Mena Suvari Reveals She ‘Personally Identified’ With Aspects Of Her ‘House Of Chains’ Character

Mena Suvari stars successful the harrowing caller Lifetime movie House of Chains. While Laura and Tye look to person the cleanable family, they person acheronian secrets that stay hidden for years. Following their ain acceptable of strict spiritual beliefs, Laura and Tye’s authoritarian ways with their kids turn stronger and pb them down a way of kid abuse, neglect, and imprisonment. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Mena astir tackling specified a pugnacious role.

Mena Suvari successful ‘House of Chains.’ (Lifetime)

“To beryllium honest, I felt similar determination were aspects of Laura and her property and her communicative that I personally identified with, and I deliberation that’s portion of wherefore I was truthful fascinated with her,” Mena said. “The communicative wide is astir however idiosyncratic tin truly get caught up successful different and wholly suffer themselves and wholly crook their ain mentation of their worst nightmare. I don’t deliberation that Laura ever thought that this would beryllium a portion of her story. I felt similar going into it, I had immoderate of the affectional transportation to it, but it was truly conscionable specified a acquisition being capable to enactment with Stephen [Tonkin], our writer-director. I conscionable felt similar everything was there. We truly had the clip to truly enactment together, rehearse, and person conversations. That was the biggest acquisition for me, truly having the clip to person the conversations connected truly getting into that space.”

Mena admitted that getting into the mindset of Laura each time passim filming wasn’t easy. “It was intense. It was stressful. It was exhausting,” she revealed. “I felt similar I had to truly decompress. We were filming up successful Canada, and each azygous 1 of our cast, our writer-director, our producers, were the astir fantastic people. If we didn’t person immoderate of that, I don’t cognize however I would person gotten done it. All of these unthinkable children, immoderate of them it was their archetypal movie that they’d ever worked on, and the professionalism, the commitment, the attraction and information for this communicative and the telling of the story, I was truthful impressed. It was specified a fantastic situation to beryllium a portion of that it was truly weird that we had to past execute and enactment connected camera. I couldn’t person done it without each of them.”

Due to the aggravated taxable matter, Mena was “nervous” astir the young actors who play Laura and Tye’s kids successful the Lifetime movie. “I’m a caller mom. My son’s astir 17 months old, truthful I person each those caller ma tense vibes astir each of this. All I cared astir was them,” Mena told HollywoodLife. “I said [to writer-director Stephen Tonkin], ‘If there’s thing that you request maine to bash without them there, I’m much than capable to bash it.’ I was truthful tense to amusement immoderate sides to myself that were truthful mean and abusive and violent, and however they were going to instrumentality that. I cared truthful overmuch astir that. But again, I’m telling you, the magnitude of professionalism… I was blown distant by the committedness and the knowing of the taxable matter. It was awesome for maine to see. I’m conscionable truthful grateful for everything that I enactment connected due to the fact that I consciousness similar it gives maine the accidental to larn astir myself. I conscionable learned truthful overmuch astir my ain beingness and however I enactment done these kids.”

House of Chains bears similarities to the Turpin family. Laura and Tye’s narration evolves into a chaotic messiness of maltreatment and power arsenic they imprison their 6 children successful their home. Tye is decidedly the ringleader, and Laura falls successful line. Mena discussed however she feels astir her quality and whether she views Laura arsenic a unfortunate astatine all.

Mena Suvari arsenic Laura successful the Lifetime movie. (Lifetime)

“I deliberation that’s truly what attracted maine to this is due to the fact that I don’t deliberation that thing is conscionable achromatic and white. There are truthful galore shades to it,” Mena said. “I was truly fascinated by however successful the opening of the movie erstwhile you archetypal conscionable Laura, she’s truthful down connected her luck. I consciousness that she’s truthful yet convinced that nary 1 truly cares astir her. No one’s going to prevention her, and she’s conscionable desperately trying and looking for thing to cling to. She’s conscionable successful the incorrect spot astatine the incorrect clip successful gathering Tye.”

She continued, “Yes, I would similar to judge that she is simply a victim. I consciousness similar we’re each a unfortunate successful immoderate respect, right? I consciousness similar we could speech astir her communicative forever, but I don’t deliberation that she ever truly wanted immoderate of those things for herself. I deliberation that Laura is truthful lost. I’d similar to accidental that it’s similar a chipping away. It’s a conditioning. I cognize that for myself successful my ain beingness and the things that I’ve experienced a fewer years in, you benignant of consciousness similar determination are nary lifelines. There’s similar a relent that happens. For me, erstwhile I experienced those things, I didn’t person children. So I tin lone presume excessively that there’s thing that binds you. I deliberation that Laura truly felt similar determination was obscurity to go, and you’re truthful caught up successful the manipulation. You spot that successful the film. I don’t privation to springiness excessively overmuch away, but I consciousness similar determination is simply a mode to presumption Laura arsenic a victim, particularly towards the end, due to the fact that she tries to astatine slightest marque a amended determination than she ever has successful her beingness by the end. She’s trying. I’d similar to judge that there’s immoderate anticipation for her successful immoderate way.” House of Chains premieres September 10 connected Lifetime.