Best known for writing the script for Lifetime’s film Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?, screenwriter and actress Amber Coney is back this summer in the new hit Freeform show Dead of Summer. We caught up with Coney to chat about her love of acting, absolute dream role, and experiences so far in her career.
Cliché: Where you always into entertaining?
Amber Coney: Growing up, I used to imagine myself as different characters that I’d read in books or think up on my own. I was actually pretty introverted as a kid, but I got hooked on acting once I discovered that my playing pretend could actually translate into something meaningful. I started doing plays at a pretty young age, which helped me to not only come out of my shell, but also to better understand the world around me.
You have a lot of projects coming out this summer. What was the experience of working on a movie like versus the series?
The series is shot over an extended period of time (around five months), while each movie I have acted in thus far has been filmed in two months or less. For the series, each character’s storyline can be much more drawn out, and in the case of Dead of Summer, audiences get to learn backstories in addition to the present day arcs that are revealed throughout the season.
Can you tell us a little bit about your character Carolina in Dead of Summer? Carolina, better known as “Cricket,” is one of the former campers turned counselors at Camp Stillwater. Like the rest of the counselors, Cricket thinks she is in for a summer of fun, and possibly even romance…but as the dark mythology of the camp awakens, her hopeful expectations of a carefree and exciting time at Camp are completely shattered. In terms of personality, she is warm and snarky on the surface, qualities that she uses to hide her insecurity and need for acceptance. I don’t want to give anything away, but all in all, there is more to her than you might expect at first glance.
My ideal role will probably be the one in my career that is the most creatively challenging.
What is your favorite memory from set?
My go-to funny story is when my cast-mates were in between scenes and started using the face swap filter on Snapchat. We were pretty looney from being on set so long, and we couldn’t stop laughing hysterically over how deranged we looked with each others’ faces.
You’ve worked with James Franco a lot. Have you learned anything important from either him directly or watching him work?
James is not only incredibly experienced, but he is also unbelievably focused and driven. Through my collaborations with him, I have gleaned a perseverant mentality, and have been inspired to not let anything stop me from doing my work.
If you could be cast in any role on this planet, what would it be and why?
That’s a tricky question, because I would want to play something that hasn’t been done before, in which case, the role probably hasn’t even been written yet. It would be something of substance, of course, interesting and multidimensional…My ideal role will probably be the one in my career that is the most creatively challenging. When I see it, I’ll know.
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Photographed by Lesley Bryce
