I first saw Sophie Rankin on my screens 10 years ago in the Dave Courtney/Jamie Bannerman (no relation to me) starring film Full English Breakfast and was very excited when Sophie said ‘yes’ to taking part in the Spending Time With…series of articles on the site. Her latest films Darkgame and Escape haven’t yet arrived on UK shores and both sit on my ‘ i want to see’ list. Hopefully in the near future (once ive seen those films), Sophie will say ‘yes’ to appearing on a podcast episode where I can ask her about her work with Howard Ford and specifically her roles in those two thriller movies.  

What can you tell me about Fay (the character you play in Darkgame)  

Fay is a kind sweet girl who sadly happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She’s put in the most horrific of situations and she’s absolutely beyond terrified. Shes trying to do and say absolutely everything in her power to be set free. She’s literally living her worst nightmare and my scenes are pretty harrowing horrific ones to watch but certainly impactful! 

What was the most recent book you read? 

To tell you the honest truth I haven’t read a book since I had to back at college! I haven’t fully enjoyed reading since I was a child! Now I prefer to create my own narratives and I live a very active busy lifestyle which doesn’t give me the time to read although of course I do frequently read scripts and various news articles or extracts when I’m researching various things! 

Out of all the characters you’ve played, which one do you think is the most like you?

 I think the role I play of Lucy in ESCAPE is probably the most like me! She’s feisty, determined, confident, outspoken, strong, caring and doesn’t let bad people get the better of her! 

What is one of your most favourite locations you have filmed or performed in?

I would say my top 3 favourite filming locations (as I’m struggling to think of my favourite) would be: 

A TV pilot for the BBC which was filmed in Nicaragua many years ago was a pretty awesome filming location and one I would never forget as I got to go volcano surfing! 

Secondly, one of the films I was in that was shot in the Philippines called Mr and Mrs Cruz that I play Celine in was pretty amazing as we were filming it on islands in the beautiful Filipino island of Palawan and some scenes were literally filmed in the ocean which was pretty surreal! 

And thirdly, all of the locations I got to film in for ESCAPE felt dreamy as we got to film in this beautiful villa in France, an underground fort in the UK and In The Canary Islands where the bulk of the film was shot in canyons and in the desert there which was fabulous! 

Do you have any ‘props or keepsakes from any of your films or shows?

 I do usually keep my costumes so I have a lot of very unusually clothing lying around! 

Do you remember who got your first autograph?

 Yes I do actually! It was this lovely guy who had been posting fan mail to my agents address shortly after I’d been in Emmerdale! I sent him a letter back with my signature on as he’d kindly requested me to!  

Have you ever gotten someone’s autograph? Which is the most memorable for you?

 Yes I got Manny Pacquiao’s autograph on a boxing glove for my brother! If you are into boxing you’ll probably know him very well! He’s a friend of mine and he’s always so kind and generous when it comes to signing things for his fans! 

What is the ONE single coolest movie geek thing you own?

 Probably a Mean Girls poster that I’ve had since I was a child ever since the first movie came out because it’s just so legendary and I love the film haha! 

What is one film that gives you the ‘creeps’? Or scares you

 ‘The Others’ which many people say isn’t that scary but for me even after watching it so many years ago it still really creeps me out to think about! 

Do you have an ‘off switch’ when not working, and how does it work?  

To be honest I don’t really have an off switch! I’m usually working on something even when I’m not filming! I like to always be setting myself new goals and working towards achieving them so if I’m not doing something I feel like I should be haha! 

How do you prepare for an audition?  

I make sure I’m extremely familiar with my lines and when I’ve learnt them, I do a lot of character development work and really try to become that character. I also refresh my acting skills technically in terms of camera angles, where to look, frames etc! 

What’s the first thing you do when you get on ‘set’

Introduce myself to the cast and crew (if it’s our first proper time meeting)! If we’ve already met I’ll say hi to everyone first and then have a private word with which ever actors I have my lines and scenes with to check we are on the same page about how to go about the scenes! 

Do you prefer day shoots or night shoots?

 I prefer day shoots as night shoots can mess up your body clock! 

If you had to make a ‘bucket list’ of people you’d love to work with, tell me one name who would be on it?

 Amanda Seyfried because she’s such a talented versatile actress and hilarious! I’d love to play her sister in a film! 

Do you read reviews of shows that you are in?

 Yes I do as I really appreciate other people’s feedback. 

Let’s shine a light on some of your past work. Which of your projects are you most proud of?

I’m really proud of my work in DarkGame playing Fay. It was so great getting to act alongside Ed Westwick and I feel I handled the intense scenes I was doing pretty well! I’m also so so proud of my work in ESCAPE as I got to show so many of my additional skills in it including my martial arts and stage combat skills! And to name a third I’m also super proud of my work in Ouija Castle playing Sofia as it was my first time playing a proper villain in a film so that was great!  To be honest I feel proud of all the projects I’ve been in including my films and TV shows in Asia as well. I’m very grateful to of had such great roles in 24 feature films now! 

Out of all the projects you’ve done, which one do people seem to ask you the most about?

I would say currently I’m getting the most questions about ESCAPE! I guess as it’s recently been released and also because I’ve been talking about it online ever since we started filming it right at the beginning! I think people have been very intrigued about it as the cast and crew have constantly been posting such stunning shots from it in the most cinematic of locations so there’s been a lot of hype surrounding it and a huge amount of press which has been great for everyone involved! I also get asked a lot about the Mr and Mrs Cruz film that I played Celine in as it was on the cinema for a long time and stayed on Netflix for years after and still shines proudly on Netflix today! My character in that is pretty hilarious and on top of that I’m the only British person in the movie so I guess I stand out quite a bit in it! 

What’s the most difficult thing about your creative journey?

 I think the most difficult part is making sure you stay really productive! I’ve always had a very busy life full of non stop traveling so most of the time I find myself juggling multiple things at once so it’s easy to forget sometimes to bug my agent and to apply for things haha but I do try to keep myself as productive as possible and try to make sure I’m always networking and putting myself out there! 

And, the flipside. What’s the most enjoyable for you?

 For me I absolutely love the process! I’m always the happiest and in my element when I’m actually on set filming! Even if I’m not having the best day, put me on set and it automatically lifts my mood!  Getting to see the final product of your work as well and hearing that people really like it is also extremely rewarding! 

If you can sit down with any one living person and chat to them for two hours? Who would you choose?

For me I’m always the happiest chatting to the people I love like my close friends and my family! I’m extremely close to my mum, she is my best friend so I’d always choose to chat to her over anyone!

Check Out The Official Trailer for Darkgame

 

Check Out The Trailer for Escape.

 

Many thanks to Sophie for taking the time out to answer the questions, whilst the questions I send over are always the same, the answers are always different and I love that about the Spending Time With..series. 

You can view Sophie’s Spotlight page HERE

You can visit Sophie’s official site here http://www.sophierankin.com/