Fearless and fierce: Natalie Burn on playing a strong woman in The Last Redemption

At a glance

• Working with Kevin Sorbo

• The early years with Uwe Boll

• Strong women in cinema

• Natalie Burn's favourite films

Also starring Angus MacFadyen (Braveheart), James Cosmo (Trainspotting), and Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), the film follows a band of outlaws on a quest to protect an innocent princess from a treacherous Lord and bring peace to their war-torn land. 

Speaking with STACK, Natalie Burn shares her experience with working alongside Kevin Sorbo. 

“I love Kevin Sorbo, I did not know him beforehand,” she admits. “And when I met him on set, he was such a nice person. Of course, I watched him in Hercules when I was growing up, and finally working with someone like him on set was incredible.

“He said to me ‘Oh my God, of course you totally look like Xena the Princess Warrior. You should totally play that part’,” she explains with amusement

“So, let’s call whoever owns the rights and push for that,” she adds, laughing. The guy to speak to would be The Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi, of course, who we jokingly offer to connect her with. 

“Yes, Sam Raimi. That’s right! Sam, hello. Please watch The Last Redemption!”

Burn is no stranger to this genre, having started her career with polarising German director Uwe Boll in BloodRayne: The Third Reich (2011) and In the Name of the King: Two Worlds (2011). When asked about the appeal of the genre, she doesn’t hesitate to respond.

“That’s easy. Strong women!” she says proudly. “Powerful women. Strong and determined who at the end, whether they succeed or not, they have the power of love and hope, and family and the will to go on.

“I’m like that in real life. You know, I hopefully pursue my career as aggressively as I am on screen. I love the motivation behind those women. And I hope that when young actresses watch movies like this, they get motivated by characters like that.”

When asked which characters motivated her at a young and impressionable age, she was - again - quick out of the gates with her reply. 

“It was King Kong. I loved King Kong with Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange. I love Jessica Lange in that. The emotional ending, the love story, it had it all. And I would think, ‘Oh my God, I would die to be in the movie like that. It really changed my perspective and made me want to be on the screen like that.”

Given the theme of our conversation, it came as no surprise to learn that her ultimate comfort viewing is Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and James Cameron’s epic sequel Aliens (1986).

“I’m a huge sci-fi fan, and horror movies are number one for me. I love them. There’s nothing that makes me nervous and I don’t have to think. When I’m watching these movies nothing else matters.

"Like, if I’m watching an emotional movie then I’ll cry, and I don’t like that” she says with amusement. So, if I want to completely switch off, I have to watch a horror movie. And Alien and Aliens are probably my top ones."