Photography by Elisaveta Abrahall
Sha’ori Morris was born in the UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Wuthering Heights (2018) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). We had an amazing opportunity to interview her. Check the interview below.
Q1. Hi, Sha’ori! Thank you for granting the interview. We’re excited to chat about your body of work! Tell us about your latest production Wuthering Heights.
Hi, thank you so much for asking me.
Wuthering Heights is a novel I’ve always loved and to get the chance to audition for Cathy was wonderful. The audition process for both Paul and I was pretty arduous, there were over 150 applicants for each role. I was cast ahead of Heathcliff’s so I was also part of the casting process for that and got to read opposite each applicant that was called in to see how the chemistry flowed, and it’s surprising how the way different actors portray a character also affects how you bounce off them, so that was a uniquely interesting part of the experience for me, which I’d not had before. The shoot itself has been amazing, we’ve got to film in some astounding locations and although I already rode, I’ve learned to ride and jump side saddle, which is exciting. We’ve become a very tight family like cast and crew for the most part and that’s something I also treasure. This is the first version of the film that sticks closely to the book, and is darker and grittier than any version that’s gone before and also pays far more attention to the more supernatural themes that run through the book which is often overlooked, so it quite surprising in parts I think. Cathy is selfish, self-centred and a very damaged girl who is lacking throughout her life any strong role models who actually care for her, and with her mother dying young, her estrangement with her older brother Hindley and her father’s death she, like Heathcliff, has abandonment issues and so upon him leaving she runs amok a bit as she feels her only safety is to be in charge so poor Edgar gets the short end of the stick with that.
You recently wrapped production on The House of Screaming Death. Tell us more.
House of Screaming Death is a quadrille Hammer style horror film made by Lightbeam Productions and directed by award-winning director Dave Hastings. I applied through the normal casting process and was delighted to get the female lead in The Witch in the Mirror story. I was thrilled to star alongside Ian McNeice who is not nearly so loveable and cuddly in this as he was in Doc Martin but is a truly lovely man to work with and I learned so much from him. I’m delighted to say that HOSD is currently doing well in the festivals and is being screened around the Midlands at the moment, so do go and see it if you can.
You have starred in several films. How have the appearances shaped your career?
I’m humbled each time I’m cast and think each project you work on brings you new life lessons and improves you as a performer and those experiences give other people who are casting new projects the opportunity to see your body of work and to garner an idea of your general abilities in terms of teamwork, whether you can see sometimes difficult projects through and your ability not just as an actress but as a person. I certainly realize now that I like heavier, darker, more intense storytelling rather than comedy which isn’t my natural forte at all, so I think in turn I have honed my casting niche to harsher, more damaged and grimmer characters, rather than cheery girl next door types. They are more fun anyway, playing a villain or victim of circumstance is meatier than a cheery hero type and for the most part, I’d almost always prefer a harsher character.
Your career is soaring. Are you happy with the direction it’s going in, thus far?
I couldn’t be happier. Last year I was seen for a good supporting role in the new Underworld film and although I didn’t get it, it was great to realise at that point that I’d reached the attention of Casting Directors who clearly thought I might be suitable for something of that magnitude and my agent has recently been contacted regarding a lead role in a large Hollywood film which I’ve just read for, so fingers crossed. In terms of what the future definitely holds, I’m attached to a series about Vampires with the working title ‘Pestilence Lane’ and filming for the film ‘Tarot’ recommences early next year, so pretty busy already, although I’d love to do more theater, Shakespeare being a particular favorite of mine. I also recently voice some of the poetry on ‘Recollections’ a classical music piece by Dominic Mason, which was a lovely job to do, so quite a varied direction at the moment and in the more distant future ‘Dragon under the hill’ from the Gordon Honeycombe novel.
Is there a particular role you would love to play in a production?
I always wanted to play Lucrezia Borgia in a really good adaptation of her life, that would be a mind-blowing role or perhaps a gender-blind version of Henry IV where I could play Hotspur and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, although I’m not truly a musical theater person that’s a part I would really relish. The role, however, I would most love, being a massive Tolkien fan, is Lúthien Tinúviel, the only character in all Middle Earth’s history to move the God of Death to mercy and kicks Morgoth’s arse in single combat. Awesome character!
Thus far, what has been the best experience working in the entertainment industry?
Paul and I have been asked to open the Whitby Steampunk Weekend on July 28th, which is one of the largest Steampunk festivals in the country, and we’ll be there with a costume exhibition as well as a special airing of the Wuthering Heights trailer, so that should be fantastic fun.
Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?
‘Dragon under the Hill’ ( more of that in a moment). ‘Tarot’ is due to start filming again in early 2018, and that’s a really exciting script. It follows the commissioning of the first deck of Tarot cards all the way through to the present day and goes off on multiple timelines, with the same actors incarnated again and again to settle old scores or right old wrongs, so I’m really looking forward to that. ‘Pestilence Lane’ is a series about Vampires and is old school dark, Gothic and aggressive, no sparkly vampires in this one, although some of them are quite likable so there is also an element of a black comedy to it, and that commences next summer. One of the lovely things about Wuthering Heights was that in the course of learning to ride side saddle for it, we were trained by Roy Moor and Lorraine Wadeley who also supplied all of the horses and carriages for the film, and they run KC Horse Rescue which never turns a horse in need away so I’m planning on them being my charity of choice and I’ll be doing something nice to support them later in the year too they really do such marvellous work.
Complete this sentence, if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would ___________.
. . . want to be directed by Guillermo del Torro who is one of my favorite directors in a screenplay Elisaveta Abrahall is working on called ‘Dragon Under the Hill’ which is an adaptation of the Gordon Honeycombe book of the same name. Susan George’s late husband actor Simon MacCorkindale had written a screenplay in the 1970’s which she very kindly shared with us as she too is very keen to see it made and we were working on it before Gordon sadly died of Leukemia in 2015, with a view to me playing Runa. He very kindly left it so that we can complete it and make it into a film, so that would be wonderful, especially if Tom Hiddleston would play Edmund, as he was Gordon’s actor of choice for it!
Featured Image: Sha’ori Morris as Cathy in Wuthering Heights by Elisaveta Abrahall.
Connect with Sha’ori on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shaorimorris
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