RAG DOLL EXCLUSIVE Interview: WEEDS And THE RING Actress Stephanie Erb Discusses Her Role

Whether or not mixed martial arts -- or more specifically, female mixed martial arts -- Rag Doll likely has something to offer you. With a plot that circles around not only MMA, but also focuses heavily on mental health and cancer in a big and unexpected way.

Featuring a cast that consists of Shannon Murray (The Caterpillar's Kimono, Ninja Turtles: Blood Brothers), Dante Basco (Hook, Avatar: The Last Airbender), Dot Marie-Jones (Glee, Boondock Saints), and Stephanie Erb (The Ring, Weeds, Ray Donovan). The latter of which is the focus of our article today, as we are breaking down an exclusive interview with Erb herself.

Prior to this interview, we provided our review of Rag Doll as well as an exclusive intervie with the producer and leading actress from the film Shannon Murray. Now that we've had the incredible opportunity to speak with Stephanie Erb, however, we're very excited to share it with you! Take a look below to see her comments for yourself!

Joe: Your character in Rag Doll faces stage four Cancer as well as suicidal tendencies. Are these things that you pull from real life experience through people you care for or is it something you had to get into character with?

Stephanie Erb: At a young age, I lost a dear (and very young) family friend to cancer. I think it always struck me as being unfair, infuriating, and completely baffling. Of course, since then I have had many friends and loved ones deal with the insidiousness of this disease. I think one often has to use one’s imagination truly to embody the pain and enervation involved with fighting for life itself, but if you have ever been so sick you just get through each moment of your life one at a time (and I have been at times,) you can understand this journey to a certain extent. I consider myself somewhat empathic and when someone is ill or in peril, I have ample amounts of sympathy, anguish and concern for them. When reading the role of Catherine, I felt so much for her. I loved her and hurt for her. As for suicide, I think Catherine mostly considers suicide as a way to relieve her daughter of pain and responsibility and a method to escape her own torment. I can understand that. Not sure I would have the instinct to do the same thing, but I understand it.

Joe: Were you aware of the film's twist ending from the beginning or was it kept from you in order to preserve the most genuine scenes possible?

Stephanie Erb: I was always aware of the ending. I think an actor must always “forget” the end of a piece to be in the moment of each scene. You can inadvertently “play the end” and that is not excellent work, or particularly interesting work. So a good actor will just… lose awareness of where things go.

Joe: Compared to your work on other shows and films such as Ray Donovan, Weeds, and The Ring, how would you compare the role of Catherine?

Stephanie Erb: Well, I think Catherine offered me the opportunity to be a lot of things at once… a both sympathetic and somewhat repellant character who makes you laugh AND cry. I always look for the humor in my work if I can (as I did in all of the above projects you mention.) However, you often have limited time to explore many levels of a character in a supporting role on TV or film. Catherine had a lot of scenes - and different kinds of scenes. I really appreciated her multi-faceted nature and that is what made me want to portray her in Rag Doll.

Joe: Were you a fan of MMA prior to taking on this role in Rag Doll or is this something that you had to familiarize yourself with beforehand?

Stephanie Erb: I knew nothing about MMA before I took on this role. And with Shannon and Bailey’s help, I learned some things, yes … of course Catherine is really dubious about the whole thing as a sport or a way to “make one’s mark,” so my role itself required little research (or working out, thank goodness.)

Joe: Your character is one of those who has reached the point of not caring, and thus she has some of the best lines in the film. Were these all written for you or did you lend your own brand of humor to some of the cursing bits?

Stephanie Erb: Awww, thank you for saying that about “ best lines." It is true indeed that I did some riffing as Catherine and those riffs, primarily funny bits, ended up onscreen. Darren wrote a role that definitely had some GREAT snarky humor, but Bailey let me have my way with some sections and for that I am very grateful. Catherine’s humor is one way we can have a bit of a release in what are some sad, scary or violent situations in the movie. And yes, Bailey kept in my exclamation of “dickweed” which makes me chortle to this day.

What do you think of these comments from actress Stephanie Erb? Let us know your thoughts in the usual spot and be sure to check out the poster and trailer for the MMA-based film below!

Nora is that girl: the one who works overtime, helps out her family by all means, and leaves little for herself. She can't even fathom a love interest. But with her one free hour a day, she takes out life's hardships at the local mixed martial arts gym, where she is no longer who she is, if just for that hour.

When complications in her real life cause it to crumble, she is led to enter a championship tournament as a novice. Nora must learn not just what she is fighting for, but what she is actually fighting against!