Clare’s Interview with Yahoo! All things Team Unicorn, Seth Green & Cosplay!

Clare Grant Talks Team Unicorn, Seth Green and Cosplay

Clare GrantDate of Interview: 07/18/11

Team Unicorn is the newest project for Clare Grant and her friends, Michele Boyd, Milynn Sarley and Rileah Vanderbilt. The actress, who appeared in the movies, “Walk the Line” and “Black Snake Moan,” got the idea because she liked to cosplay (costume play) as Sailor Moon characters. Grant recently stopped by to talk about Team Unicorn, her newest film project and her husband, Seth Green.

Thank you, Clare, for doing this.

My pleasure.

You’ve got a lot of experience in television, film and theatre. Which medium do you enjoy working with the best?

I enjoy each medium of acting for different reasons. Theater is nostalgic for me, because I grew up doing it. But I love film because you can really become a different person for the duration of the shoot, and bounce around to another shoot to become a new person.

Your credits include “Black Snake Moan” with Christina Ricci and “Walk the Line.” What was it like working with actors like Christina Ricci, Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon?

Working with Christina Ricci has been my favorite. I actually learned a lot from watching her and listening to little things she had to say. She taught me that your role is your responsibility, and that part of that responsibility is making sure that every element fits with your character, even if it means going against the costume or makeup direction that has been presented to you by the wardrobe stylist or makeup artist. And that there is a way of doing it politely. Joaquin was great because that was my first studio feature role, and he was the first true movie star I worked with so I was a little nervous. We had an intimate scene and he went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. He was very kind and a tremendously talented performer.

You also worked with your husband, Seth Green, in “Robot Chicken.” Did you two meet during this project or were you already together beforehand?

Seth and I met a comic book store in 2006, and I came in for “Robot Chicken” in 2008. We were both dating other people when we met, so we became the best of friends at first, and were not dating when I came in for his show. Having not done voiceover since I was a kid, I was nervous because I had to be funny in front of a room full of my really funny friends, but Seth is a terrific director and really knows how to make actors comfortable while still getting what he needs from them.

Your newest venture is Team Unicorn. Exactly what is Team Unicorn and how did it come together?

Team Unicorn started as a bunch of nerdy friends wanting to do things together like cosplay as Sailor Moon characters at Comic-Con and run around Azeroth in the same guild playing World of Warcraft. Then Milynn (Sarley) and Michele (Boyd) got the idea to parody Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” as “G33K & G4M3R Girls” and brought it to Rileah (Vanderbilt) and me, who were already producing our own projects, and we made the video and song come together. Team Unicorn has since snowballed from there and we now continue to produce short nerdy videos that make us happy.

The debut song from Team Unicorn titled, “G33k & G4m3r Girls,” premiered online in 2010. Since then, videos called “A Very Zombie Holiday” and “superHarmony” have been released. I’m sensing a weirdness and humor theme here?

Everything we produce are things we are already passionate about and want to see ourselves. We like weird. And we like to poke fun at the things we love.

“G33k & G4m3r Girls” talks about geeky girls into video games. Are the four of you geeky girls into video games?

All four of us are huge gamers. Video games, cosplay and Comic-Con are what brought the four of us together. I’ve been playing video games since the very first NES came out; have every iteration of Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation, along with random systems like Atari, Sega and the short lived 3DO, and have fought with many boyfriends over the time I spend with my controller over the time I spend with them. I married the first guy who encourages my gaming. It’s nice.

Is Team Unicorn something that will go on tour any time soon?

Before Team Unicorn could think about going on tour, we would need to work on building a bigger cache of songs, which we are actually doing.

What’s next for you as an actress?

I have a good role in a new biopic film on the life of James Dean, called “Joshua Tree 1951.” It’s shot on B&W 35mm and it’s beautiful. There is also another project I worked on that I am more than excited about, but definitely have to keep under wraps. It’s very exciting though.

Thanks again for talking to me. Anything you wanted to add?

Thank you. And I would like to also thank all the unicorns out there. You are all special. Team Unicorn loves you and thanks you all for the support you have given us. It’s wonderful to have a voice in a community that I love to be a part of. xo, Clare.

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