VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Taissa Farmiga On ‘We Have Always Lived In The Castle,’ Part 1

Taissa Farmiga, the younger sister of Oscar-nominated actress Vera Farmiga, stars in a new thriller film called We Have Always Lived In the Castle, an adaptation of an old novel.

The 24-year-old actress, who is also known for her role in FX’s American Horror Story: Murder House, explained to uInterview exclusively the premise of the film — which is based on Shirley Jackson’s 1962 mystery novel — and also described her character.

“We Have Always Lived In The Castle is a story about two sisters — Constance and Mary Kat Blackwood — who live with their uncle Julian in their family’s estate,” said Farmiga, who plays Mary Kat Blackwood. “Everyone else in their immediate family is dead and these two sisters are shunned by the rest of the town, so they sort of have to create their own little reality to live in, and everything’s going well until their cousin Charles comes to visit.”

Crispin Glover plays Farmiga’s uncle Julian in the film, while Alexandra Daddario plays her sister Constance and Sebastian Stan portrays her cousin Charles, who is trying to fundamentally alter the Blackwood sisters’ way of life.

“I adore her,” Farmiga said with a smile of her character. “Mary Kat is this little weirdo, she’s this little unusual young woman who at times can be incredibly child-like and innocent and then a minute later she can be infinitely aware and intelligent. She’s a contradiction: she’s uncomfortable in her own body but all she wants to do is protect her sister so she can play the role of the one who is confident [and who] takes charge when it’s necessary.”

Farmiga also explained how her character is endowed with magical powers to cast spells and incantations, and what she uses this ability for.

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“[Mary Kat] has to be the most evil thing or has to have access to the most evil powers so that she can protect [Constance] from the things that are coming to attack [them],” she said. “Whether that means emotionally or physically.”

Directed by Stacie Passon, We Have Always Lived In The Castle is set for release on May 17 and is currently garnering strong reviews.

Full interview transcript below:

Q: Who’s your character in the film?

A: We Have Always Live In A Castle is story about these two sisters, Constance and Mary Kat Blackwood, who live with their uncle Julian in their family’s estate. Everyone else in their immediate family is dead, and these two sisters are shunned by the rest of the town, so they sort of have to create their own little reality to live in. Everything’s going well until their cousin Charles comes to visit. Mary Kat is this…I adore her, but Mary Kat is this little weirdo. She’s this little unusual young woman who sort of, at times can be incredibly childlike and innocent. And then a minute later she could be infinitely aware and intelligent. She’s a contradiction. She’s uncomfortable in her own body, but all she wants to do is protect her sister, so she can play the role of the one who’s confident, the one who takes charge when it’s necessary. Mary Kat at the end of the day is just a young girl who wants to protect the thing that means the most to her and that’s her sister Constance.

Q: How does your character use magic?

A: Mary Kat doesn’t love many things in life. She loves her sister Constances, she loves her cat Jonas, and she loves her spells, and her incantations, and her little bits of magic that she uses. Mary Kat is scared of the outside world for a very good reason. Her family’s been shunned and has been ostracized by the town, and just made to be unhappy with who she is. Constance is the thing that means the most to her. In order to protect Constance, Mary Kat relies on her incantations and her spells. She has to be the most evil thing, or has to have access to the most evil powers, so that she can protect from the things that are coming to attack. Whether that means emotionally or physically, Mary Kat has a wild imagination. So, the way the wind blows, or the way that shadows are on the wall, it means something to her, and she takes that all to consideration. She has her spells just to protect her family at the end of the day.

Q: What’s your relationship with Sebastian Stan’s character?

A: Cousin Charles is played by Sebastian Stan and cousin Charles comes to visit the Blackwood sisters under the guise, or Mary Kat thinks under the guise, of trying to intervene, or trying to change up what is good and right in their world. Constance doesn’t like leading the house, Mary Kat’s the one who goes to town and provides for the family, she’s the protector. She sort of sees herself as the Lord of the Manor, well when cousin Charles comes, he takes on the actual role of man of the house, and Mary Kat feels very threatened by him.