Roman Christou is a rising star who’s making his feature film debut in The Curse of La Llorona, the first of what we expect to be many credits to the young actor’s name. In the film, Roman plays Chris, a fiercely protective son and brother whose family is haunted by the “Weeping Woman”. Pop Culturalist chatted with Roman about landing the role, The Curse of La Llorona, and how the experience taught him to live in the moment.
PC: Tell us about The Curse of La Llorona, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Roman: The story of the “Weeping Woman” is based on a folklore about a woman who drowns her kids out of anger towards her husband. I have heard there are many iterations of the story, but I believe the most popular version is that she is cursed to walk the Earth for all eternity after drowning her children, and as she walks around, she looks for other kids to drown.
In the movie, I play the son to Linda Cardellini and brother to Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen. I loved all of the action during my audition scenes. It was my favorite audition so far!
PC: What was the audition process like? How did you celebrate after learning you landed the role?
Roman: The first audition was straightforward and then the callback had two very fun parts to it: the first one was just out of the blue, the casting director asked us to scream as loud as we could and the second part was looking into the camera lens and playing out different things such as acting like the person you are looking at is your best friend then going to that same person being the scariest person you’ve ever seen. It was super fun and funny in the waiting room listening to all of the kids scream.
I found out I got the part when my mom picked me up from soccer practice. I’m not going to lie, there may have been a few tears.
PC: What similarities/differences do you share with Chris?
Roman: I feel like I am protective over my family just like Chris is protective of his family. I am the younger brother in real life, so playing the big brother was new to me and I really liked being in that role.
PC: What was your favorite scene to shoot? What was the most challenging?
Roman: The car scene was my favorite scene to shoot and also the most challenging. There was so much going on and it was very suspenseful.
PC: Your character goes through a lot of different emotions in the film. How did you prepare for that?
Roman: Since it was my first movie, I got a lot of support from co-stars. Raymond Cruz reminded me to stay in character as much as possible between takes so that I didn’t lose sight of the moment. That was very helpful.
PC: It’s your feature film debut. What was the most surprising part about the experience? What was the biggest takeaway?
Roman: The most surprising part about the experience was how easy it was to talk to everyone on set. The biggest takeaways were learning about set etiquette and to be in the moment in every scene.
PC: How did you discover your passion for acting and singing?
Roman: Both my passion for acting and singing came mostly from my brother. We’ve always been around music, so it’s just been a huge part of my life from a very young age.
PC: How are you able to balance your career and living life as a normal kid?
Roman: The great thing about movies is there is a beginning and end, so it leaves time for being a kid. I was able to do all of my homework and actually work ahead, and was totally caught up in school! We also had weekends off when filming, so my mom and I would do fun things like go to the beach, visit with friends, or head home for the weekend.
PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Roman: Umbrella Academy
PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Roman: Central Intelligence
PC: Favorite book?
Roman: Where the Red Fern Grows
PC: Favorite play or musical?
Roman: Hamilton—haven’t seen it, but I love the cast recording!
PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Roman: Stevie Wonder
PC: Last show you binge-watched?
Roman: Umbrella Academy
PC: Hidden talent?
Roman: I’m an artist! I love to draw.
To keep up with Roman, follow him on Twitter and Instagram, and catch The Curse of La Llorona in theaters on April 19.
Photo Credit: Birdie Thompson // Grooming: Allison Noelle
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