Interview with Shareeka Epps

By Susan Thea Posnock

In an industry that’s full to the brim with Disney Channel-groomed starlets, Half Nelson’s talented newcomer Shareeka Epps stands out.

She was discovered in a Brooklyn classroom when filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden were casting their short film Gowanus, Brooklyn. After that film’s success—it won the short film award at Sundance in 2004—Fleck and Boden were able to shoot the full-length version. While actor Ryan Gosling took over the role of teacher Dan Dunne, Epps auditioned for and won the right to expand the pivotal role of Drey, the student who befriends her crack-addicted instructor.

Rather than being overshadowed by co-stars Gosling or Anthony Mackie, Epps gives a complex performance that isn’t the least bit showy, shedding light on the conflicted character. Epps describes Drey as having “an old soul,” and the actress nails the paradox of mature innocence. While there’s fierce competition, it’s possible she’ll get attention during awards season, with ThinkFilm pushing her performance in the supporting actress category.

I recently spoke to the high school senior, as she juggles a schedule that includes the normal student challenges like applying to college (New York University and Rutgers University are among those she’s considering) and the atypical ones, like
shooting 20th Century Fox’s Alien vs. Predator: Survival of the Fittest in Vancouver.

OscarWatch: You’ve gotten amazing reviews and your name is showing up as a contender for major acting awards – what’s it like to hear that buzz?

Shareeka Epps: It makes me think that I might be better than I thought I was. But I don't feel like I should change myself because I have this wonderful thing that is happening to me. I'm still the same person.

OW: What’s been the most surprising thing about Half Nelson and its impact on your life?

SE: How well it's doing. When I read the script I thought this is gonna be cool, this is gonna be good. But I didn't know how these things work (laughs). I
was a newcomer, and I didn’t expect all this.

OW: Like being interviewed?

SE: Yeah. And people finding out. I hadn't told anyone about the movie, even when I was shooting it.

OW: What sort of reaction are you getting from them now?

SE: My close friends still treat me the same (laughs). But other people in school, some of them just walk in the halls and stare at me instead of talking to me.
But everyone's really excited. My class [she attends New York’s Binghamton High School] actually was going to Ithaca to see the movie but it stopped playing.

OW: How did you get into acting?

SE: I hadn’t really thought about acting at all. I was in middle school doing musicals like Annie and West Side Story. That was my only acting
background. Ryan and Anna lived a couple of blocks away from my school and were looking for non-experienced actors to be in their short film. I remember getting pulled out of my dance class and they were in the hallway with one of the drama teachers. I didn’t take drama, but this teacher would help us with our dance and musical productions. He referred them to me and that’s how it started.

At first I wasn’t gonna go [to the audition] but then I figured, why not, it’s going to be a good experience. I went to three different auditions and ended up playing Drey.

OW: How much of a challenge was it to take the character to feature length?

SE: I was a little rusty on it but when I got the script I was like, ‘I know I can do this part.’ The more difficult side was being one-on-one with experienced actors because I wasn’t experienced.

OW: That said, how important was it for you to spend time getting to know Ryan Gosling before the film was shot?

SE: Working with Ryan helped a lot. We'd joke around a lot on set and he's a really fun, nice, loving and caring guy.

Most of the rehearsals were at the place he was staying at. We'd all hang out together and talk and watch movies and debate. It was a lot of fun, but at the same time we were focusing on how we were gonna do this and rehearsing scenes. I think it’s really important to have a good relationship. It makes it work.

OW: Do you want to continue acting?

SE: I do enjoy acting, it’s my new passion. I think I’m going to continue it as much as I can, but education is number one for me for right now. I will be the second one in my immediate family to graduate from college, so it's very important to me.

OW: What did you take away from the experience of making Half Nelson?

SE: To just be open. I mean it's really changed my perspective on film and actors cause its one thing to watch something and it's another thing to actually be
doing it, to see the process and be a part of a film. I made good friendships. Ryan (Gosling) and I still keep in contact and Anthony (Mackie) is great. I learned a lot from them. They were my teachers and I was watching them the whole time.

*This interview originally appeared on OscarWatch (now Awards Daily).