With its gripping stress and emotional complexity, Lifetime’s new thriller Lady Taken has viewers buzzing—and one of many standout performances belongs to Canadian-born actor Eric Hicks. Within the movie, Hicks performs Perry, a person whose determined craving for connection pushes him into murky, morally gray territory.
SpoilerTV’s Kim Rogers caught up with Eric to speak about what it took to step into Perry’s emotionally risky sneakers, the real-life experiences that formed his efficiency, and the teachings he’s taking with him from this position—and from life itself.
Discovering Floor in Chaos
When Eric Hicks first learn the script for Lady Taken, he knew straight away he was in for a wild experience.
“Oh man,” he stated, laughing. “After I lastly obtained the complete script, I used to be like, ‘Oh… oh!’ It was juicy, but in addition like—how are we gonna do that?”
Even earlier than diving into the complete script, Eric had a way of the emotional stakes from the audition scenes. However as soon as all the story unfolded, it turned clear this wasn’t going to be a lightweight raise.
“You ebook the position, and then you definitely understand—you must go there now. Emotionally. Mentally. A few of the locations you must take your self usually are not simple. That’s the work.”
Nonetheless, for Eric, there’s consolation within the doing. As an alternative of getting misplaced within the overwhelm, he grounded himself in preparation.
“I simply get to work,” he stated. “I learn that script entrance to again as many instances as I can, attempting to get the story and the plot in my mind, but in addition being open, realizing that they are assured going to do script rewrites. The story goes to vary.
And alter it did. A serious rewrite arrived simply sooner or later earlier than filming a scene: a personality initially written as Perry’s pal, Kyle, was instantly killed off. That meant Eric needed to fully reframe Perry’s relationships and emotional motivations—in a single day.
“It’s like a knife to the intestine,” he stated. “that man that I assumed was my greatest pal is now useless. However , you might be always altering the plot in your thoughts and attempting to regulate and it is a fast-paced machine, however that is the fantastic thing about it. It’s good to be challenged, it truly is.”
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To grasp Perry, Eric needed to construct him from the within out. That meant developing a wealthy backstory—one which, whereas by no means explicitly proven, knowledgeable each line, look, and silence.
“I made it in my thoughts that Perry was missing household roots. He was all the time an unbiased type of cat attempting to make stability in his life in a manner that he by no means had rising up,” Eric defined.
It’s this inside void that drives Perry’s each determination—and misstep.
“Perry simply desires household, he actually craves stability, he craves household, he craves group, however its simply not the bedrock of his basis. He would not know methods to operate in that world. And so the actions that he takes are all simply, , somewhat misguided though properly intentioned” Eric stated.
Eric layered Perry’s emotional world with ideas from Vipassana meditation retreats, which he’s carried out himself—10 days of silence and self-inquiry. One of many key classes he introduced into the position was the idea of “clinging” as the foundation of struggling.
“Perry likes this, he desires extra of it, he’s clinging and craving, he would not wish to let go of this. That is the supply of all of our distress versus accepting issues precisely as they’re simply being within the second, second to second to second, it’s what it’s accepted.”
Channeling Actual Ache
Making ready for Perry’s intense emotional scenes required Eric to faucet into private experiences—most profoundly, his relationship together with his father.
“My dad is my greatest pal on the earth. Now we have these open, sincere communication. It’s such a deep, stunning love that I’ve by no means had with one other man earlier than and , my dad obtained sick a number of years go, he had a psychotic break. Psychological sickness is an actual factor and while you expertise it firsthand, it is actually troublesome to witness, particularly when its somebody you like most in life. So for me, that is only a properly of emotion, this deep love and to not have my father in my life anymore, is my largest nightmare.” That ache—of loving somebody fiercely and fearing their loss—turned the emotional anchor for Perry’s desperation.
“So I simply carry that vulnerability into Perry. To lose Dani, to lose their baby—it’s one thing I’ll battle towards to maintain, I’ll do no matter it takes to maintain that and I’ve to open that a part of myself up when doing the precise scene work, in order that I can perceive emotionally what state of desperation he is in. I allowed myself to be out there and to be keen to be broken and harm and susceptible in that sense.”
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A Scene That Broke Him Open
One second specifically pushed Eric exterior of his consolation zone: a pivotal scene when Perry is confronted by Detective Henrique on the farm. Beneath Perry’s calm exterior, panic brews—his world is unraveling.
Hicks explains that Perry needed to placed on a masks in that second.
“You must act like nothing’s unsuitable, however beneath, it is simply panic. And so to have that calm depth with Henrique, have intense moments performed off informal after which the next scene the place , I are available the home and Dani’s asking me what’s unsuitable.” he stated.
That second led into a personal breakdown scene between Perry and his accomplice Dani, which Eric stated was important for displaying Perry’s humanity.
“The viewers wanted to see that second of Perry really panicking and shedding it. You see all of it come to the floor for the primary time and also you understand how determined he’s. He’s going by means of his personal struggling. All of us have our personal demons to battle in life. There’s a humanity to even the darkest of instances and the darkest of characters and the brightest of characters that all of them have. We’re all advanced people with an entire array of feelings.”
Classes in Love—and Missed Alternatives
Although pleased with the efficiency, Eric was candid a few scene he needs he’d approached otherwise—a dinner desk second that, in his eyes, missed the prospect to point out extra of Perry’s love for Dani.
“I felt Perry was too moody and too judgmental and somewhat too harsh. That was a possibility for him to essentially open his coronary heart and join together with her and have a coronary heart to coronary heart and I type of missed that chance,” he admitted.
It’s a mirrored image that speaks to Eric’s ongoing evolution as an artist—and a human.
“You are all the time type of studying and navigating as you undergo the filmmaking course of.”
The Takeaway: Three Easy Phrases
Requested to sum up Lady Taken in simply three phrases, Eric didn’t hesitate:
“Have extra understanding.”
He elaborated, “Everybody’s going by means of one thing. You by no means know what ache somebody’s carrying. And while you perceive that—it takes away judgment. It helps you navigate life with extra compassion.”
Whether or not you see Eric Hicks as a rising star or a fully-formed expertise lastly getting his due, one factor is obvious: his portrayal of Perry in Lady Taken is a haunting, human, and deeply nuanced efficiency that may stick with viewers lengthy after the ultimate scene.
Lady Taken is now streaming on Lifetime. Don’t miss it!