Interview by Carol Wright | Photographer: Arlen J.
We got to chat with young actor Tristan Riggs about his project The Seventh Day and what advice he has for aspiring actors.
Did a certain television show or movie spark your interest in acting?
It was more from getting involved in school musicals and theater and not as much from TV or movies that inspired me when I got started. It was later, after I signed with an agent, that I started to work in film and TV. Now that I have been acting for a while, there are TV shows like Stranger Things and the newer Spiderman movies and Deadpool movies that do inspire me. Also, horror films like IT.
What drew you to The Seventh Day?
I really like horror films and I have worked on several horror films in the past. So that was one thing that drew me to this film. I also liked that the character that I play is different from the characters I have played in my past films. My characters before were always kind of the sweet and innocent characters. In this film, my character Nicholas Miller, is still an innocent kid, but he is possessed by a demon so he’s also scary. It was fun to play a character like that.
Was there ever a time when even shooting a scene in the film was scary?
Not really because it is a lot different when you are on set. You are really focusing on the scene and actions and delivering your lines. Just creating the character. Also, one thing people might not really know is that, sometimes you are not even acting with the other people that are in the scene with you. In Blood Fest, I’m in the opening scenes of the film as Young Dax, where a masked killer breaks into my house and kills my mom. Even though my dad Dr. Conway (Tate Donovan) and I are reacting to the guy who broke in, he was actually not even on set with us. But you would not guess that from seeing the final film. Same goes for many of the effects and lighting and music. All of those things are added later to create the scene and make these horror films so much scarier.
You acted alongside Guy Pearce and Stephen Lang. What did you learn from them?
I mostly worked with Keith David. I think I really just learned to show up prepared and ready to go. Actors like Keith David and Guy Pearce have the experience of working on hundreds of films so they will show up and do amazing because of all of that experience. So, I just wanted to be as prepared as I could to make the character real. I had prepared a lot at home for this role by really trying to act it out at home, lying in my bed and going over my lines, and just kind of trying different ways to say my lines. That way I felt like I could show up, be confident, and deliver too.
What advice do you have for aspiring actors?
This industry is very hard so don’t give up. It takes a lot of work and time to grow as an actor with all of the coaching and auditioning. You have to be persistent too. You will hear “no” a lot and not book roles that you might be really excited about. That can be really disappointing but that’s just how it goes so keep working at it and continuing to get better.