Emma Bell is probably a familiar face to television fans. The 23 year old actress has appeared on “Law and Order” as well as it’s spin off “S.V.U.” She has also shown up on “First Watch,” “Ghost Whisperer” and “Supernatural.” Those last two shows prepared her for film roles in such thrillers as “Frozen”, which she stars in. She is also slated to star in “Final Destination 5.” Staying true to the genre, Bell has a starring role in the upcoming AMC series “The Walking Dead.” Movie Mikes recently had a chance to talk with Emma about her roles and how horror has been good to her.
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Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your character Amy on “The Walking Dead”?
Emma Bell: I’m so excited about “The Walking Dead” coming out. I’m proud of every project I’ve done but this project in particular I’m really, really proud of. Just the amazing people attached. I’m very, very happy. I’m really proud of it. I play Amy, the younger sister of the lead character, Andrea. The story line is that the sheriff in a small town in Georgia gets shot and when he wakes up the Zombie Apocalypse has happened in the world. And he doesn’t know what’s happened. He doesn’t know why its happened. So he then goes hunting for his family and on this hunt he finds this survivor camp where his family is, as well as myself and other survivors. Our personal story line is that I’m a college student and we were
on a road trip. My sister decided she wanted to go on a road trip with me 
back to college. So we’re just two girls on our way through Georgia when the Apocalypse happens. We manage to make our way out of Atlanta and are taken in by a man and his army to their campsite. That’s our story line.
MG: Where you familiar with the comic prior?
EM: No, I wasn’t really an avid comic reader. When I was younger I read a lot of books but not a lot of comic books. But as soon as I booked the part I went out and read all of the comic books. I was really impressed. To me a comic book really lends itself to a TV series. While reading the comic I would say to myself “of course this is going to be a great TV show. It’s
got drama, it’s got character. It’s got great elements. And for me, reading it in comic book form was really interesting for me because I’d never really read a comic book. It’s amazing how you’re reading a story through visuals versus words. It’s a really different vein of storytelling. And I continue to read the comics. Every time there’s a new one out I have to read the story.
MG: How did you get involved with “Frozen”?
EB: I auditioned like any other project. I read the script and really liked it so I went in and auditioned. The story is that I was the very first person to read for the role. I came in really early one morning and did my thing and I guess they really liked me. They kept auditioning people but they eventually hired me. It’s funny because when I went in for the audition I was really sick. I was under the weather and not even sure if I was going to go to the audition that day…maybe I’d just stay in bed. But I’m really glad I decided to go. It’s really become a big thing for me. Anyway, a few weeks after I read I got a phone call saying they wanted to hire me and they invited me to the cast read through.
MG: Tell us how it was working on that film?
EB: We were actually up on a real ski lift. We shot for six weeks in the winter…we shot through February and March in Utah. We were sixty feet above the ground. We got hit with constant blizzards while we were shooting. We had three weeks of night shoots. But it was beautiful because it all worked so well for the film. And the cast all pulled together
through the experience. And it made it all seem more real because you’re surviving the shoot. The director pushed to have the shoot out in the elements. Some people wanted to film it all on a stage with green screen. And the argument was how are we going to act like it’s really cold when it’s really 72 degrees.
MG: Are you a fan of the horror genre?
EB: Horror is a genre’ that has a lot of branches to it. There are lots of different opportunities to do lots of different types of horror. I’ve loved all of the jobs I’ve worked on. Horror has certainly been very good to me. “Frozen” is kind of a horror/thriller. “Walking Dead” is kind of a character driven horror/thriller. The thing I love about horror is that everything in horror is heightened. It’s very dramatic. There’s either a killer or you have to survive some kind of horrible experience. Or even death itself is approaching you in the “Final Destination” films. It’s very dramatic. And that’s a really cool experience to portray as an actress.
MG: You take the lead again in “Final Destination 5”, what can you tell us about your role and the movie?
EB: Yeah it is really great. We are filming in with these amazing 3D cameras. Steven Quale, who worked with James Cameron on “Avatar”, is
directing and he is so great. The rest of the cast members, we really love each other. I have no words to describe the feeling I have when I found out, I got the role. I play Molly and she is sort of a small town girl. Nicholas D’Agosto plays Sam, who is her love interest. His character is the one who has the premonitions like the other “Final Destination” movies. He is an aspiring chef and trying to figure out what to do with this life. We go on this crazy ride due to his premonition and are joined by a bunch of their co-workers. Molly is very girly. I wear a lot of pink. She is very vulnerable and has a big heart.
MG: How has it been filming so far?
EB: We are shooting in 3D and that has really been the coolest thing so far. I get watch these masterminds work with this new technology. Just doing these scenes in front of these 3D cameras. It actually looks like it is two cameras intercepting each other. It is really cool, there is a viewing both where you can watch the takes. You put on these 3D glasses. It has really been a surreal experience so far.
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