Emmy-Raver Lampman Talks Gatlopp And Umbrella Academy Season 3 - Exclusive Interview
Emmy-Raver Lampman's performance as Allison in "The Umbrella Academy" has garnered her a huge amount of fans, and rightfully so. 2022 is a particularly busy time for star, as the third season of "The Umbrella Academy" is about to hit Netflix, and Lampman is gearing up for the release of "Gatlopp," a supernatural comedy co-starring Jon Bass, Sarunas J. Jackson, and Jim Mahoney.
"Gatlopp," which is Swedish for "gauntlet," follows a group of old friends who meet up for the first time in a decade, and decide to play a drinking game. However, the game is not what they anticipate, and the night quickly takes a supernatural turn. In fact, the group finds out that unless they can win the game by sunrise, they'll be stuck playing forever — in hell. The movie's four leads have amazing chemistry, along with perfect comic timing, and viewers are sure to be surprised by this creepy comedy.
The List caught up with Emmy-Raver Lampman to talk about filming "Gatlopp," playing Allison in "The Umbrella Academy," and what it was like working with Channing Tatum on "Dog."
Emmy-Raver Lampman is a big fan of board games
"Gatlopp" has such a fun and unexpected premise. How did you get involved in the movie?
I was approached by Alberto [Belli], the director, and Jim [Mahoney, the writer]. They sent along the script and were like, "We have this wacky and wild game movie that we would love for you to be a part of. Read the script and let us know how you feel." I read it and was immediately on board. I grew up playing board games and exclusively; I didn't have the PlayStations or the Nintendos or any of that. I played a lot of board games in my life and "Jumanji" is one of my favorite movies.
It had all these little connective tissues to my personal life, and I also loved the relationship between these four characters. These four friends, the dynamics that are going on and the bits of the stories about where they are in their life and what's going on, [and what] you start to uncover as the movie unfolds, was really exciting to me. I was immediately excited to be a part of it.
Yeah, you're right. It's like "Jumanji," but with alcohol.
What could be better?
Emmy-Raver Lampman would love a Gatlopp sequel
"Gatlopp" has such an amazing ensemble cast. What was it like working with that group?
We still have a message chain that we're on at least once a week. I feel like it was such a bonding experience because of when we shot it, the end of the summer of 2020, there was a lot going on in the world. We shot this movie in 12 days. It was so fast and furious, and we had to immediately pull off this connection that these four friends have that is decades old. Alberto did an incredible job of casting the movie.
Truly, Jim and Jon [Bass] and Sarunas [J. Jackson] are incredible humans and we had the best time. I mean it when I say I have not laughed that hard on a movie set or a TV set in my whole life. We laughed from the morning until night and really got to enjoy the ridiculousness of the scenarios that we were being put in and what was being asked of us and had such a good time. We still all hang out and get dinner and talk all the time. I'm so grateful for the relationships that came out of that for me.
Are you hoping for a sequel, then, so you can work with them again?
Oh my God, that would be amazing ... Sarunas and Jon, right before lockdown, had shot another movie together, that I don't think they ended up finishing, or maybe they did, I can't remember. This was their second time working together, and we would all love to work together again. A sequel would be out of this world.
Playing Allison in The Umbrella Academy is 'thrilling'
What can fans expect from your character, Allison, in "The Umbrella Academy" Season 3?
Allison is really surprising this season. We're going to see a very different side of her that we haven't seen before, which, as an actor, was so fun to play because we've gotten to know Allison really well over the past two seasons and this season's adding a layer to her that we've never really seen before, which is extremely exciting and was thrilling and really fun to dive into. Also, we've got a whole new family of superheroes that is bringing quite the drama to the Umbrella family. The showdown between the Umbrellas and the Sparrows is really fun and really entertaining and this might be our best season yet. It's really exciting, and there's so much going on.
Are you hoping "The Umbrella Academy" continues? Is Allison a character you'd like to keep playing?
Oh yeah. It's been such a joy to be on this journey with Steve [Blackman], our showrunner, and Netflix and UCP and this cast. The fans of the show are so incredible and so loyal and I've truly enjoyed getting to play Allison. I owe so much to her and this part because I'd never set foot in front of a camera before, until day one of "Umbrella Academy." This is the thing that introduced me into TV and film and made me fall in love with it. I've learned so much and I've grown so much as a person, but also as an actor and I'm so grateful for it. As long as the fans will have us, we're all down for more Umbrella madness.
Meeting the Obamas during Hamilton was 'insane'
Aside from TV, you're an amazing Broadway performer and you were in the original production of "Hamilton," and you went on tour with the show. Do you have any standout moments from being part of that?
It was getting to meet the Obamas on multiple occasions, that we were on a first name basis with the Obamas. That was insane, getting to go to the White House and perform for them. So many unbelievable people came through that theater, and when I was on tour, we got to sing the National Anthem for Game 7 of the Warriors finals in 2017 and they won that night and it was insane. [There are many] unbelievable people that I've met, but honestly, at the end of the day, the thing that I remember the most are the relationships that it brought into my life.
Some of my best friends came from working on that show and being in that building with those people and going through it. Everything about "Hamilton" was unexpected. All of it. I almost didn't audition for it. No one saw it coming; no one saw what ended up being "Hamilton." We all, as a cast, experienced this really unique thing that will never happen again in our lifetime, I don't think. It was the people that it brought into my life. I'm forever grateful for that experience.
Channing Tatum is a 'kind and funny' director
I recently watched "Dog." What was it like working on Channing Tatum's first movie as a director?
I'm such a fan. He is so lovely. [He] and his directing and writing partner Reid [Carolin], they co-wrote and co-directed the movie together. I take my hat off to Channing because it's hard enough being the lead of a movie. I can't imagine being the lead of the movie that also deals with the main other actor in the movie, who is an animal. I can't even imagine — that's unpredictable, that is so unknown, but he put in so much work with the three dogs that he worked with and with Reid. Not only was he the lead actor and doing every scene in the movie playing opposite, an actual living, breathing dog, but he was also directing himself in this movie.
I'm so wowed by him. He was everything that you would hope that he would be and you hope [for] any actor that's been on the big screen for years and years. He was so personable and kind and funny and enjoyable. I only was on set for three days. It was a very quick process, but he made everyone feel so comfortable and at home. It was a really awesome experience. I would work for him on another movie he's directing any day.
"Gatlopp" is available to watch on demand and on digital from June 23, 2022.
This interview has been edited for clarity.