EXCLUSIVE | 'Metal Lords' star Analesa Fisher reveals how D&D helped them strike a chord with DB Weiss
Netflix's latest movie 'Metal Lords' has finally been released and opened to excellent reviews from critics and viewers. Written by 'Game of Thrones' co-creator DB Weiss, the movie revolves around Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) and his friend Kevin (Jaeden Martell), who have entered the Battle of the Bands competition in order to show that they can be heroes as well. The duo plans to hire a bassist for their group, but instead finds cello player Emily (Isis Hainsworth).
Apart from highlighting the importance of metal music, the movie also talks about various issues like mental health, first love, bullying, self-doubt, and more. One of the characters that I really enjoyed watching is Kendall, who is played by the supremely talented Analesa Fisher. Despite being really gorgeous, Kendall feels that no one wants to be with her. In a scene, where Kevin asks her why no one would stare at her, she gives out multiple reasons why boys are never interested in her. A lot of young men and women go through this, feeling that they are not enough and not comfortable in their own skin. As the movie progresses, Kendall realizes that she doesn't have to "fit in" if she wants to achieve something.
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MEAWW got a chance to talk to Fisher not only about the movie I loved to the core, but their acting career, breaking stereotypes, and how 'Dungeons & Dragons' made them and DB Weiss the closest of friends.
Congratulations on the movie 'Metal Lords', the movie has opened to such glaring reviews and everyone is talking about your character. How does it feel?
It feels incredibly humbling and I'm so grateful. I'm so honored to be a part of this incredible cast alongside some other awesome breakout stars. Isis, Adrian, Michelle, Noah, Jaeden. I think everyone's celebrating big time today! I hope I did the Metalheads justice in bringing Kendall to life.
While going through IMDb, I saw that you have such a diverse resume. From voicing characters in video games to acting in TV shows, how has your journey been in the entertainment industry?
It’s been a long one and it’s been weird (laughs). I started voiceovers when I was five in Portland. It was a very small community. My acting coach was also my acting agent, who was also my voice-over agent and was also a very good friend of mine. I’ve been with her forever and it wasn’t until things started to pick up in my teen years and I was like, ‘yeah, I want to do this for real’. Coming to LA and creating a different journey, but man, it was weird coming to LA. It was very different than the small community in Portland.
Was acting something that you always wanted to do? Or did you want to do something else and later realised that acting is the right choice for you.
I believe, that every time I sat down to think about what I wanted to do when I grow up, there were so many answers I had. Like a doctor, firefighter, astronaut, story-telling. In acting, you get to do all of those things because you get to pretend every day and tell different stories every single day. Stories that people have never heard of and so, it was at that moment I realized that acting was something I wanted to do. I knew, telling stories and play-pretend was gonna be the most fun I could have for the rest of my life.
For those, who are yet to watch the movie, please tell us a little bit more about the movie and your character.
The whole movie sheds a light on different kinds of misfits that exist in a high-school setting and my character, Kendall, a 17-year-old girl who is kind of ousting of the popular group. So, not really fitting in anywhere in particular and we get to see metal kids, nerdy kids, popular kids, and not-so-popular kids during the movie. Everyone is trying desperately to figure out who they are outside of high school and outside of all of these social norms. My character watching this metal band form is kind of like, ‘yeah, you know what I don’t to just go with the flow and I can be who I want to be and that’s okay too.’”
Music is a big part of the movie and it's all about metal and heavy metal. Were you a fan of this genre from the beginning? Or did you have to listen to songs during the shoot that gave you an idea about the genre.
Honestly, I didn’t know much about metal before signing on to the movie, but when we were in Quarantine I read the history of heavy metal through books, heard so much of Tom Morello’s music, and by the time we were done filming, I was a huge metal fan. Everything they say about the genre like getting all of your rage out and making you just genuinely happy is all true. And we learned about it through filming. It was a really cool new experience for me.
