The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Eurosports will screen the movie "Viking Quest" on Friday, September 24, at 7:30 p.m. Eurosports owner Brad Boyd has good reason to turn his shop into an outdoor movie theater for the free event: The film is his daughter's first movie.

Jenny Boyd, who was raised in Sisters and Bend, moved to London approximately seven years ago and auditioned for the oldest drama school in the English-speaking world - LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts).

She was accepted and graduated from the school.

"Viking Quest" is her first leading role.

The film (IMDb site http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4155144) is an adventure tale set in the Dark Ages.

Erick, a young Viking warrior, joins forces with a rival clan in order to rescue a kidnapped princess (Boyd) from the great Midgard Serpent.

It's a perilous task with a risk far greater than merely their own lives; by rescuing the princess, they might cause Ragnarök - the end of the world.

"The experience of filming was a wonderful and exciting one," Boyd told The Nugget. "It was my first-ever film set and I had no idea what to expect.

"I remember that I was so nervous sitting in the make-up chair on my first morning, going over my lines as they were doing my hair in these elaborate braids and feeling my heart pounding so hard.

"I was kicking off the shoot, and had to film one of my most intense scenes on the first day, without any of the other lead characters. Managing that pressure was maybe one of the most difficult things that I had to overcome, but eventually I got to know the way things worked and really enjoyed the rest of the process."

The film was partially shot in outdoor locations in Europe.

"We were filming just outside of Sophia, Bulgaria, in the studios of BUFO productions, and we also spent some time on location in the mountains next to a beautiful lake in the woods," Boyd said. "The primary filming was shot in just under a month, which is a very short amount of time for a feature-length film, hence the early mornings and late nights, but we finished on schedule and it was all incredibly worth it."

Boyd's Sisters Country upbringing helped her land the role and fulfill the role of the captured princess.

"I did get to ride horses in the film, which has been my passion since I was little, and something that was made possible by growing up in Central Oregon," she said. "I know it is part of the reason that I was cast, as they really wanted the lead girl, my character Tasya to be able to ride. I also did my own stunts, something that I had trained for at my drama school LAMDA, who have a renowned combat department where we learned stage fighting and

swordplay.

"The stunt I was most worried about was hitting someone over the head with a flaming torch. Every time the director called 'cut' I ran over to the guy and asked if he was okay, I was so worried!"

Boyd is studiously developing her dramatic career.

"I am continuously auditioning and working towards my goals here in London, and just finished making a short film last week, a sort of modern-day dark fairytale called 'The Beaded Curtain,'" she said.

"Other than that I am waiting to hear on a few exciting projects that I could be picked for, or not, including a horror film set in Scotland and a television show for a well-known American network.

It is difficult to know when the next job may come your way, or even when you may hear about the results of an audition you have done, but it is part of that unknown that makes acting so exiting.

With this role in 'Viking Quest' I learned that anything can happen, even when you aren't expecting it, and that for me, the thing that makes life most exciting is the possibility of a dream coming true."