BALINSKA : The room is being serviced but it ’ s not room service . GALITZINE : But as I was saying , Balinska , acting is all about empathy , and putting yourself in someone else ’ s shoes , and living it . I ’ m not saying you have to be method , but you take on the trauma , the person , the feelings , all of the emotional baggage of the character . Did you find that you were able to switch o when you weren ’ t shooting and then turn it back on ? BALINSKA : Yeah , you ’ re on set hyperventilating for 12 hours a day . I didn ’ t come out of it feeling the echoes of what I ’ d done on set that day , but there was no recovery period .
GALITZINE : I ’ d say knowing you as well as I do , the projects that you like to choose comment on society and have a sort of resonance . What do you feel like this film has to say about society as a whole ?
BALINSKA : Pre-pandemic , I was definitely in a space where I was wanting to explore characters that are fighting for survival . Just the plight of the female , the Black female , the strong Black female — extend the list how you will — in these extraordinary situations . I always found it very fascinating . Then funnily enough , the last two years happened , and we all were in a constant state of needing to survive . Now that I ’ ve explored that both creatively and literally , I ’ m not really in that headspace anymore and I ’ m excited to explore other avenues .
GALITZINE : I want to talk about the experience of filming Resident Evil in South Africa . e filming experience itself , but also developing and evolving as an actor , and as a young black woman , and how it felt like an incredibly formative time in your life . I know that ’ s a really broad , vague question , but it was very beautiful to see as your friend , how the experience had this transformative e ect on you .
BALINSKA : It was strange because we were in a period of quarantine regardless , and then I was whisked to a faraway land and , beautiful as it was , I was very much on my own . I didn ’ t have anyone come and visit me . It really left me to my own devices . Unlike Run Sweetheart Run where I was on set every single second of every day , I did have a little more time o and time to reflect .
The experience on set was just so di erent because I felt a lot less of the pressure of the production being on my shoulders and that it was more of a collaborative e ort . I had been on set , and someone goes , “ Hey , how ’ s your day going ?” You might be having the worst day and it ’ s easy to go , “ Yeah , everything ’ s great , everything ’ s amazing .” GALITZINE : As actors , we ’ re tethered to people pleasing . BALINSKA : Now I ’ ll go on set , and it ’ s like , “ Hey , Ella , how is it going ?” “ Mate , load shedding completely ruined my game of Call of Duty this morning .” GALITZINE : Which is unacceptable . BALINSKA : Just unacceptable . “ But I ’ m ready for a great day on set .” And even just that , it takes less pressure o yourself , and it takes pressure o people around you who are sensing the weird vibes . GALITZINE : I completely agree with you . Vulnerability can be a superpower , and I think it ’ s something we need to embrace as actors , otherwise it just builds and builds . e resulting cancellation of the show must have been disheartening and frustrating in some ways . I ’ ve had a Netflix show canceled as well . I immediately empathized with you , but was obviously very adamant , knowing you and knowing your talent as I do , that there would be plenty of light at the end of the tunnel . Can you speak on that and what you feel like it ’ s taught you about yourself , about the industry , and about the job ? BALINSKA : Honestly , if everything went to plan , there ’ d be too much on TV . GALITZINE : ere ’ s already too much content . BALINSKA : But in all seriousness , it was disheartening to hear . However , I immediately jumped to how happy I was that I was able to make the fans who loved the show really proud and excited about this new little story that we told in the Resident Evil universe .
GALITZINE : You ’ ve obviously had a lot of successes , but 90 percent of this job is about doing auditions and getting rejected .
BALINSKA : I was a massive fan of the story and the character , but also of the franchise itself . I used to play the games . Who would I have been , looking at my eight-year-old self-telling her that I said no to playing the lead character in Resident Evil ?
32 Flashmag ! Issue 133 September 2022