Small, but Feisty: A Conversation with Actress, Producer & Voice Artist Francesca Louise White

Francesca Louise White is a “small, but feisty” Internationally Award Winning Stage and Screen Actress, Producer and Voice-artist. After gaining her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Drama from Exeter University then travelled across the pond to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles and The Groundlings to study acting. Returning to the UK to build a career, she has performed in steadily growing range of diverse short and feature length films, television series pilots and plays among other work. Best known project to date is ‘King of Crime’ by Matt Gambell for Linda Dunscombe Films & Springbean Ltd which is currently available to watch on: Sky, Amazon, Googleplay, Sony, Virgin, iTunes and can be bought nationwide in Tesco and ASDA stores.

The Fan Carpet’s Marc Jason Ali caught up with Francesca to talk about her career, we talk about her career as a whole, being Sophie in The Unseen World: The Crown of Thorns, playing Gemma in King of Crime and being a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer…

If we go back to the beginning, was there a defining moment for you to get into the Film Industry?

Hmm that’s a tough one to answer as it wasn’t a conscious decision to mainly focus on the film industry over theatre, and I do enjoy performing in a good stage play. That being said, my family and I have always enjoyed films: particularly science-fiction like ‘The Fifth Element’, ‘Galaxy Quest’ and ‘Star Trek’. Films have helped me re-evaluate, distract myself or simply let go of my real life issues on many an occasion and I love being a part of that; inspiring, connecting with and sometimes even helping in that way. I’ve always performed from: ballet, martial arts, to piano and Latin. Telling stories in front of the camera and playing other people with that level of intensity and vulnerability, as is so clear in the face, eyes and body language extremely close-up on film, is definitely now a preference.

You’re going to be Sophie in the TV Series The Unseen World: The Crown of Thorns, what can you tell us about working on that and where Sophie fits into the story?

We shot the pilot a couple of years back now but I know Craig Teal (the Director/Writer/Creator) is definitely still working to get the full series made. Sophie is an innocent in the story who finds her strength as it progresses; she’s the main protagonist who leads the audience through the magical World that was previously hidden to her and the viewers. I greatly enjoyed working with the ridiculously talented DoP Robert Beck whose experience and vision were well utilised in filming the pilot for the series. The same for Jenn Day playing Jessica, and Chris Dane playing The Man in Grey, both of whom have fantastic acting instincts and I’d love to work with each of them again. I remember clearly being awed by Chris’ behind the scenes video interview answers which put mine to shame!

King of Crime was just released on Home Entertainment where you play Gemma alongside some well known British talent, what was that experience like?

Simply put: it was incredible. I was RATHER nervous before rehearsing with Claire King and Chris Ellison with whom I shared my main scene; their wealth of experience, widely acknowledged talent and recognisable names and careers! Luckily, they’re both absolutely lovely! Down to earth, welcoming and real team players from whom I learned a lot. I didn’t have a scene with either Mark Wingett nor Nicholas Brendon, but I ran into Mark a few times while shooting my scenes and he’s amazing. I remember watching one of his scenes where he had a limp and it was utterly convincing (which can be quite hard to achieve). So, when he sat next to me I said: “Mark, what is your process for the limp? – it looks completely natural” thinking he’d be like “Oh yes. so I walked around town for the past week with it to get into character or my method is…” You know? Something along those deep actor stereotype lines. And he just went “Ah”, took his shoe off and fully cracked up as he pulled a stone out! He’s brilliant in talent and personality! I was a huge Buffy fan growing up and Linda Dunscombe the Writer and Producer knew this, so she invited me to come along to be the behind-the-scenes Interviewer on the days Nicholas Brendon (aka Zander Harris, aka the heart of the Buffy troupe…aka the eater of twinkies… AKA. the demon magnet… yes, yes, sooo I was a dorky fan girl) was shooting. Again, extremely nervous but he was hilarious and made it very easy. I managed to hold back on my Buffy references… mostly…..

What is your preferred genre, and do you have any favourite films?

Science fiction is definitely still a big love of mine, as is fantasy. I enjoy escapist films when you can wholly focus on the Universe in front of you and leave yours behind. ‘Galaxy Quest’ by Dean Parisot is a favourite, as is “Source Code” by Duncan Jones and “Guardians of the Galaxy” by James Gunn. I can watch them over and over again and crack-up or not notice someone trying to talk to me during the film every time.

Are there any other aspects of the Film Industry that you would like to pursue?

My main long-term goal is to own a production company, buy the rights to books and pay my favourite scriptwriters to create screenplays from the books then make them. There is a plethora of enthralling books that I’ve read which deserve to be made into films so that more people can enjoy them as I have. I have a lot of friends in the industry who deserve such great material to work on too. I’d like to get a percentage of the profits to the charities I support too. One day.

You have an eclectic range of credits from Stage to TV to Short Films to Feature Film, are there any genres that you haven’t done yet that you’d like to?

