HORROR films offer early opportunities for new actresses like Sophia Albarakbah to showcase their talent.
Acting in scary movies, says Sophia, is just like putting up any other dramatic performance.
"You need to find authenticity, immediacy and truth in your character," she says.
It's easy for many actors and actresses to continue staying in the same genre, especially when they just made their debut in the entertainment scene. Sophia is a good case in point.
Local moviegoers may remember her in the 2020 horror Mimaland, and now she is starring in another film entitled Jerangkung Dalam Almari.
"It's not like I prefer this genre more than the others. It's just a coincidence that when I started my acting career, these were the roles I was offered," shares the 29-year-old artiste, who entered the entertainment scene in 2018 by chance.
Sophia has a degree in biotechnology from International Medical University. An introvert by nature, a career in acting had been the last thing on her mind.
"It all started when a friend asked me to tag along for an audition and before I knew it, it landed me a role," says the actress of Malay, Arab and Chinese parentage.
Since then, she continued attending casting calls and as fate has it, offers kept falling on her lap, further helping her to build her fondness for acting.
"After a while, it dawned on me that maybe this was the path written for me.
"Praise be to God, my family has always been supportive since day one," shares Sophia, whose mother was the first runner-up in a beauty pageant back in 1980.
Interest just as important
Some may think it is a waste of her education to choose a career that is totally unrelated to her academic qualification.
But for Sophia, the journey of learning is a long process.
"There's nothing wrong in choosing a different career path. Getting an education is important, and to follow your interest once you finished tertiary studies is equally important," she says.
When Sophia embarked on acting, her priority is always to learn the ropes and gain as much knowledge as possible.
She started taking acting classes from experienced actress Farah Ahmad.
Sophia says she has been extremely lucky to get a lot of guidance from more experienced cast members in the productions that she was involved in.
"They've been helpful and even shared a tip or two about acting.
"I also take my own initiative to do some research on how to improve my acting skills further," says Sophia, who began acting in movies first before landing roles in television dramas.
Among the drama series she starred in are Tercipta Satu Ikatan (2020), Hadiah Dari Tuhan (2020) and Pasal Kau!, a Netflix original romantic comedy that was also featured in 2020.
Out of the closet
"Sophia definitely takes acting seriously. In between breaks on set, she would be asking questions whenever she has the chance," says herJerangkung Dalam Almari co-star Datuk Adi Putra.
"Although she's a newcomer, her attitude and behaviour makes it a breeze to work with her," says Adi, who plays Fikri, the lead actor in the horror flick.
Merely a year into her acting career, Sophia has managed to clinch the lead actress role in Jerangkung Dalam Almari.
"It's quite unnerving to star alongside Adi. But thankfully, he was very helpful, making it a little easier for a newbie like me," relates Sophia, who plays Fikri's wife, Shikin.
Jerangkung Dalam Almari tells the story of how Fikri's life begins turning upside down when he is disturbed by an apparition appearing from the closet.
The supernatural occurrences become frequent and life-threatening for Shikin and their son (played by Isaac Iman).
With some guidance from Pak Hassan (Wan Hanafi Su), Fikri goes back to his parents' house in the hopes of trying to solve the mysterious problem.
Back in the old house, he finds out that he needs to confront Abang Ali (Hasnul Rahmat), who has been keeping a dark secret relating to the ghost in the closet.
Sophia, when recounting her experience in filming Jerangkung Dalam Almari, says she did not come across any supernatural occurrences on set.
"We didn't encounter any hair-raising moments, except for that one time when I grabbed the neck of the child actor in a scene.
"Somehow, the scene went on for quite some time, which was rather odd. But getting no cue from the director, I just maintained my position.
"Apparently the director did call out 'cut', but no one on the set heard it," she recounts with a laugh.
In retrospect, Sophia says that since the filming of Jerangkung Dalam Almari took place in 2019, she is able to see how she could have delivered her role better.
"I hope everyone watching this would take note that this is among my early works, when I was still very fresh and inexperienced that time," she says.
The film directed by Shadan Hashim and produced by Raja Azmi for Akid Productions also features Anne Abdullah, Zaidi Omar, Fazlina Ahmad Daud and Amerul Effendi.
Jerangkung Dalam Almari is now showing in cinemas.