Danielle Panabaker talks John Carpenter, Sky High, and Spider-Man

Danielle Panabaker is one of the busiest young actresses in Hollywood, and my interview covers the past, present and future for the starlet. The name might not be recognizable, but her resume sure speaks for itself.

Jason Bene: A lot of people might not know that you are a pretty smart lady. Is is true that you graduated from high school at age fourteen?

Danielle Panabaker: I did. I graduated from high school and then went on to U.C.L.A. [University of California at Los Angeles] where I graduated with my Bachelor’s in English. I was raised to really value education, and I worked incredibly hard to be able to pursue my career and my academic aspirations simultaneously. It was all done miraculously.

Jason Bene: Didn’t you receive some awards for some television work?

Danielle Panabaker: That’s sort of where I got my start. One of the first projects I ever worked on was a mini-series for HBO [Empire Falls] that was truly a life changing opportunity. I just got to work with some amazing people and that was sort of where it all began for me.

Jason Bene: John Carpenter has decided to put down his XBOX long enough to direct his first film in almost ten years with The Ward. Can you talk about working with a true ‘Master of Horror’?

Danielle Panabaker: It was just such a pleasure and a delight. I was certainly intimidated and nervous going into it because he is the ‘Master of Horror’ and it couldn’t have been a better experience. He was so lovely. To work with someone who has spent so much time on film sets and wh has such a mastery of his craft is truly a great experience. I have so much respect for him. I feel very lucky and grateful that I got the opportunity to work with him.

Jason Bene: Can you tell us about your character in The Ward?

Danielle Panabaker: The Ward takes place in the 60′s and it’s about five young women in an insane asylum who start disappearing one by one. I knew one of the new patients and I go to the hospital and start asking questions. It’s about what happens to her and the other young women. She starts to explore a little deeper and asks a few questions.

Jason Bene: You worked on Sky High with Kurt Russell who is a real close friend of John Carpenter.

Danielle Panabaker: That was great. I think the world of everyone who I worked with on Sky High, starting from several people from the cast and crew. I had lunch with a friend of mine last week who was in that. It’s incredible to see such a young cast in it, and five years later most of us have been fortunate enough to continue working. It was such a really wonderful experience. It was sort of that quintessential high school John Hughes experience. It was so fun.

Jason Bene: Then there is the highly acclaimed thriller that didn’t get the recognition it deserved, Mr. Brooks with Kevin Costner.

Danielle Panabaker: Thank you. That was such a wonderful opportunity. Kevin is such a talented artist and such a gifted actor as well as director. It was a real treat to get to work with him and to see the way he works. I’ve been incredibly lucky to be exposed to so many different styles and different method that people work from. Just to experience all those and get to experience them myself and figure out what works for me.

Jason Bene: Friday the 13th was a huge hit for you, were you concerned about being in another horror remake so soon with The Crazies?

Danielle Pananbaker: I wasn’t. The scripts are from similar genres, but the scripts themselves are very different. With Friday the 13th you are working with such an iconic character and there is a very specific formula in terms of the Friday the 13th movies. Those are for a really specific audience and I think they [Platinum Dunes] did a great job of reaching that. With The Crazies, I feel like there are so many additional layers in terms of the social ramifications of what we are dealing with. The movie just has a broader appeal to a wider demographic of people. So, it was really for me about getting a great opportunity to work with some really talented people.

Jason Bene: This one goes out to all of the female Killer Film fans. How was it working with heartthrob Timothy Olyphant?

Danielle Panabaker: When we worked on the film I was watching a show he was in called Damages, so I was really excited to meet him and I think he thought I was a big dork because all I wanted to do was talk about Damages and what was going on. I really loved working with him. I think he’s so talented and in this film especially you really get a sense of what a strong leading man he is. I just thought he and I got along really well. He has a beautiful family with three gorgeous kids and just a really nice guy. He had us all over for a BBQ one day when we were shooting in Iowa. A really, really lovely guy.

Jason Bene: What can we expect from you in the near future?

Danielle Panabaker: I did a small independent film called Weakness that I shot in New York last summer that I still haven’t seen yet, but I hear great things about. Hopefully that will be released sometime in the future.

Jason Bene: Sony pictures is talking about rebooting the Spider-Man franchise. You seem like you’d be a good choice to play Mary Jane Watson. Have you thought about trying out for that role?

Danielle Panabaker: I’m very flattered, thank you so much! Absolutely, I think the Spider-Man franchise is such a world reaching franchise and a role I would absolutely audition for.

Killer Film thanks actress Danielle Panabaker for the interview; and look for John Carpenter’s The Ward in theaters sometime this year.

Jason Bene

I'm just an average man/ With an average life/ I work from nine to five/ Hey, hell, I pay the price/ All I want is to be left alone/ In my average home/ But why do I always feel/ Like I'm in the twilight zone

More Posts - Website

Follow Me: