Recently, we had the chance to talk with Keegan Connor Tracy about Bates Motel, her new horror/thriller movie, Z, the horror genre, and more!
Horror Geek Life: Was acting something you always wanted to do or did you discover that interest later, like a happy accident?
Keegan Connor Tracy: I think as long as I can remember, I wanted to be an actor. I came from a small town, though, so if I ever said that people would be like, “You can’t do that, you can’t be that,” so I said a doctor or made something up to make them happy but yeah, it was always acting for me.
HGL: You’ve worked in film and television, but TV seems to be your medium of choice. Do you enjoy television more or has it simply been the parts and characters are more interesting to you?
KCT: You know, I think it’s just the luck of the draw. I actually thought I would be the independent film queen and it’s just not what materialized for me. It’s a strange business, it’s just how they come down the pipe, I guess. There is a lot more content thanks to the streaming services, but that doesn’t always translate into more work on an individual level, but some of that is from being an actor who chose to stay in Canada, so I tend to be at the mercy at what shoots here, which tends to be genre things, at least in the past. To be honest, I love to do comedy, that’s why I’m always the funny girl in the drama.
HGL: Speaking of your TV roles, one of my favorites is Blaire Watson from Bates Motel. What was it like working on that show, playing that character?
KCT: Yeah, thank you, it was a wonderful role. They were a wonderful crew, Freddie (Highmore) was brilliant, the directors were great. I mostly worked with Tucker Gates, and Vera Farmiga was mesmerizing and wonderful. With that role as Blaire, I wish I had known a little more about where they were going, I might have played the arcs slightly differently. It was a very fine line in terms of how to play her, but it was a great opportunity.
HGL: As an actor, is it hard to walk that line, like you needed to do with Blaire Watson?
KCT: Well, I think when you don’t know what’s going to happen, and you’re recurring, you’re just sort of at the mercy of when they call and you are just guessing where you are going. I didn’t want her to feel insidious, I wanted her to be troubled and meant well but made some bad choices, that kind of thing.

HGL: So what is it you look for in a character; what piques your interest?
KCT: I never respond to things like, she’s a loving wife, and if I could I would throw every one of those in the garbage, it’s just not my bag. I liked somebody who is fucked up; the bigger the problems they have, the more interesting it is for me to play as an actor. I don’t love crying moms, which is ironic in terms of the role on Z, she straight up cried during half of this movie. I’m not a natural crier. There are some women who can just walk out and boom, tears everywhere, I’m not that woman. I knew it was going to challenge me, to find the emotional work for that film, which is one of the reasons why I chose it.
HGL: So let’s talk about the movie Z. Why were you interested in this movie and playing the part of Elizabeth Parsons?
KCT: When I got it, I could see underneath the layers, what there was to play, and I could see how she could go from this regular and normal mom to by the end of the movie, batshit crazy. That was interesting and going to be really fun to play, to find that rhythm of that arc and do it honestly, truthfully and believably, I hope. I was really excited about that challenge.
HGL: What other challenges did you face playing this character?
KCT: I think working on my own, imagining this thing that was haunting me, and serving the genre was challenging, it wasn’t something I had really done before and I learned a lot from it. I grew as an actor, I grew as a director from it and I think working on your own is always hard when you don’t have another pair of eyeballs to look into to that can help you bring up some emotions a lot of times. Also, working nights was not the easiest of things to do, that’s for sure (laughs). Probably those two things were the biggest challenges for me.
HGL: This is your first lead in a horror film. Are you a fan of the genre, personally and professionally?
KCT: I got out of horror after The Ring, because that scared me so bad…yeah, I was out. Then when I got this role, I had to sort of return to it, and now I’m directing a feature film, a horror, and so I’ve just been studying the genre and have a new appreciation for it, and I’ve actually really enjoyed it. My older daughter is thirteen, she loves the genre and so we’ve been trying to make our way through some films now, it’s been a fun journey. I wanted to go back and watch some old horror, some 1980’s stuff, because the film I’m directing has some elements of that, and my daughter was like, this is so stupid. (Laughs)
HGL: The horror genre is really an incredible genre with a wonderful fan base, but there is just so much content out there now. What do you think will make a movie like Z stand out above the rest?
KCT: It’s little, a small movie so word of mouth is huge, having a good Rotten Tomatoes score, having people talk about it online, to give this movie a chance. I think it’s easy to pass over a movie when you don’t know the people in it, so I definitely think world of mouth will make or break us.
HGL: I see you’ve written a couple of children’s books. Where did that interest come from, and are you going to write anymore?
KCT: You know, I think I’ve always had a diverse set of interests and skills and I’m always willing to just try another thing. I really wanted to be a published author and I went pitching a cookbook and just off the cuff mentioned a children’s book I had written and they liked it, that’s how that ended up getting published. My cookbook fell to the wayside because there are so many much higher level than me celebrities doing cookbooks, there’s such a glut in that market, so a children’s book it was. Will there be more? I hope so, I want to write more books, I still have a novel in me, I suspect. I’m writing screenplays right now, I have a pilot out there. I’m really just that woman that has lots of fingers in lots of pies.
HGL: Where did the interest in directing come from?
KCT: I think it’s always been there, but there were no examples of female directors, they were so few and far between, that it almost didn’t occur to me that I could, being busy as an actor as well. When I hit my mid-forties and I kind of looked up I was like, holy crap…this is going to change really fast, I better have something else I can do, where does my skill set lie? This seemed like a really easy transition for me, so I’m excited about it. It’s pretty absurd that for my twenty-five years of being in the film industry, the number of female directors I worked with I could count on one hand, that’s appalling.
HGL: Obviously, the current pandemic has thrown the world into chaos, including the entertainment industry. Saying that what projects are you working on now, or hope to start working on in the near future?
KCT: I have the film Evil Eye that I am meant to direct in October, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen in October because of COVID. I’m in the middle of shooting a short film of my own, it’s chugging along slowly. I have a pilot out there that I’m pitching, just trying to keep creative and creating.
I want to thank Keegan for taking the time to talk with us.
Z will be available on On Demand, On Digital, DVD, and Blu-ray on September 1, 2020.
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