Scout Taylor-Compton: Scream Queen

We talked with 20-year-old actress Scout Taylor Compton two years ago when she first took over the role of famed heroine/victim Laurie Stroad in the Rob Zombie re-make of the classic horrorfest Halloween. The actress is back in Halloween II, which picks up right where Halloween left off; with Laurie walking down the street covered with blood and carrying a gun!

We have to say that Scout's character's ordeal in the film is pretty relentless. We wanted to know how she got through the grueling shoot in Georgia, how she and fellow cast members bonded and partied, her own level of horror movie fandom (She's a big fan of killer doll Chucky!) and we got the scoop on her work in the much anticipated rocker film The Runaways in which she co-stars with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. The big shocker of our interview was that Scout and hugely tall Michael Myers actor Tyler Mane were really great buds on set!

Picture Scout with very long brown/red hair and all modern chic in a cropped blue jacket over a cute picture tee and dark wash skinny jeans. We also had to ask about that tattoo of a cute redhead on her wrist....

TeenHollywood: Is that the Little Mermaid tattooed on your wrist?

Scout: Yeah. She's been there for me through some tough stuff. It's a real one.

TeenHollywood: Don't you have to cover it up for films?

Scout: That's why I got it here (left wrist) because when I did Halloween, it covers really easily and when I did Runaways, they just put a bracelet over it.

TeenHollywood: Oooo, we'll talk about that film a little later. So, how relieved were you when this was over that you wouldn't have to be covered with blood?

Scout: (laughs) It never goes away. I thought, when I did the first one, it was going to go away and here I am again.

TeenHollywood: How hard was it to stay in the terrified, stressed out zone for an entire film? Do you take that intensity home at night?

Scout: Oh no! If I took it home, I'd be the most oppressive person ever. I'm really easy at just going with it then cutting it off. There was one time that Danielle (Harris) and I were doing this really emotional scene and I couldn't get out of it and I ran downstairs and I was crying. That was the first time that's ever happened to me and I ran up to Tyler (Mane) and I was crying in front of him. I was like 'I can't do this. I can't do this with her. It's so hard. Oh my God, I can't get out of it. Help me. Help me!' He just looked down at me and was like 'I need a van. I need to get out of here'. Just to kind of help me. It was funny. But that was the one time I couldn't get out of it. It was hard.

TeenHollywood: So you are buddies with the guy who plays scary Michael Myers? That's so weird. What is Tyler Mane really like?

Scout: He's very intimidating and makes you feel really small. No! He's a teddy bear. Don't tell him I said that because he got really pissed off the last time I said that, but he's a really gentle person. He really is. I roomed with him and his wife and his kids for the last week. I kind of felt like his daughter. 'Hi dad. Good morning. How are you? You're grumpy. Okay. Are you ready for work? I'll see you on set'. It was good. We would see each other in the morning, at night, in between. It was great.

TeenHollywood: Just so weird but cool. So, you are relentlessly screaming or falling apart and the role is so intense. Did you have any reservations about coming back and doing it again?

Scout: No because, the first experience was wonderful. It was great and I was comfortable. Rob never pushed me further than I could handle. Like for this one, we were in the rain for like eight hours with ten rain machines at midnight and it was freezing cold and I was just wearing a nightgown and I had to go up to him at like seven o'clock in the morning and go 'I can't do it anymore, Rob. My body is so numb, I can't.' And he said 'okay, dude. We're done.' It's good that you can go up to a director and tell him you're not comfortable.

TeenHollywood: What are the weaknesses and strengths of the modern Laurie Stroad in this second film?

Scout: In this one she's tougher and more vulnerable and kind of messed up and I guess that's kind of a weakness because she's not the strong, strong, Laurie Stroad anymore, the bookwormish girl. She's kind of fallen apart. I guess that's a big weakness but she's still strong and definitely a survivor but you can definitely see that it's taken a toll on her. You can see that in the way she acts, the way she looks, the way she portrays herself.

TeenHollywood: What was it about her character in this movie that really made you want to play her again?

Scout: I guess where it led to. I know the original Halloween franchise, Laurie just kind of stayed the same throughout the whole entire thing. That's why I loved Rob's take on it. She realistically changed the way someone would and it's something I created. My Laurie that I could create and it was my job. It was all in my hands.

TeenHollywood: You have some fun galpals in the film. Did you Danielle and Brea Grant know each other?

Scout: I knew Danielle from the first one. We hung out all the time on the first one. She's kind of like my older sister because she's been through a lot in this acting business so I can go to her for advice and with Brea and Angela, we had to hang out in Georgia on the set to create that bond. We went vintage shopping and did as much as we could in Georgia. We were in Walmart a lot. We got looks there. I got looks. I was like 'am I that different? You've had Rob in this store and Malcolm (McDowell) in this store'. I heard that Malcolm went on his first Walmart trip in Georgia. He's like 'I bloody hated it!' 'I go to Walmart all the time, Malcolm. It's not that bad'.

TeenHollywood: The dialogue with all you girls sounds natural and real, like ad-lib. Was it?

