Shuna Sassi's Christine McCorkindale

[darkglobe]

So, whatever happened to Christine McCorkindale, the actress who played Shuna Sassi? I found a little fan page for her:

www.geocities.com/womenofhorror/nightbreed.html

but that page or IMDb doesn't have any further listed info for the actress. I have a guess, in that she was more of something other than an actress to fill the part; either she was a stuntperson who would be willing to undergo the extreme makeup, or she was a professional modern dance person who could give something extra to the way she moved. Maybe somebody has an interview or an article that lists a little more about this person who brought the unique Shuna to life...

[Baphomette]

I found a "Women Of Horror" forum thread after doing a google search for her that claimed to have a copy of a message she'd written, possibly to IMDB because they'd spelled her name improperly:

: I was at a dinner party in Cambridge, MA,
: the other night and started telling my friends
: about my 'other life' as a dancer and physical
: theater artist in England. They freaked when
: I told them I played Shuna Sassi in Nightbreed
: and said I should look up my character on the
: web. It's great to know that I, too, have a
: place on the web and fans, but as usual,
: find that my name has been misspelled. Sorry
: to be pedantic, but the above spelling is
: correct. Better fix it or I will have to come
: after you - I still have a few quills....
: If you don't believe me, I'd be happy to send
: a photo of myself having a beer with my
: long-suffering make-up guys.

: Thanks for making my day

It'd be interesting to find out what she's doing now, but given that information (if it was truly written by her), she was likely hired because of her dancing/theatre experience. If I stumble across anything else, I'll be sure to post it or something about it though.

[darkglobe]

In a way, I'm not too surprised that they'd go for somebody who was a dancer - with a costume as exotic as that, a dancer would be a good choice for somebody who can move and make meaningful a character largely with body language. As I recall, she only has a handful of dialogue throughout the film.

I hope she reads this thread on the net and has the interest to tell us about making the film, her cut scenes, and what she thinks of it now.

Thanks for the research!

[dante]

Yeah, thanks for that. Great bit of trivia there!

[DevilInYourBelfry]

On a little side note I was looking at the Women of Horror website and I thought I'd tell you guys many Halloweens ago I was able to meet Janet Leigh at a special screening of "Psycho" at The Fox Theater in my home town of Atlanta,Georgia. We were able to ask her questions about the movie, working with Hitchcock, and things like that. It was a fun experience. My brother, who was attending the Atlanta College of Art at the time, was able to get us tickets through the school. I'll always thank him for that. One day I will return the favor.