i Diora, welcome to VENTS! How have you been? have been surrounded by 3 kids under the age of 5 for the ast 72 hours, so I am just a wee bit tired, but loving every inute.
ack in the day you started your acting career doing some omedies- first of all, what led you to become an actress? grew up modeling since my mom was a model and made the ransition into theatre once I started high school. I was always xtremely shy and introverted( cliché, I know), but it forced me o get out of my shell. I honestly hated it at first, but I fell in love ith making the audience laugh. As soon as I graduated high chool at 1 7, I moved to LA and have been here ever since.
ow was the eventual transition from comedy to horror? s an actress, I get paid to act, whatever the genre. I’ d rather ct than build cars for a living. That being said, I have always referred making people laugh, but the horror world has been o welcoming to me and I will always want to be a member of heir club. Even though I am the biggest scardy cat around and an’ t watch scary films at all.
oes your approach change when you are doing film rather han TV? t this point in the industry, TV and film are so interchangeable hat I don’ t see that much of a difference. I am definitely eading way more television scripts than I am films these days hanks to all the various platforms you can watch TV on. In oing a film, I feel like I have been able to create little families nd form closer connections. When I work on a TV show, I am ypically only there for a few days at a time, so I am more like he new kid in class, over and over. The shy kid in me is still ery much alive in those situations.
hanks to some of this comedy you have become this sort of ex symbol and it seems you fully embrace it- were you any ervous to get stuck in that category forever though? honestly never imagined I would ever be considered a sex ymbol. That is by far the weirdest part of my career. Even now, don’ t really get it. The fact that we have deemed some actors ex symbols over others at all is such a bizarre concept. Like, hat does that even mean, you know?! I have a feeling a man ame up with that term, ha! I prefer to just be seen as an ctress, but it’ s out of my control at this point thanks to google. ll I can do now is avoid playing the stripper / escort / mistress ole. Let me play a mom, please just let me play a mom.
fter you became a mother, was that the moment you said to ourself that you were ready to take your career into a new irection? nce I became a mother, nothing else really mattered. My areer took a back seat completely and I was not as willing to op on a plane to Romania to shoot for 3 months.
peaking of new directions, you recently came out as a lesbian how did this new change or rather embrace has changed you ot only as a person, but career-wise? ell, coming out publicly has just happened recently, so I don’ t ee much of a difference, if at all, career wise. Personally peaking, it has been the most liberating experience for me and
I only wish I had realized it all sooner. Regardless of your age, you should never have to live a lie in order to please others. We have one life, I think, so let’ s just be as authentic as possible and let love win.
Most people when they come out, usually it becomes this liberating process and they feel like themselves, etc.- was that your case or it wasn ' t that dramatic? It just feels like I get to be myself now. I don’ t have to pretend or try to be someone that I think I should be. It’ s been very drama free so far.
Who and when did you come up for the idea for this new documentary you are currently working in? What ' s been like to with Nikki Weiss and Jill Sloane- how did they come on board? My friends Nikki Weiss and Jill Goldstein who are married are producing the project and asked me to join them by sharing my story. I wasn’ t sure at first, only because I didn’ t think I had much of a story to tell. Like, who cares whether I date a man or a woman. Then Trump got elected and I was like f * ck it, I’ m in.
What can you tell us about the documentary? It’ s based on a book called Sexual Fluidity by Dr. Lisa Diamond who is a professor on gender studios and psychology. I along with two other women invite cameras into our homes and share what is happening in our lives and what it’ s like to have been in relationships with both men and women.
After having made lots of comedies for TV- how does it feel to get back into the suspense genre with They Watch? Even though I have worked on a plethora of horror films, this one stands out to me. I’ m sure just about everyone says this, BUT it gives me major The Shining vibes. I play a mother of a young boy who starts to have nightmares and it just goes downhill from there. I had a hard time even finishing the script because I was that spooked. I am mostly looking forward to playing producer and getting a say in the overall film. Just call me Boss. Haha. No, but really.
Did you have to chop in your horror skills again after having made people laugh rather than scared for so long? It’ s really all the same thing. I’ ve always been an actress, so whether it’ s a comedy or thriller, I am doing my best to give an honest performance.
Many great horror shorts like Lights Out have become this incredible great full length film- can we expect another winner with this one? That would be the best-case scenario, so absolutely.
What else is happening next in Diora Baird ' s world? What I am most excited about is the show I am developing right now with my partner Mav Viola who just happens to be a writer and a comedian. Score for me! It’ s actually the funnest( is that a word) project I have ever been involved in and being a part of the creating process has been the most rewarding gig of all. The show is a comedy about a single mother post-divorce, struggling in her acting career who realizes she’ s a big ol’ lesbian. Sound familiar?