Scout: Yeah, all the stuff at the band jam was all us so you kind of know what we're like at parties. My dancing is completely like that too.

TeenHollywood: Wild. What did you think of the Rocky Horror outfit you wore?

Scout: Amazing, it was great the first week. Then I was like 'oh, I have to put everything on together and the wig and eyelashes, okay great'. I'm over it.

TeenHollywood: So working with Rob as your director again was just fun and easy?

Scout: He's an amazing director and an amazing person. Working with him, I just felt so comfortable especially in the emotional scenes. I feel like I can voice my opinion and he'll actually listen to me rather than most directors. I'm twenty. He's been in this world longer than me. Most directors will be like 'I know what I'm talking about, little girl, step aside'. Not Rob. I feel equal to him and we just kind of get each other. It was nice, because he worked with me the first time so he knew 'oh, you're going to be in the corner crying before we roll? I get that. Scout, were you preparing? I'm used to that'. So, we're like used to each other so it was good.

TeenHollywood: Was there a scene that we would think is absolutely horrific that was actually fun to shoot?

Scout: Oh, a lot of it. A lot of it was just really fun. I know it's supposed to be scary but we laughed a lot on set. When we're doing something really intense, Rob has his i-phone and he's blasting "Runaways". That's when I was auditioning for Runaways so he was setting the mood. Or he's blasting rap, old school rap. It's nice. I was screaming and crying and when it's done there's some rap to listen to over by video village.

TeenHollywood: Were you hurt making the film?

Scout: I got a lot of bruises during this one. The scene in the hospital ward, all those bruises on my leg were real. It was awful. My body was aching so much but hey, that's what you get for wearing a dress and running away from a mass murderer.

TeenHollywood: Why do you think teens and 20-somethings just flock to horror films?

Scout: Everybody loves to be scared. Everybody likes to rebel against their parents. With horror movies, my parents were totally for it but a lot of my friends' parents were like 'no. You can not see that. It's nudity. It's killing. It's a really bad movie'. But it makes you feel so good. You feel like you're rebelling. Plus, I like to get scared. That's always fun.

TeenHollywood: So you liked horror films when you were like eight and nine?

Scout: Loved them. Really loved them. My dad's a mortician so I grew up in the real scene. Forget horror movies. But I loved them and my mom loves horror movies so I was raised watching them and I have a bunch of skulls and a Chucky (doll) and Freddie. Seriously, if you were to go to my house, you would probably get freaked out. Honestly, I was a fan of Chucky. I am obsessed.

TeenHollywood: You were working with Brad (Dourif) on this film and he was the voice for Chucky!

Scout: I know. How awful is this? I didn't know that Brad did the voice of Chucky while filming the first Halloween then someone told me at the premiere and I was like 'Ooooo. No way!' I was goo goo eyed. He did say that he would sign a Chucky doll of mine which is great. That doll scares me. You have no idea. I'm terrified.

TeenHollywood: Okay, now tell us about Runaways.

Scout: It was great. It was a fun experience. I auditioned for it like a year ago for Joan Jett and they offered it to Kristen Stewart who is amazing. She's an amazing girl all around. Then I went out for the drummer because I play drums but that just didn't fit. I tried my hardest to get it and then they offered me the bass player and I don't play bass so I had to pick that up.

TeenHollywood: But, you aren't playing the bass player are you?

Scout: No. Then they come up to me and they're like 'you look like Lita Ford. You act like Lita Ford. Will you be Lita Ford?' 'Are you serious? Lead guitarist in two weeks? Okay, cool'. I'm not gonna turn that down so I just worked really, really hard. All of us girls worked really, really hard. We had band practice. We hung out after set and just kind of worked the scenes. It was really nice because I felt like I was in a real band and I really miss it. I really do because I miss performing and getting with my girls.

TeenHollywood: What is Lita like?

Scout: Lita is wild. She's very wild. She's a very determined girl. She was the one who was really focused on the work rather than the fans and the praise. She was the one who was really dedicated to her work and she was very stubborn and sometimes, she had a tough side and all the girls knew that. She was a tough girl so it was pretty interesting. Totally opposite from Laurie Stroad, playing the tough girl that was in control. Yeah, Lita was definitely a fun character to play.

TeenHollywood: Aren't you doing your own rock and roll? Doing an album?

Scout: Yeah. I've been thinking about that a lot lately, especially because I learned guitar and I love writing and I love the whole music scene and I love just having band practice. So, yeah, I've actually been thinking about forming a band.

TeenHollywood: What music are you into?

Scout: I like Alpine Trio. I love soft rock, hard rock, old rock, Blondie. Actually Rob gave me a couple of Blondie records. I like Madonna. Right now, on the Runaways set with my best friend Michael (she nods to a cute blonde guy who is in the room with us), we are obsessed with Miley Cyrus, "Party in the USA". (laughs). It's good dance stuff. Me, Kristen, Dakota and my best friend, we're obsessed with that song. That's my little downfall but mostly rock, yeah.