and every summer we’d go to a different provincial park in Ontario and since then I’ve continued that tradition. My partner, he and I love to go camping, so we go to provincial parks and national parks and that is where I’d say I draw most of my inspiration, from the outdoors. That particular poem is actually about Toronto, but it’s still about outdoors Toronto. So yeah, my main inspiration is outdoors, experiential kind of stuff. So nothing like Freddie, she’s a criminal justice journalist.

The Daily Quirk: So you’d never give journalism a try?

Lara Jean Chorostecki: Well I am enrolled in university right now getting my certificate in English Literature and I did my Master’s in Shakespeare, so I certainly have a passion for words. But no, I’ve never done journalism.

The Daily Quirk: What scoop can you give us about the show without risking a Hannibal Lecter-style wrath from producers?

Lara Jean Chorostecki: I like that, a Hannibal Lecter-style wrath. I think Bryan would come down on me with a Lecter-style wrath if I gave away too much. What can you expect? It’s hard because I think there are so many twists and turns that I think the audience will be excited about, so it’s hard to not give too much away. The interaction between Mads (Mikkelson) and Hugh (Dancy) who play Hannibal and Will Graham is something to really look forward to. And the beginning of their relationship is something that the audience has never really seen before, so being able to know, as an audience, where we’re going to end up is really exciting. Because we all know what Hannibal does, and we’re going to know that from Episode 1, but nobody else knows what Hannibal does. So there’s a lot of tension and suspense which is really exciting. I can say we start off four or five years before Red Dragon, so it’s pre-Hannibal being caught and it revolves around the cop story where we start off. So people can look forward to seeing that at the very beginning and all the consequences that happen afterwards. And that’s as safe as I can talk. Freddie gets to interact with a lot or really exciting people, too. So, it’s been a fantastic ride.

The Daily Quirk: It is a big change to go from the period pieces to a show that’s really modern like Hannibal?

Lara Jean Chorostecki: Yeah, it’s fun to be able to switch. This is a new territory and it’s so much en vogue right now to do these kind of darker, modern pieces and it’s exciting to be in this realm of dramatic modern stuff. I mean, Freddie, as she is a journalist, still gives me the great fun of being able to utilize my love of words because Bryan writes a lot of great vocabulary for her. So in that sense, period pieces have that kind of rich vocabulary so it’s familiar in that way. But it’s nice to take off the corsets and stop walking around cobblestone streets. I’m only 5’2″ so I always have to be in heels or on apple boxes so it’s nice to be in heels and on apple boxes on flat surfaces rather than cobblestone and dirt.

Lara Jean Chorostecki chats about Please Kill Mr. Know It All, NBC’s Hannibal and more!

http://theartsscene.ca/lara-jean-chorostecki-chats-about-please-kill-mr-know-it-all-nbc-hannibal-and-more/

Huffingtonpost.com: Lara Jean Chorostecki as Freddie Lounds

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/hannibal-cast-hugh-dancy-photos_n_2784171.html#slide=2167890

Twitter: Lara Jean Chorostecki's first day

https://twitter.com/ljchoro

Freddie Lounds

Lara Jean Chorostecki has joined the cast of "Hannibal" in a role previously played by Stephen Lang in 1986′s Manhunter and Philip Seymour Hoffman in 2002′s Red Dragon, TVLine has learned exclusively. Chorostecki will portray Freddie Lounds — aka Freddy Lounds, the sleazy tabloid reporter played by Lang and Hoffman on the big screen — in NBC’s contemporary take on the characters from Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon novel. Chorostecki’s Freddie is more sophisticated in her manipulations than her male predecessors, but no less daring, making her a foil for not only Will Graham, but Hannibal Lecter and Jack Crawford, as well.

http://tvline.com/2012/08/14/hannibal-lara-jean-chorostecki/

More information, with possible spoilers from "Red Dragon": http://reddragonspoilers.blogspot.ie/search/label/Freddy%20Lounds