When it comes to horror films, fans always look for the next scream queen and to see if she is as bodacious as the next cover girl on Maxim magazine. Â Whatever happened to just seeking out genuine female actresses who just scare the wits out of the audience? Â Well you may not have to look any further than Kika Magalhaes who has had the industry buzzing about her performance in Nicolas Pesce’s film The Eyes of My Mother ever since Sundance and during this Halloween season. Â Kika plays Francisca who is a lonely and scarred woman whose mother was a former surgeon in Portugal in a secluded farmhouse. Â Her mother teaches her when she is a young girl all about anatomy and not to be fazed by death but to take interest in what is inside the person. Â Longing to be loved and to belong when she gets older, the trauma that she experiences in her childhood begins to take over her and those who she befriends to a very dark path. Â Kika who carries this film all by her lonesome takes it to such a level that she might well be the female Anthony Perkins. Â FERNTV spoke to Kika Magalhaes to pinpoint how she got to this point.
FERNTV: Â Tell us briefly about your acting background and where you went to school for acting?
Kika:  I think my love for acting started when I was still in my Mother’s womb  but because I was born and grew up in a small town in Portugal, opportunities for actors are extremely limited. I was always involved with little plays, acting workshops but wasn’t taking it seriously. I denied my passion for a while and didn’t know what to do with my life.  So I travelled a lot, lived in a lot of different places and had all kind of jobs. It was when I was on a stage working as a dancer on a life show that I had an epiphany.  I realized the stage was where I belong and I needed to do it for the rest of my life. That moment changed my life! If I wanted to be a real actress, there is no better place to start than NYC, so I decided to move there and pursue acting with all my heart. I started by studying Meisner Technique at the Neighbourhood Playhouse School of Theater.
FERNTV: Â Â Can you tell us first how you heard about this role and why did you agree to go an audition with the sound of its content?