We're very proud to make this precious interview with an awesome actress and a special person: Najarra Townsend.

Q: Your name sounds really special, where is It coming from?

Thank you! My mom made it up. I don’t know how she came up with it but she’s always told me she just made it up. I still haven’t met another Najarra so it’s kind of cool to be the only one.

Q: Are you working on something new? What will be your next movie??

I have a few films in post production currently that are set to be released towards the end of this year and next year. BITS, THE DEVIL MAKES THREE and NFT. And the good news is they’re all horror movies!

Q: We recently saw Contracted: phase one… and it’s awesome. Do you think it is specifically difficult to perform in horror movies compared with the other ones?

Horror movies are usually high intensity as well as emotionally and physically demanding. They definitely tend to be more difficult on your body I would say. Not only are you usually playing scared or in some kind of distress, which takes a toll on yourself because the body doesn’t necessarily know it’s not real, but it also takes a toll on you physically because often there is makeup and prosthetics involved as well as stunts on top of night shoots which are common on horror films. There are so many elements that make it a challenging genre. It’s also why they are so much fun to make and watch. 

Q: What kind of relationship do you have with sleep? Do you sleep on a regular schedule?

When I’m not working I sleep on a pretty regular schedule. I love sleep and I always make sure I get plenty of it. However, when I’m on a job sleep schedules totally disappear. It all becomes dependent on the films schedule. Night shoots are the hardest as I don’t think you can ever get quality sleep during the day. One of the films I did in the last few years had a schedule of 24 days of night shoots and that was rough. 

Q: How has your life changed since becoming an actress? Do people treat you differently?

I’ve been acting since I was a child so I’ve never really known anything else. Most of my closest friends are also on the industry so it all feels really normal to me. I’m also not well known enough to be getting recognised in my local grocery store or at a restaurant etc. so I lead a pretty normal life when I’m not working which is really nice. 

Q: If you had to start over with another job what would you choose?

Probably a musician. I love music. Making records and touring sounds like such a dream time. I think I would always choose something creative. I can’t imagine a life in which I’m not in entertainment. I used to think it would have been really fun to get into psychology or be a forensic detective or something. But ideally I’ll just play one on screen. 

Q: Speaking of music, are you a music enthusiast? Do you listen to it regularly? Does it help inspire you in your work?

Music has always been another passion of mine. I have music on all the time in my personal life. I’ve made music as well at numerous times in my life.
Music deeply helps me with my character development when preparing for a role. I usually make a music playlist for my character. It will consist of music I think fits the mood of the film, songs that get me in a certain headspace for specific scenes and songs that I feel my character would like. I find music to be a fantastic way to evoke many feelings. It is an incredibly important tool for me. 

Q: What is your opinion on paranormal phenomena and ghosts?

I think I believe in it all. When I was younger I definitely believed in ghosts because of a few experiences I had. I think when we’re young we are much more open to those things and as we grow up our ability to connect with that energy is closed off. Even though it’s been a long time since I’ve had any personal experiences with the supernatural, I still believe. 

Q: Have you ever had an unexplained experience?

I’ve had a couple. One really intense one when I was a teenager that made me certain ghosts existed. But with time I’ve questioned whether or not some of my experiences were actually spirits or just tricks of my mind. It can be hard to tell sometimes. The mind is so powerful. 

Q: Our audience want to know about your horror tastes… what’s your favorite horror movie and, if possible, your favorite director?

One of my favourites has always been ROSEMARYS BABY. I even wrote a piece about it for the book “My Favorite Horror Movie”.
I also think THE DESCENT is a great film. Really terrifying. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is also one of my favourites. 
And as far as favourite horror director, I probably have to go with Wes Craven. He’s directed numerous horror films I love including the SCREAM franchise. 

Q: What scares you the most in life?

Spiders. 

Q: Share a dream with us. About your work or anything else.

I really hope I get to a place in my career where I can help up and coming filmmakers make their films. I’ve come across a few scripts in my life that never got made because the financing never came through and it’s so frustrating to see all that potential never come to fruition. I’d love to get more involved with the producing side of things and help finance people’s films that I believe in. It’s definitely my dream to make other people’s dreams come true. 

It was such a great experience to have this interview with Najarra. She's a really talented actress and a beautiful true person.

Here is a list of pages related to her:

Najarra Townsend Instagram Page
Najarra IMDB Page
Najarra Facebook Page