The first notable difference between Nell Tiger Free in a Zoom interview from London and Sister Margaret Daino, the novitiate she plays in ‘The First Omen” prequel, is her distinctive, lovely British accent.
Margaret, Free explains, has never been out of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, until she journeys to Rome for the Catholic ceremony that will confirm her vocation as a nun and make her a “Bride of Christ.”
As for her easy ability to sound American, “For some reason, I kind of just do that. For like, six or seven years in the industry. I’ve been playing Americans so long that I don’t even really know what my real accent sounds like.
“Sometimes I sound like this when I’m speaking. Sometimes very different. It just depends on the day really. If I’m in the States for too long,” Free, 24, said with a laugh, “I start to sound American when I come home and my friends are like, What?”
If it seems strange to be making this elaborate, spectacularly violent prequel to a movie made 48 years ago, “The First Omen” links perfectly with its now-classic horror predecessor that saw the boy Damien fulfill prophecy to become the Antichrist.
“That film endures,” she said, having seen “The Omen” multiple times, “because it’s stood the test of time. That’s down to excellent direction and performances. It feels like Class A horror.
“It’s a fantastic film, not just a fantastic horror film. It gets the balance perfect with striking imagery and an unsettling energy that lingers. That’s why it just keeps getting revisited again and again.”
Befitting a film where the Devil is busily at work, Margaret is possessed, Free said, “always with this undercurrent of worry.
“Even when you see my happiest moments, there’s an unconscious edge. Because she’s been told from when she was a child not to trust the things that she sees.
“She’s been told that so many times it makes it hard to trust these dark visions she has. She has a hard time to trust the good feelings, too.
“Coming to Rome is the first time she’s ever been anywhere else. So there are moments of levity and lightness with Margaret. But there’s always this dark thing that swims underneath the surface and it becomes pretty evident why that is when we spend more time with her.”
Bill Nighy’s American Cardinal is with Margaret in Rome.
“He’s been taking care of her from when she was a little girl. He’s one of the only people she really trusts. So it’s quite a heartbreaking turn of events when things start to change.”
“The First Omen” opens April 5