Thomasin McKenzie Reveals the Dark Backstory She Created for The Uprising [Video]

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Paul Greengrass's latest feature, The Uprising, is one built for our times. Detailing the Peasants Revolt of 1381, and starring Andrew Garfield as a ploughman who becomes the leader of a rebellion, it's impossible not to see the parallels to what's going on today. And for its cast, including actress Thomasin McKenzie, that was forefront of her mind while making the film. " The film is painfully, undeniably relevant to where the world is at today," McKenzie told The Film Maven. "I'm the kind of person who thinks that we should always be learning from the past in order to move into the future."

Whether one is talking about a 1300s rebellion or disability in film (shameless plug), movies offer an opportunity to learn about cultures, times, and people we'll never meet. "I really love expressing how I feel about the world through film because it's such an accessible way for people to learn," McKenzie said.

In the film, McKenzie plays Alyce, a troubled nun seeking redemption. She joins the growing rebellion, struggling between a thirst for revenge and genuine belief in what's being attempted. The actual rebellion was something McKenzie, a New Zealander, knew nothing about before embarking on the project.

"My introduction to Alyce was kind of through learning what it would have been like as a young woman at that time," she said. "And coming up with her backstory and her circumstances. What led her to where we meet her up to revolting. Paul and I discussed where she may have been coming from, what had happened to her and her family during the plague, and what led her to becoming part of the church, becoming a nun, and then what led her to becoming a follower of John Ball [played by Jamie Bell]."

McKenzie eventually conjured up a whole backstory that wasn't on the page, including that Alyce grew up in the marshes and her family was killed during the plague. Though the actress doesn't remember the specifics now, her interest was so granular she had even thought of what industry her family was in. "She had an option between destitution or becoming a nun and she decided to become a nun," she said. "She thought that she was safe and protected in the church, and then she was taken advantage of and cast aside." Alyce's motivation, as McKenzie envisioned it, was a dark story of revenge, but within that a search for justice.

The actual rebellion sequences are pure Greengrass, intense and unflinching. The camera gets right into the scenes of struggle, violence, and anarchy in a way that becomes claustrophobic and frightening. McKenzie can only describe it as "intense," admitting that however the audience feels watching it was certainly how it was to film it. "I have to admit there was a day, or a scene or two, where I just had to step away," she said. "There was a lot of people charging and shouting, horses running through." There were moments where the actress openly felt scared. "I felt really carried by the energy of everybody there, all of the background actors, who were some of the best I've ever worked with in my life. It felt like everybody was in it together."

There's more to this conversation. The best part of my interview with Thomasin McKenzie is waiting for Film Mavens.

Unlock the full interview by becoming a member of the Gold Star Crew to read part where McKenzie talks about how she prepped to play Audrey Hepburn.