Why Taissa Farmiga Was Warned About American Horror Story
If you're a big fan of Taissa Farmiga's work in horror projects like "American Horror Story" and "The Nun," you'll be interested to know exactly how the actor feels about the genre that made her famous. "I do not like horror movies," Taissa told IndieWire in 2018. "I always had an amazing time on 'American Horror Story,' [but] it actually helped me discover that I'm a very scared person." Interestingly enough, those feelings of fright helped her get into character. "I'm very jumpy, I scare very easily," she continued. "So, when you have to go play these emotions like fear and terror, I realized that comes kind of natural to me."
But Taissa isn't the first in her family to make a name for herself in the genre. Her older sister, Vera Farmiga, has cemented herself in the industry as a queen of horror films, rising to prominence thanks to her role in a smattering of scary flicks — most notably "The Conjuring" series, in which she starred as paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren. It's pretty safe to say that Vera is an expert in almost all things supernatural — so much so that it puts her in the position to dispense sound advice to her younger sister.
Taissa Farmiga reveals the advice her older sister gave her about acting in horror projects
As fans know, Taissa Farmiga was a favorite on "American Horror Story" — starring in four seasons of the anthology series — and that led to more exciting opportunities, like the lead role in 2018's "The Nun," in which she played Sister Irene, a nun tasked to probe into a mysterious death that had occurred in a convent. Since Taissa's older sister Vera Farmiga has quite the experience in the scares department herself, she sought Vera's advice on how to manage the heaviness felt on set.
" ... [My sister, Vera Farmiga] had a little bit of a hard time sometimes," Taissa told Bloody Disgusting of Vera's roles in horror films. "She was coming home alone at night, so one of the tips that she had given me was to leave it at work. Leave all the stress, the heaviness, and the horror. Try to separate it from yourself." Taissa explained that she's meditating to do so. "Controlling your thoughts — it's not easy, guys, it's really not that easy," she revealed, explaining her sister's other piece of advice. "Other than that, she said, 'Don't let it get to you.'"
And now that they're both dominating the horror space, the younger Farmiga would always turn to her sister for advice on just about anything. "I was just texting her the other day and saying, "Hey, can I talk to you? I don't know what to do. I need you,'" Taissa revealed to IndieWire. "And she's always around. It's so cool."
Taissa Farmiga has experienced supernatural activity in real life before
At this point, Taissa Farmiga is on track in following her sister's footsteps on becoming queen of horror. There was even a time that she experienced something paranormal in real life — the kind of thing she only "experiences" in the movies. In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, the star said that when she was filming "American Horror Story: Coven" in New Orleans, she had an encounter with "voodoo and spirits."
After filming a scene with co-stars Emma Roberts and Evan Peters, Taissa had quite the scare in the middle of the night — and some of it was informed by sister Vera. At the time, "Vera ... just recently told me she was doing research for 'The Conjuring,'" Taissa recalled to Bloody Disgusting. "She told me that witching hours are around 3 a.m."
As the actor was falling asleep around that time, "all of a sudden," she said, "I'm wide awake." "My eyes aren't open, but I feel wide awake and I hear some walking. You know, on the wood floors, you hear it creak," she recalled. "I'm like, 'Okay, that's bulls**t.'" But then it got even scarier: "All of a sudden, I feel someone grab the covers... Someone's grabbing right there and starts pulling," Taissa explained. "I jump up. I freak out, turn the light on. There's nothing there, I don't see anything." Creepy!