I’ve been dealing with anxiety for a bit now: Taissa Farmiga
New Delhi: Actress Taissa Farmiga has been struggling with anxiety for quite some time, and says she initially used to get angry at herself for getting nervous for no reason.
“There is such a stigma surrounding mental health and how a lot of people feel like it is not a real issue. It is not a real difficulty that people have to deal with on a daily basis,” Taissa told IANS in an India exclusive interview while opening about her own struggle with anxiety.
“I will be honest… I have been dealing with anxiety for a bit now . And when I first started having it, I would get a little angry at myself because it felt like I was dealing with nervousness and paralysing anxiety for no reason. And that is what I used to get angry about — the no reason part,” she added.
But that is not true, asserted Taissa.
“We don’t know what is going on in our brain, about the cheimicals and imbalances and know how our body is affected,” said the actress over the phone.
Earlier this year, in May, Taissa had stressed on the need to discuss mental health in a lengthy Instagram post.
“There is nothing wrong with not feeling ‘right’ or not feeling like yourself. And you shouldn’t have to hide it. Anxiety can be a paralysing monster, and it is something I have been dealing with myself.
“Some days it is nonexistent and other days it is all-consuming. I have found reprieve by learning to be open and talk through the more difficult times,” she had said in the post.
The actress, who is looking forward to the release of Warner Bros Pictures’ “The Nun” in India, feels it is important to speak up.
“You don’t even have to make it a thing, but just talk about it. Don’t try to hide anything. Everyone gets sick. Everyone gets a cold now and then. And mental health is the same thing. Sometimes you need a little help,” added the sister of multi-talented Vera Farmiga.
Taissa didn’t want to be an actor, but envisioned a career in accounting. She did her first film “Higher Ground” in 2011 on Vera’s insistence. There was no looking back.
She went on to do “American Horror Story”, “At Middleton”, “The Bling Ring”, “Anna” and “Rules Don’t Apply”.
Now, Taissa will be seen fighting off a demonic nun in “The Nun” , a spinoff of “The Conjuring 2”, which is set to open in India on Friday.
Directed by Corin Hardy, “The Nun” tells the story of a priest (essayed by Demian Bichir) with a haunted past and Sister Irene (Taissa). They are sent by the Vatican to Romania to investigate the death of a young nun who has taken her own life at a cloistered abbey. The case involves Valak, the demonic nun.
Talking about her role, Taissa said: “Sister Irene is a young woman on the path to becoming a nun. I wanted to make sure that I did justice to it. As an actor, my job is to provide authenticity.
“So, I did a lot of research into what it takes to become a nun. One of the films, I watched is ‘The Nun’s Story’ (1959) with Audrey Hepburn, which actually had an abundance of information.”
She found a lot of interesting things about living a life as a nun.
“The interesting thing that I found is there so much that goes into the physicality of being a nun. You have to constantly think about how you are moving, how you are talking, and how you are acting.”
The film events takes place in 1952 in Romania — where the movie is shot. Taissa says Romania’s landscapes made the film “grand and haunting”.
“We got to film on location in Romania. It is a beautiful country with towering castles and gorgeous landscapes. It is a perfect setting for our movie because it inherently and authentically has that eerie look that we were trying to capture.
“So, you can see it on the screen — how the movie looks so grand and haunting because we had the perfect backdrop,” she said.