Sasha Lane
Riding the Storm Out in Twisters
by Jay S. Jacobs
“Don’t let me go! Don’t let me go!” That cry came from Sasha Lane as Lily, one of the storm hunters in the summer blockbuster Twisters, as a tornado nearly pulled her out of a collapsing movie theater.
Who says that acting isn’t an adventure?
A native Texan, Lane plays the group’s tech, who uses drones and VR goggles to help save the people of her neighboring state of Oklahoma. Riding around in a van across the plains, with the likes of Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Tunde Adebimpe, Katy O'Brian and Harry Hadden-Paton – chasing storms and saving lives.
Starring in Twisters is sort of a childhood fantasy for Lane, but then again, her career has been taking off so much in recent years that she is living out lots of fantasies. The role of Lily comes hard on the heels of a head-turning gig in the acclaimed Apple+ series The Crowded Room with Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried. She’s also played significant roles in series like Utopia and Loki, as well as films like Hellboy and The Miseducation of Cameron Post.
As Twisters was being released for streaming and on demand, we caught up with Lane to find out about her life chasing Twisters.
You were basically a toddler when the original Twister movie came out. Were you familiar with it before getting involved with Twisters? Were you excited to be a part of the reboot?
Yeah, legit I grew up on Twister. We used to watch it all the time. Growing up in Texas too, it just felt like, “Oh yeah, we have tornadoes, too.” It was something that felt like you're from here, then you know about Twister. Then to be a part of Twisters… My own sisters are like, “No, I've never seen Twister” and I’m like, “Welcome to us. Welcome to our version.” So, it's cool yeah. It's super exciting to be a part of.
When originally reading the script for Twisters, what most intrigued you about the story and specifically about Lily?
The fact that she flies drones. That was this updated version of being able to collect data and the fact that it just felt like this like sick way to be like, “All right, yeah, we're going to get out there but I’m going to go around it and circle it and dive in.” I thought it was just super innovative. Even learning that that's what people do now and that they've just created so many different ways to essentially get information back to the centers and the stations and just for their own data. I just thought it was cool, and I'm so not tech savvy. I love the idea that I got to pretend for a moment that I knew.
Did you get to learn anything about the tech side of things?
Yeah, I watched a lot of videos. Watching Alex fly his drones and essentially telling about everything. It made me understand why people get so excited about them because at first, I just thought like “oh, those annoying things in the sky,” but now I'm like that's kind of cool. Especially to use it for something like what the storm chasers are doing with it, I think it's really dope.
Since this film is so much about the tornadoes and weather of Oklahoma, did you all run across any real twisters or weird weather that affected shooting?
We definitely had some crazy weather. There were so many times where our trailers were rocking and we're sending videos back and forth, like, “you feel this?” One time we were filming the scene where the entire town gets destroyed and lo and behold the entire street got destroyed seconds before filming, so it was like, “well, I guess that just saved everyone the trouble of having to go destroy everything themselves.” Tons of lightning, just a lot of good old Oklahoma weather.
Twisters is so much about special effects. As an actor, what was the toughest scene to film? Which one was the most fun?
I think the toughest scene to film, I guess for me, (chuckles) personally, when we're in the theater and we're yelling for everyone to come in and get down, get to the side. I am extremely uncomfortable in crowded spaces and all of the doors are closed. Everyone's screaming, and it just made me want to crawl into my own skin. But I'm supposed to be the one who's like, “get out, everyone!” I was begging to get flown out of that theater by that point. (laughs) I was like, “just put me on the ground and send me out, guys.”
Yeah, that was a crazy scene…
Or working outside in the pool scene – the empty pool and the tornado was coming. We were filming that in, like, December and so we're just freezing in these tiny little tank tops and shorts. It's just freezing. But, you know, it is what it is.
True…
I think the most fun for me, honestly, probably was flying. Just being on the harness and Tyler (Glen Powell’s character) having to reach out and get me. I like anything with stunts or anything that shakes it up a little bit. That was cool.
Glen is suddenly one of the biggest names in Hollywood. What were he and Daisy and the rest of the cast like to work with? You guys all looked like you were having a lot of fun there.
It was super easy to work with everyone. We're like the most well-mannered, good, light-hearted, spirited, down for the creative group of people I've ever been around. Everyone just had their own vibe, but also, we all clicked. There was no pressure to hang out but we all naturally found ourselves hanging out. Everyone was respectful, not like secretly side-eyeing [someone] being like, “we're kind of being mean to the PAs.” Everyone's mama, or dad, or grandparent – whoever raised them – raised them all just so well. They're great people.
Have you ever experienced a twister or any other natural disaster? I think you just said in Texas that you hadn't run across a twister, but have you ever been in anything like that?
Yeah. There's been times out here – hurricanes and all kinds of stuff. Hailstorms. It's so weird because I just go to sleep. There are a few times that you get woken up and you have to go hide for cover. Or I've been caught out – I'm at the park with friends and I'm booking it home and trees are flying in my face. It's a little scary but something about the intense weather just makes me mosey on up.
You grew up in neighboring Texas, so filming in Oklahoma must have been like going home almost. What was it like to film there?
I say this joke, sometimes you'll be driving in Texas, and you'll end up in Oklahoma by accident because you just went a little too far. That's really what it was. It was great because it felt familiar to me, which I really like. I was able to drive back and forth to see my daughter or meet her in the middle at a park somewhere. It felt like I didn't have to disrupt her world, but I could constantly just go back and forth not a lot of miles in. I love [the fact that] their bars have so many games. I started getting really good at darts for some random reason. Just hanging out. I was in the middle of a storm at a bar and it's just probably only three people there and they're like, “eh, it'll pass.” And I'm like, “all right, might as well go out with a gin if I'm going to go out.” It was good.
You play a very different role in The Crowded Room. Is it fun as an actor to play with all these different shades? What was that show like to be a part of?
Playing different roles is definitely something I find appealing, especially because in doing so it helps me tap into different parts of myself but with a filter, I guess. It feels like playtime… or like getting permission to daydream all day. But then you get roles like Arianna, and that’s definitely a different level of tapping in. It was terrifying at times having to be so vulnerable, having to dig so deep, but also, I found it very releasing. It made me fall in love with my work all over again. I felt truly proud to be a part of something that a lot of people put so much effort, heart, and time into creating and protecting. I’m very thankful for the Crowded Room experience.
Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: August 28, 2024.
Photo 1 © 2024. Courtesy of Mandy Kay Marketing. All rights reserved.
Photos 2-4 © 2024. Courtesy of Universal Pictures. All rights reserved.
Comments