Alas, the tawdry puns were an inevitability; certain tabloids seemed ‘Hexstatic’ and ‘Hexcited’ that sci-fi/horror drama Hex was returning to Sky One. Buoyed with confidence following a successful run of the first series, the show’s makers upped the ante and introduced a host of new twists and characters. With that, newcomer Laura Pyper, playing boisterous student witch Ella, was promptly dubbed by the press as ‘Hex On Legs’.
“I just kind of laughed when I read that,” admits the 25-year-old from Magherafelt, Co. Derry. “I think it’s funny ‘cos I’d never describe myself like that. I get teased by some of the other cast, and they like to wind me up about it. If people want to think that way, great. My character wears thigh-high leather boots, and a leather corset and coat; she is sexy but it’s all very uncomfortable. The corset gets a bit tight after lunch.”
Pyper’s new workplace is not your average, common-or-garden TV set. Between the various supernatural characters, no doubt the queue at the catering van during lunchtime can look a little odd at times.
“Yeah, once there was one guy walking around with scissors hanging out of his neck and another with his arm hanging off,” she laughs. “It was just another day on Hex.”
Several actors had to familiarize themselves with CGI wizardry – and learn how to act convincingly in tandem with this largely unfamiliar technology. Fortunately for Laura, the show’s makers are relying on this production method less for the new series.
“The producers have tried to do most of the effects themselves, so now any time you see a monster on screen, it was probably a guy in a suit,” she explains. “The CGI was minimal – there was thankfully not too much green screen to deal with. I’d feel very strange, pretending that a non-existent tree is on fire, and I have to act terrified.”
But some can’t but refer to Hex as ‘The British Buffy’. Less kind commentators have even intimated that Hex is merely a lukewarm version of the latter.
“I’ve spoken to the director and writers about that, and they don’t have one single inspiration for the show,” she asserts. “The show has so many influences; horror, comedy, sci-fi. On a very basic level, the comparison is fair; it’s set in a school with young people and there’s this whole other world of demons. Plus, there’s a girl who kills people - which is what I do – and that’s where it ends. I think people can relate to Hex a lot more and identify with the characters. The journeys that the characters go through are very human. That balance of humanity and action is good.”
It’s almost unfathomable to think that this particular 25-year-old happened upon acting purely by chance.
“When I was younger I wanted to do everything,” she says. “I wanted to work in the zoo once…I don’t know why. I suppose acting is like a funny farm anyway.”
After performing in a play in secondary school, the zookeeper dreams gave way to lofty aspirations of drama, and she enrolled in an English and Drama degree in Trinity College.
“Where I found my feet was actually in the Trinity College Players,” she notes. “It was like a sanctuary for my first two years.”
Pyper’s CV boasts an impressive array of high-profile roles. Her first professional job was on the million-dollar epic Reign Of Fire, opposite Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale.
“I got to hang out in the Wicklow Mountains for two months, run through fire and play with machine guns, so it was a real laugh,” she smiles. “I got to see how feature films are done on a very grand scale. It gave me a taste for the big time, I think!”
She then landed the lead female role in Headrush, starring BP Fallon and the Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ Huey Morgan. Though the film fared well at film festivals, the acclaim failed to translate into box office receipts.
“I haven’t seen much of the press for it, and I thought it was quite well received,” she states. “I guess there are certain people who aren’t going to watch a film about drugs and guns. It’s a universal problem – not one that affects Irish films.
"The Irish audience’s lackadaisical attitude to homegrown TV dramas has not passed the actress unnoticed. As a key member of the Bachelor’s Walk cast, one RTE drama that did exceedingly well with critic and viewer alike, Pyper is optimistic that the tide is about to turn for Irish television productions.
“In the last couple of years, I think things have started to get better,” she contends. “The Clinic was very brave for example - it’s quite a dark show, and there’s some quite controversial storylines. People seem to be getting more daring for television, and I guess it’s something we will see changes in during the next few years. It’s a question of pushing the boundaries once, and seeing how it’s accepted by everyone. We’re not all fuddy-duddies - we can move on to new things, I like to think. “