Lauren LaVera is the girl that Art the Clown just can’t wait to decapitate in the box office smash, Terrifier 3, but both in the movies, and in real life, this girl is no damsel in distress. LaVera sat down for an exclusive chat with M&F to discuss her love of dance and martial arts, and how her body reacts to some of the most gruesome action ever caught on film.
“Yeah, my whole life, I’ve always loved it,” beams LaVera while discussing her passion for martial arts actors. “I grew up watching Bruce Lee movies, Jackie Chan movies and I really loved Michelle Yeoh and it just was the thing that got me also into acting, like I looked at these amazing martial artists, and I loved the stories they were telling. ‘That’s what I want to be like, that is who I want to be. And of course, I watched Power Rangers and stuff like that, and that was always really cool, but it was really the actors that got me inspired. As soon as I could articulate those words, I let my mom know ‘I need to’, and ‘I want to do martial arts’. So, I just found the first place I could find, and I’ve been training ever since.”
Martial arts was also a great way for LaVera to build on her strength. She was born with a susceptibility to dislocating her joints and during her early training sessions, her arm would come out of its socket forcing LaVera to take drastic action to reconnect her joints, such as slamming herself against a wall.
The Philadelphia-born actor says that she started out with Taekwondo before practicing Kun Khmer (similar to Muay Thay) and WashU. In her acting career, LaVara has been able to use her advanced understanding of her body in order to attempt most stunts herself, much like her aforementioned heroes.
In Terrifier 3, LaVera does the vast majority of her own stunts once again, but when it comes to a gritty horror movie like this one, she had to think carefully about her highly proficient movements because Sienna, her character, is not a dancer or a martial arts master, and as such wouldn’t have the same technique and clean lines during strikes that LaVera has. “Drew would constantly tell me to dirty it up,” explains the strong female of the instructions she received from Terrifier 3 stunt coordinator Drew Leary. “It would look too sharp and too clean sometimes, and even though I am a martial artist, Sienna is not, so I would constantly have to fumble, and just make it dirtier.”
Art the Clown has become synonymous with executing some of the most insane kills in movie history, but while LaVera knows that she is working on a fictional project, her body still reacts to some of the more violent scenes.
“I have to go into a headspace, an emotional headspace that is emotionally draining, and it affects my body to the point where, like, I will sweat profusely, and I remember I was apologizing to our intimacy coordinator Maria, who was amazing,” shares the actor. “… She was like; ‘Your body doesn’t know the difference between the stress that you’re pretending to put yourself through, and the stress that you’re actually putting yourself through.’”
In order to relax, LaVera has learned that breathing exercises are a great way to center herself in the midst of chaos. In her normal life, the star likes to train martial arts at least three times per week, and loves to play video games in her downtime. And, when it comes to her nutrition, LaVera has learned to take an intuitive approach to finding balance, but tries to separate her eating from her emotions, because with a love of chocolate and cookies, she doesn’t want to over reward herself with treats! “You want to keep eating it, but it’s really just trying to be kind to yourself and being kind to your body and knowing what it all does for you, and trying to be mindful of that,” she explains.
For those wondering, Lauren LaVera really is a genuine horror movie fanatic. Ironically, it was the film Poltergeist that sparked a fear of clowns in her. Who would have thought she’d go on to try and slay one of the creepiest clowns in history with the Terrifier franchise? “I am trying to do more comedy next,” she shares. “And, I think it could be because my body and mind are tired from all of the stress.” Still with another Terrifier movie rumored to be in the works, and with a ton of offers for more physical roles, LaVera will likely be mixing it up on screen for some time to come. “I like to really push myself in any way,” she says. “… I want to see how far I can reach myself, and stretch myself, in every which direction.”
