Interview: Jessica Clement on the Casteel Family Saga

In the summer of 2019, Lifetime aired five films adapted from the work of novelist V.C. Andrews - renowned for her Flowers in the Attic series, the Casteel books were the last series she wrote before her tragic death in December 1986, which is when Andrew Neiderman came on board to finish Fallen Hearts (which V.C. Andrews had started), penning her outlined plans for future books and continuing her legacy as the official ghostwriter

The Movie Series Event and novels follow Heaven Casteel and her siblings after their father devises a scheme that threatens to destroy their dreams and separate the family forever. Actress Jessica Clement starred in Heaven, Dark Angel and Fallen Hearts as Heaven's rebellious and sometimes manipulative sister Fanny - both young women suffer abuse, abandonment issues and trauma, their troubled past causing a rift between the sisters that has consequences for generations.

It was an absolute pleasure to interview Jessica Clement about her experience on set for the first three instalments of the Casteel Saga and how she approached playing such a complex character.

What was your experience or knowledge of the Casteel series? Were you a fan of the books?

Somehow I actually hadn’t heard of the books before I auditioned BUT as soon as I was aware of it, I noticed it everywhere in my life! My partner's mom is always reading a V.C. Andrews book and people reference them all the time!

What were your initial thoughts on your character when you first read the scripts?

I was SO excited when I read the script. For me personally, I’m pretty much always playing innocent, soft spoken characters so this was a welcomed change of pace! Fanny is also such an iconic character in the VC Andrews world. She has so much personality and the books gave me every detail to incorporate into my performance. It was a ton of fun.

What attracted you to this role?

As I mentioned earlier, this was such a different character for me and I wanted to embrace it as much as I could. Luckily, Fanny is extremely bold and dramatic, so I got to dive right in the deep end...there was no room to hold back.

How would you describe your character?

When we first meet her, she is very easily un-likable. She’s selfish, manipulative, and rude. But as we get to know her, we realize that she is actually craving a universal need... LOVE (From her dad, from romantic interests, friends...everyone!) She is insecure because she feels she isn’t worthy of love, so she desperately tries to meet that need - she just goes about it in a different way than most people would.

How was it working on set with the cast and crew?

I had so much fun on this set! We actually filmed the first movie almost a year before the second two! We didn’t know we were getting picked up! So saying goodbye to everyone was really sad! But it made it even more exciting when we were reunited. Annalise and I clicked right away so we made sure to make the most of our time together for 2 & 3. For Halloween, the hair, make up, and wardrobe department took Annalise and I out (all as Disney villains) to a party since we weren’t from the area! I still meet with Paul, our director for 1 & 2 for pancakes every now and then! And on our last day, I had already wrapped, so I came to set and they let me try working in every department just for fun! It was a really great team.

What were your favourite and most challenging scenes to film and why?

I had such a hard time being so mean to basically every character Fanny is in a scene with. All the actors were so nice and we had developed such great relationships! So those scenes were always challenging. I had so much fun in the courthouse scene (for many reasons, but one was definitely being able to eat all of the treats on set because I was in a pregnancy suit all day! Most of Fanny’s wardrobe wasn’t super loose to stretchy so I had to limit my treat intake) I also loved dancing at Heaven’s wedding!

What do you hope people will take away from these films?

I think these films are filled with a ton of drama and a ton of heart. We take the audience on a roller coaster of emotion. I also hope that at the end of Fanny’s journey, they learn that sometimes we misunderstand people...Fanny is pretty ruthless for most of the films but eventually we learn that all she ever wanted was LOVE.

What other roles and productions do you have coming up?

I’m currently filming some pick ups for a Feature that I’m super excited about called “Night Blooms”! It is (for the most part) filmed in Halifax, which is where I filmed “Pure” as well! I LOVE working out East!

Thank you again to Jessica for a wonderful interview - make sure to follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to keep updated on all her exciting upcoming projects! The complete Casteel Saga (Heaven, Dark Angel, Fallen Hearts, Gates of Paradise and prequel Web of Dreams) is available on-demand and DVD.