UNSUNG HEROES - EPISODE SIX: DON'T CRY FOR ME, ANNIE GLOOM

Hello, my name is Justine S Harrison, and I play Annie Gloom in the superhero themed webseries, Unsung Heroes. Over the years I’ve had the good fortune to be both an associate and friends of the creator of the show, Devin Peacock. I first met him in 2011, and at the time the idea for the series was already launched. Devin then went on to improve and produce the first part of the idea, and in 2016 we completed reshoots and have recently released all of the episodes.





To me, my character of Annie Gloom is the type of person that uses her dark powers to make people she dislikes either cry or feel depressed. Overall I'd say she has a pretty multi-faceted personality, which is very exciting to think about, considering where she can go from season one onwards.

Her best friend is a doll name Pepper who she talks to constantly and with whom she shares all of her secrets. It's been very interesting, playing off of an inanimate object, as Pepper is a very special part of Annie’s character because she highlights her antisocial behavior. In  fact, she can relate more to the doll than she can to the rest of the Unsung Heroes! But hopefully she will eventually move forward and grow and learn to let people in!

It’s also been fun playing a goth character because there’s a lot to experiment with regarding style. Annie wears big, tall, black boots that are fun to wear (since I’d never wear them in my real life), plus we're also exploring more wardrobe ideas (so she’s not always wearing the same thing). We are excited about the opportunities that Annie’s costumes and wardrobe can bring to the character and to the series.

When we reshot my scene in 2016, we used the same location as the original shoot, which took place years before. The first shoot was in July and it was extraordinarily hot that day, as I remember needing a lot of water and the fans had to be turned up to the max -- what with me wearing a long sleeve dress and leggings in such humid weather.

What's so funny about this is that the 2016 reshoot was at the opposite end of the spectrum. It was May, so the weather should’ve been very nice, which it was, for some of the other scenes, but when we got to mine the weather changed! Halfway through my reshoot it started to downpour. During the original shoot the problem was that I was wearing too many clothes, but now, in this shoot, I wasn't wearing enough! I was very cold and it was very rainy, yet we managed to power through it and the scene ended up being awesome! If anything, the cold, dark, brooding sky helped me get in touch with my Annie Gloom side, namely, that side housing her darkness and her terror! I think Annie Gloom would love a gray sky and rainy weather, which, luckily for her, she got via the reshoot!

It’s been a fun ride being involved with Unsung Heroes as a series regular. Here and there I've been helping Devin out with some production / producer issues, and it's very exciting to see this series develop and take shape. In fact, this has made me look forward to delving deeper into the stories of Annie Gloom and the other Unsung Heroes, and I can’t wait to learn more about all the characters and meet the new ones in season 2. Before then, however, here, check this out...

This article was brought to you by Justine S Harrison. For more information, please check out her website and twitter pages.