I haven’t really worked in television yet, I’ve done a few TV pilots but not generally broadcast long running shows or anything of that ilk. I’ve worked on a few films with a multi-camera set up which is how they do a lot of it from what I’ve been told/seen but it’s not quite the same and I’d really like to have a go with that. VR too. My brother has a Vive and I think there are some fantastic and beneficial innovations coming out of virtual reality programs. Sounds like a lot of fun to work on too! OH and motion capture, I’ve auditioned for a few but haven’t yet booked one yet. Soon, hopefully!

You’ve worked with a great crop of talent, do you have a wish list of who you’d like to work with? Who inspires you within the industry?

Definitely though it would probably bore you to hear all of them! I’ll limit myself to: Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman, Peter Jackson, Viola Davis, Sir Anthony Hopkins, James Gunn, Joss Whedon, Jessica Chastain, Kathryn Bigelow, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, Guillermo del Toro, Meryl Streep, Sir Ian McKellen, Jordan Peele, Gillian Anderson, Patty Jenkins, Hayley Atwell, Ava DuVernay, Sandra Bullock and Robin Wright. OH and Charlie Cox. Can’t forget ‘Daredevil’, he’s so good.

I saw you in Slasher House 2, with the plans Mycho have for Slasher House and the Universe, is that a franchise you’d return to since it gave you the chance to show off some of your fight training?

Thank you very much for watching! No, I’m afraid I won’t be returning. I’ve finished my time as Felissa Harley/RED. I am working on a few projects which require the use of my fight training though, so it’s not the end of that I promise!

I was looking at your IMDb and you have a few things slated The Flock, The Great Charade and Are you watching closely?, what can you tell us about those and do you approach Short Films differently to features?

‘The Flock’ is a post-apocalyptic industrial Western by Andrew Griffin for Steamwork Films, there’s a lot planned for this concept/universe. Griff is a brilliant writer and Isabel a complex survivor of a character whom I can’t wait to get my teeth back into; we shot the proof-of-concept trailer last year to secure funding for the full film. Wayne Reay Soundman/Sound Mixer, DoP Alex Powell, and co-actors Tiana Rogers, Ben Manning and Ruth Garvel are all a delight to work with. My main scene for what we’ve already shot involved Wayne, Alex, Griff and I sweating BUCKETS during the height of the heat wave last year but thankfully got through it; we were in a Radio station recording room with the fans off!!

‘The Great Charade’ is a thriller/horror by Rodeo and Dan Strange for Rodeax in which I play the Queen of Hollywood Amara Giovanni. It’s supremely twisted, extremely surreal in places and darkly comedic. I keep saying it’s ‘Silence of the Lambs’ meets ‘La La Land’ without the music, but it’s a highly original film; I doubt you’ll have seen anything like it before and hope it’s received as well as I received it when I first read the script! Candice Palladino, Marcus Davis-Orrom and Ricardo Freitas are all extremely talented as is Will Tullett and every single person on this cast and crew. It was a tough shoot – all nightshoots, but very satisfying and hopefully you’ll think it worth our efforts when the film is released later this year.

‘Are You Watching Closely’ is also a thriller, but of a very different kind to the previous film I just mentioned, by Liam Thomas Burke for Recognition Films. Pablo Raybould as Frank, Ben Manning as Dave and Vicki Adebola as Hannah have all worked together several times previously and they welcomed me into the family! I got to wear a heck of a lot of wigs which was good fun; I still love getting to dress up and alter my look for roles. I’m trying not to reveal TOO much with this one as the mystery of just what is going on is integral, hence the name. I will be working with this fabulous lot again soon this year, on a sequel to Liam’s previous film ‘Hangman’ called ‘Dear Hangman’. Cannot wait, it’s a really juicy character.

Fandoms are a big part of the industry, who or what are you a fan of?

Still a bit of a ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ fan, incase you couldn’t tell from before. ‘Battlestar Galactica’ is another series of which I’m a fan as is ‘Star Wars’. More recently ‘Stranger Things’ has completely captured my attention, I’m definitely a part of that fandom.

Is there a book that you are a fan of that hasn’t been adapted to film or TV or Netflix yet that you’d love to be a part of?

I just finished reading the first book in the series by Samantha Shannon called ‘The Bone Season’. It’s an incredible read, her minds is a magical imaginative place and I’d be beyond thrilled to help bring that World and her characters to a film, TV or Netflix series. Sarah J. Maas and Ilona Andrews both have a few novel series of which I’d kill to bring to the screen too.

With the emergence of streaming services like Netflix, what do you think the future of Cinema is?

Great question! I think these streaming services open more opportunities for actors, filmmakers and indie projects to get out there and be taken more seriously which is a fantastic thing. Also, every single time I go to the cinema it’s packed and there’s still a big love for going to the cinema for a special event or on a date or simply by yourself to get out of the house and see a (hopefully) great story, so I don’t think all the pessimism related to Netflix ‘taking over’ is a real worry. I think these streaming services will have an impact on television series more than cinema, as the definition for a series becomes blurred and having everything easily available to binge watch rather than wait a week to see the next episode definitely affects the writing, funding and viewing numbers of TV series. I’m very interested to see what comes from it and hope the benefits outweigh any negatives. Time will tell!