Supermodel, designer, entrepreneur and actress, Erin Wasson plays a ruthless, sexy and evil vampire in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
The thrilling film delivers an entirely original twist to the story of the iconic American president.
Vampires are re-imagined as evil bloodthirsty slave traders and Lincoln (played by Ben Walker) is portrayed as a master at killing the supernatural creatures.
- What kind of vampire is Vadoma?
She is a woman of few words, a woman of action who is on a mission, she is very straightforward. She’s a really strong, powerful woman who is very talented and good at what she does. She’s a skilled assassin.
- Can you explain what these assassins are doing at this point in US history?
The slaves are our food; we’re trading slaves to keep us (the vampires) alive. The vampires are living off the blood of the slaves.
-What kind of costume do you wear?
The interesting thing about Vadoma’s costume is that the color palette consists of shades of red, crimson and deep purples. She always wears a hat and sunglasses during the day. She is a woman on the move.
She spends her day on horseback so the costumes have to be practical. While riding she wears handmade leather boots up to her knees, a leather corset and black cotton riding pants. However she’s a lady of the 1800s so the costumes are still very feminine. There are lots of petticoats and skirts and layers.
She looks like a woman of the era, but her actions and her energy are quite sinister. At one point Vadoma wears a cloak with a hood; she looks mysterious and brooding. She definitely has a dark side.
- How much physical training did you have to do for the role?
I did a lot of martial arts training which was a completely new world to me, I had never done any before. It is so technical and involved a method of movement that I wasn’t accustomed to, with different ways of moving the body.
It was challenging doing it on camera. For example when you’re throwing a kick, it has to be in frame and it has to look as real and authentic as possible. You have to think about the angle and all sorts of things like that, so it becomes very technical.
But having said that, when you’re actually doing the motions, you’re trying hard not to think about it in your head so that it looks natural on film.
I had to train for the horseback riding. I came to the project with a moderate level of riding. I chose to ride Western for the role.
- What is the relationship between you and Rufus Sewell who also plays a vampire (Adam)?
He plays my boss. Basically he says to me, ‘I need you to go out and take care of something.’ He creates my mission for me and I go and do it. Adam and I make a good team.
- How interesting was it playing someone who’s really evil?
It was great. Vadoma is pure evil so there’s not a lot of consciousness going into her actions and not a lot of emotion.
- Can you discuss your experience of working with Timur Bekmambetov?
He is great. He has a very visual perspective; he’s the king of visuals. Also he is an extremely lovely man, patient and super compassionate.
- Why do you think vampires continue to be so popular?
They are part modern day folklore and it is the mystery of vampires that I think intrigues people.
People connect vampires to sexuality, with the element of the blood. There is a correlation between vampires and human urges or desires.
- Are you interested in history? What do we learn about Lincoln in this film?
The film is actually extremely factual and I am interested in history. But going into the film I didn’t have a vast amount of knowledge about Lincoln and I didn’t know any more about the time period than I think the regular Joe knows.
I knew that Lincoln was full of really witty one-liners. And in the film we see that he’s a man of conviction.
- You were filming Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter in New Orleans. That must’ve been interesting?
It was amazing, I was given the experience of living in New Orleans for three months, the longest I’d been away anywhere at that point in my life.
It was great being on set with extraordinarily talented people who had skills that I didn’t have. I was learning from them every step of the way and trying to figure out ways to conquer my fear. The experience was incredible.
- Can you discuss your fantastic jewelry. How did you begin designing?
Oh gosh, I’ve done it my whole life really. I’ve always tinkered with it; it was always a hobby and then I guess the real opportunity for me came when I was doing Alexander Wang’s (fashion) show.
He asked me to make some pieces of jewelry for the runway show. He believed in me before I believed in myself.
It was just an avalanche from there onward and I realized that designing was a real possibility, so I got a very good team of people working for me. The process is different every season and we’re growing.
- Are there any designers you particularly admire?
I think designers are in the business of making girls feel special. They work so hard to create these beautiful dresses in their imagination and then the creations become reality. Then we [women] make them real.
So I think the designers are all special, each article of clothing is special. Working with each and every one of them and learning all of their different points of view is special. I am always learning by osmosis just by being around these people.
- You do a lot of charity work for animal welfare; you are on the advisory board for the organization ‘Saving America’s Mustangs’. Why is that a priority?
Animal welfare is important to me because I am trying to give animals a voice that of course they don’t have. To me it is all about saving and preserving this iconic American animal. They are part of our history and they are so beautiful.
I’m a voice. The more voices the better, animals need one. I also work for ‘Best Friends Animal Society’ [a sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals]. I did a garage sale at my home in Venice Beach to raise money for them [selling designer clothes].
I’ve had animals my whole life. They call us bleeding hearts. I’ve got a pit-bull named Cream, after Eric Clapton’s 60s band.
- What are your goals?
I want to do as much as possible. I feel that I have experienced one serendipitous moment after the next and the only way that we can allow serendipity to be a part of our lives is to live fearlessly, relax and not be too serious, not be scared of change, so opportunity can knock at the door and we can let things happen.
I don’t know what the future holds for me. I just know that I’m going to work really hard and continue developing my business and projects that I’ve started over the last few years.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now
Click here to buy Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter on DVD
Click here to buy Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter on Blu-Ray
Elaine Lipworth