Herizen Guardiola first made waves in Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down and has since landed roles on American Gods and Dare Me, a USA Network television series based on the eponymous novel by Megan Abbott. Factor in a string of EPs, singles, and videos, and the multi-hyphenate seems to have already solidified an expansive list of accomplishments.
Despite her many roles and projects, Herizen reveals to the Cut’s culture editor, Kerensa Cadenas, that one thing has remained consistent: the tight-knit relationships she forms with her castmates.
Kerensa Cadenas: So, I have to talk to you about Dare Me. I loved it so, so much.
Herizen Guardiola: Thank you!
Kerensa: How was it working on that? It’s such an intense show, so was it intense filming it?
Herizen: Yeah, I mean, the parts that were heady were also very heady on me.
Kerensa: Yeah, yeah, I’m sure.
Herizen: Heady, a.k.a intense for those who don’t know the lingo of the West Coast. For a lot of the death scenes like episodes seven to nine, I was a little mentally out of it because my character was out of it. And I kind of went method there a little bit. In episode eight, Addy was having an emotional breakdown in the middle of the cafeteria. She was seeing Colette flashbacks with the blood and teeth, and she was going through a lot, and I actually had my first public panic attack.
Kerensa: Oh no!
Herizen: I had to take a break. I had to take a moment and breathe from that. I’m pretty good at separating myself from my character, and when something is so intense and you have to be in it for a couple of episodes, which means a couple of weeks, it eventually does affect you.
Kerensa: And how was it working with everybody? I think one of the best parts of the show is this weird triangle between Beth and Addy and Coach, which is very intense. You just never know what’s going to happen with it.
Herizen: Well, I mean, working with the girls was just fun. It was something that was new to me. I was homeschooled, and I didn’t have a lot of girlfriends growing up. The experience of being on a cast of all very strong women healed a lot of stuff for me and taught me a lot about how strong we are as a unit. The more of us, the better was something that I learned and was really cool. Working with them was pretty much a fun time. Me and Marlo [Kelly] on-set are really together, and Willa [Fitzgerald] and I are, as well. I feel like Willa and I are very, very goofy together. She’s like my big sister, and she eggs me on sometimes, and we have a very playful friendship. And I feel that me and Marlo are really there together in the scenes. There were a lot of really intense scenes with both of them, and I felt held. They’re also incredible actresses, and I learned a lot from them, as well.
To hear more stories about Herizen’s friendships behind the scenes, her first big acting role on The Get Down — “I came out of that show with a new perspective on myself” — and her hit-list of favorite “fantasy vibes” movies, watch the full video now, both above and on Instagram.