Newcomer Gia De Sauvage on Debut Thriller and Her Admiration for Gena Rowlands

Gia De Sauvage is just starting her career onscreen, but she already has a model for the path she’d like to follow.

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“I just absolutely adore Gena Rowlands, and I would love to have a career like hers,” the newcomer says.

She makes her debut in the new television movie, Nightmare in the Desert , the first of the cable network’s fall slate. The film is inspired by true events and sees De Sauvage as a young woman, Shae, returning home with her fiancé Chris (Tristan J. Watson) following the death of her father. The pair take a hike and the trouble begins as a man tracks them during the journey.

“It felt like a big family,” De Sauvage explains about the experience. “We all got along so well, and they were joking that it feels like going to summer camp.”

De Sauvage also saw it as an exercise in digging into the different parts of filmmaking. “I learned so much about the technical side of acting.”

While De Sauvage notes she enjoyed working on a thriller, there are several genres she hopes to try. Referring to herself as a student of film, the actress is constantly watching movies. “I love every genre. My favorite movie of all time is The Notebook ,” she says of one of Rowlands’ later films.

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In talking about her admiration for the late actress , De Sauvage shares a touching story about watching Rowlands’ work. “After her passing two weeks ago, I watched A Woman Under the Influence for the first time, and that really inspired me and moved me as an artist,” she says. “I just think that she brings so much vulnerability and complexity to each role that she takes on, and to me, that’s what a great artist does.”

Looking ahead, De Sauvage hopes to use what she’s learned on Nightmare in the Desert as she continues through her career. “The director and the crew were just so gracious with me and allowed me to have the space to learn,” she says. “I just felt completely supported throughout the film.”

De Sauvage hopes to pay that kindness back as she continues working. “If I can ever help another actor in the future on a project, I always want to be there for them and give them that space to learn if it’s their first time working on a film,” she begins, adding she’s grateful to have had that experience from the film’s director Sam Irvin. “To provide a safe space for every other actor on all of the shoots that I do going forward is very important to me.”

Nightmare in the Desert premieres on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 8 p.m. ET.

Critic's Appreciation: Gena Rowlands, a Woman of Influence