David Benioff and DB Weiss have been responsible for giving the biggest TV show of the modern era, 'Game of Thrones', and working with such geniuses might have been an amazing experience. Can you tell us how was your experience?
I always joke that I think secretly mine and DB Weiss’s extreme love for ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ might have been one of the main reasons for me getting the part (laughs). Every time we had a call or a Zoom meeting discussing the character, we would just spend an hour and a half about ‘D&D’ and the new books like ‘Ravenloft’ were coming out. We still exchange emails about the new ‘D&D’ updates and what we are cooking from the ‘D&D’ cookbook. So, meeting him and realizing that he was just as big of a nerd as I was, that only gave me hope that one day I’ll get to tell awesome stories as he has.
As someone who identifies themselves as a non-binary person, the producers or directors still label you in a category that will only play side roles or you know cameos. These things seem to be changing, but most of the people we talk to say that they are still being trapped in a bracket. What do you think is the need of the hour?
I think, I actually got very lucky in getting the opportunity to play Kendall. You know I have mostly played just straight female roles (she/her), but as somebody who is non-binary, I am actually grateful for it in a way. My representation is fantastic. There are times when there will be a cis-guy role (he/him/his) and they are like Analesa would be perfect for this and I get to audition. My whole goal is to stop that stereotype of non-binary people can only play non-binary roles or can only be in this specific bracket or box. Something that I always say about Kendall is that she was so uncomfortable in her own skin and something that was really easy for me was that when I was put into those feminine clothing, I became her immediately because as someone who is non-binary, it’s not exactly how I feel. If I wasn’t non-binary, I don’t know if I would have been able to step fully into the role of someone who was that uncomfortable in their own skin and uncomfortable wearing those clothes. I think Hollywood needs to do a better job of opening it up to ‘let’s look at what is the truth of this character’ versus ‘Oh, this person is non-binary, well they can only play non-binary roles.’”
As a non-binary actor, what would be your message to the world through your character in the movie? What kind of message you would want to give to everyone to every non-binary person as well?
My biggest goals as a non-binary actor are to show that we are more than just androgyny. So much of Hollywood pushes this idea that if you’re non-binary, you’re pretty much stuck inside the box that is ONLY playing non-binary roles. It’s very much a spectrum that can change from day to day. Kendall is one example of that. I connected so much to her innate need of figuring out who she is outside of the high school cliques, and all I can say is... life is too short to pretend to be something you're not. I’m so grateful to D.B. and Peter for letting me take on Kendall as a non-binary actor and seeing me for more than just my pronouns.
Q) You are also working on a book series 'The Only Series'. So, can you tell us a bit about that? and what is the inspiration behind it?
I’ve been writing for a long time. I’ve done some ghost-writing and pitched TV shows, but I am always looking to kill my brain a little bit and learn to write something new. When the pandemic hit, I was like I really need to learn how to write a book. So, I spent months researching and then one day, I woke up I had this really cool idea of a three-part series. It’s a young adult book series about 3 teenage girls from three different time periods overcoming traumatic events. So, it’s kind of kin to ‘Fear Street’ trilogy and follows three teenage girls through the kidnapping era of 1991, MySpace and mental health challenges of 2005, and the uncertain future beyond in the year 3001. It’s an attempt to give young girls a place to go when they are hurting because when I was a kid I read books that ended poorly or they would have younger girls who had trauma but in the end, it was just passed off. For me, I wanted to write this book that ties together themes of sexual assault, mental health, abusive relationships, loss, love, and growing up and spread it across three different genres. The first one is a true-crime thriller, the second one is a grounded high-school romance, and the third one is an epic fantasy so that there is something for everyone.
What's next for Analesa Fisher?
I have a couple of projects coming up, but I can’t really talk about them yet. But mostly, I have been doing a lot of writing. I am writing my fourth book, working on all my auditions, and doing a lot of voice over. Very busy and I am very happy to be busy. I am just super-excited to see what the future holds.
'Metal Lords' is currently streaming on Netflix.