Jasi Cotton Lanier is a NYC based trained stuntwoman/actress. Growing up the petite, red headed Jasi always dreamed about being involved with the arts , though she thought she would end up behind the camera. At age 19, she got her first break while working as a PA on the set of Freakshow when director, Paul Talbot,  tricked the eager student into a screen test by telling her he needed to check for lighting and sound. Later, she was cast as Kristen but stayed focused on her studies, graduating with a BA in Media Arts from the University of South Carolina.

          Thank you for this interview Jasi! Out of all the films you’ve been involved with, which one was the most enjoyable to work on? Why?

         - I really enjoyed one of my most recent works Opening the Mind by Toe Tag Pictures. It was very physically and emotionally challenging.

         What is your favorite stunt that you’ve ever performed in a film?

         - I loved the car hit for Opening the Mind. I am really wanting to do more big stunts, namely, a car flip with an explosion and come out set on fire....one take. I think that would be so awesome.

         Who is your favorite actor? Actress?

         - It is impossible to name one. I really like character actors such as John Turturro, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Juliette Lewis, Gena Rowland. The have the ability to disguise themselves in the role.

         While preparing for a role/stunt, do you use any special technique to get yourself ready?

         - There is different mental and physical preparation involved for each project. Sometimes I work with an acting coach and train for 6 weeks if needed, sometimes with almost no prep if the director wants everything's fresh and spontaneous. 

         - I have always loved horror movies. When I was young that was always the movies we talked about in the school yard: Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Sleepaway Camp, Amiytville Horror, etc. I remember watching horror movies with my Dad, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of my first memories and still makes me smile today.

          What projects have you recently finished and do you have any projects in the near future for us to watch out for?

          - Besides Opening the Mind, I just completed a short for Tim Ritters "Twisted Illusions 2" with a fight scene in a towel and I think that Dr. Horror's House of Idiots is going to be a blast. It has some many B-movie names and is very funny. This summer I am shooting a fight scene for Happy Cloud Picture's new feature "Server Injuries," and playing a snuff film author in "The Last Home Video" shooting in Montrealand playing Sam an archaeologist in "Copperhead" by Fugu Digital Media, which is full of stunts. Yeah!

         Are there any projects/scenes/stunts that you regret being involved with? If so, why?

         - Early on, in my eye candy days, I took almost any acting job just to work. Some of them are pretty bad, at one point I got in over my head and decided to move to NYC to study acting. It was a learning process.

      Do you have an interesting story that you’d like to share about a personal experience in filmmaking?

         - There are so many that I cannot think of just one to talk about here.

          Who is your favorite horror movie villain and which of their films is your favorite?

         - Pinhead and I would say the original Hellraiser. I love the sadomasochist element and the visuals of the Hellraiser movies.

          For my final question…. How do you feel about the direction that the horror genre is heading? Do you think it has gotten better or worse since your beginnings in the genre?

         - I finally think we are seeing the end of the "erotic " horror movies and going back into straight horror, which is a nice trend, because the whole reason I love horror is to be scared. Also, there are some trends of just gore/shock horror which I find pretty boring. I like the psychological, disturbing fuck with your mind stuff. Most of the Hollywood stuff is too formulaic to scare me. I cannot say if it is better or worse. I like old and new movies as long as it is good scare.