February 26, 2016

In THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR (which opens in theaters next Friday March 4th), a tragedy befalls an otherwise happy family when an accident takes the life of their young son. The inconsolable mother learns of an ancient ritual that will bring him back to say a final goodbye, but when she disobeys the sacred warning to never open that door, she upsets the balance between life and death! And that’s when things really start to get pretty freaky. We were fortunate enough to speak with actor Jeremy Sisto, who plays Michael, the devoted father and husband of the couple in the film.

Blumhouse.com: First and foremost, I’m a big fan of your work especially the genre stuff that you do. What I appreciate about your films whether it be MAY or WRONG TURN or DEAD & BEAKFAST is that you always make interesting choices when it comes to the “horror” movies to do. What was it about THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR that stood out to you in the way maybe some of those other films did?

Jeremy Sisto: I’m always been able to embrace projects that were unique and been able to find pieces of each project that I can connect to and have fun with. Each one of those movies you brought up have their own story of what they mean to me. But this one was a pretty easy get as far as whether or not I wanted to be a part of it. They had a great location. To shoot in India was an exciting proposition. And the one thing I like about horror is you can really combine any other genre with it, and this really had a very dramatic based foundation based on the loss of a couple’s child. The question is how far would you go to see that child again? That deep concept really intrigued me. I’m always very excited when somebody wants to make something that they feel is unique and different. At this point, I’ve gotten crap for taking so many roles over the years, but looking back I’m glad I’ve done so many different types of things and had such a diverse resume.

Blumhouse.com: You brought up an interesting point – the main premise of this movie involves a couple losing their child. I can think of nothing worse that can possibly happen to a parent. When you approached playing Michael, how much does working on something this dark affect you? Was there any hesitation in terms of “going there” for this? Or are you the type of actor that can separate that?

Jeremy Sisto: It coincided unfortunately at the time with my wife dealing with some health stuff in the family, so at the last minute, my family wasn’t able to come with me. This was the first time I was away from my kids for any extended period of time. And that was super hard for me. I don’t like to be away from them for even a night, so 6 weeks on this shoot was a challenge. Working in a country that’s very different, I did feel a world away. I was perhaps able to derive some emotion from the circumstances I was going through.

Blumhouse.com: Can you talk a bit about working with Sarah Wayne Callies? She plays your wife Maria in the film, and obviously your characters have this whole life together before the movie even starts. I’m always fascinated by the actors process when it comes to coming up with that backstory. Did either of you have much rehearsal time, or time to get to know each other a bit beforehand?

Jeremy Sisto: Actually, I had a whole issue with being able to get a Visa to go over there! They don’t have an office in Los Angeles so I had to go to San Francisco to take care of it. So they actually started shooting before I even made it to India using a body double, because we didn’t know if they were going to give me the work permit to get over there! So by the time I got there, I had to jump right in with the end of the movie. It was a bit of a challenge but Johannes Roberts who directed the film and also wrote it, he knew exactly what he wanted. It was his baby, so he was great at expressing what he needed, so fortunately I had that to fall back on.

Blumhouse.com: In the movie, the idea is that Maria performs this ritual to speak to her child that’s no longer with us. Personally, I like horror movies just fine, but when it comes to real life supernatural stuff, I’m a complete scaredy cat! Did you do any research to prep for this in terms of rituals or supernatural stories? Did anything weird happen while shooting this?

Jeremy Sisto: Now that I have kids, my wife has a tendency to be afraid of ghosts. (Laughs) It’s been a movement within my household to make sure everyone believes in things they can see and prove. I’ve never had any supernatural experiences myself, but I’m open to it. I’ll go to places that are supposed to be haunted. I’ve just never, ever seen anything supernatural. Personally, I believe the human mind is too complicated! I always fall back on the idea that anything people see and can’t believe could just be created inside the mind. For this movie, we did shoot in Rudyard Kipling’s house – the house he was born in, which is now an art academy. But it had a very spooky vibe to it and a lot of creepy imagery. And the imagery they chose; some of the ancient Hindu religious imagery that really paints the film in a very heavy, powerful history. There’s a real weight to all the evil that haunts this film.

Blumhouse.com: You’ve been acting for long time and you have a very robust filmography as an actor. But you’ve also been producing a lot these last few years as well. What still excites you about making movies? Do you have the desire to delve into directing at some point?

Jeremy Sisto: I really am excited about directing and there’s been a number of projects I’ve been pitching around to that end, but it’s nothing I can talk about just yet. I’m really excited about that, but also I love acting. I definitely feel like there’s a lot more I can do. I feel like I haven’t achieved my potential. There’s some hidden gift to not having done the work you feel you’re capable of just yet, because it consistently keeps you driven. I am really excited about this show I’m about to do, because TV is just at such an amazing stage right now in the industry. So I’m happy to be a part of that. The show I’m doing is called THE JURY. It’s a very smart and important concept about the legal system. There have been several films I’ve produced and it’s been alright. I’ve been able to get things done and I do have a drive & ambition when it comes to producing, but there’s certain aspects to producing that I don’t think I’m strong at. I think I’ll be a better director. But we’ll see! I have to actually do it before I can say for sure!

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR open in theaters Friday, March 4th!