In 2006, director Christophe Gans brought the first Silent Hill adaptation to the big screen. Twenty years later, he's back for more with Return to Silent Hill, a sequel that promises to be scarier than ever before. The movie, which is an adaptation of the original Silent Hill 2 video game, stars Jeremy Irvine as James Sunderland and Hannah Emily Anderson as Mary Crane.
While Anderson's main role in the film is Mary Crane, she also gets the privilege of portraying multiple other characters, including Angela and Maria.
In an exclusive interview, The Direct sat down with Hannah Emily Anderson to discuss her experience bringing Mary Crane to life and entering the disturbing world of Silent Hill, an original franchise that is still going strong today.
"It was really daunting at first," Anderson noted regarding the fact that she plays multiple roles in the movie. The actress explained that she's "never done anything like this," but that the entire experience "was really freeing, in a way, because [she] got to bring all of [herself] and then some."
She explained how "every single piece" of the experience was a challenge, and that "there really wasn't a time when I felt super comfortable" since she was being challenged each and every day. According to Anderson, "it really did demand more of me than any other project has."
Hannah Emily Anderson's role in Return to Silent Hill might have actually been fate, since she first saw the original Christophe Gans film when she "was like 15 or 16 in theaters." The experience "absolutely terrorized" her, and when she got to re-enter that world for the sequel, "[she] was sort of right back in that headspace."
More of Hannah Emily Anderson's interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim can be read below. Return to Silent Hill debuts in theaters on January 23, 2026.
Return to Silent Hill Was a Daunting Challenge for Hannah Emily Anderson
"I've Never Done Anything Like This."
- The Direct: "You also get to play multiple characters in this film. What was it like bringing something unique to each of them and making sure they felt separate?"
Hannah Emily Anderson: It was really daunting at first, because I've done a lot of horror, but I've never done anything like this. But it was really freeing, in a way, because I got to bring all of myself and then some, and really use my imagination in a way that I never had before. And it was so fun to transform physically... Like the hair, makeup, and costume, I tend to work from the inside out as an actor. So to have all that put on top at the end does just so much work for you. But it was really, really fun, especially with the prosthetics.
- The Direct: "How familiar with the games and this world were you before boarding the project?"
Anderson: I had seen the first 'Silent Hill' that Christophe directed when I was like 15 or 16 in theaters. I was absolutely terrorized by that, and those images were just burned into my brain. So when I got the audition for it, it was like I was sort of right back in that headspace.
I didn't realize when I saw the first one that it was even based on a game until I got into this project. I did play a little bit of the game. I'm a terrible gamer. I'm someone who, like, holds the control [poorly]... So, I just watched some gameplay when I was auditioning, just to get a sense of the game world and a bit of backstory on Mary. But that's kind of it.
- The Direct: "As an actor, you tend to put yourself into your roles. So for Mary, what do you feel like you added to that character that maybe wasn't originally on the page when it was first pitched to you?"
Hannah Emily Anderson: I'm a very deeply emotional, deeply, highly sensitive person. So, I brought all of that to Mary, and I think there's a real sense of emotional intelligence and strength behind Mary at every turn. And I think that I brought a lot of my own stuff for that, and just, you know, all the colors of the rainbow really—like, rage, the deepest anger, love, all these deep, dark things were generated from me. So I think if someone else were playing this character would have brought their own personal history.
- The Direct: "Was there ever a point on set that it maybe felt a little too real, or it was just pretty creepy?"
Hannah Emily Anderson: I mean, they really filled out the whole world for us. So there were a few points. One that comes to mind is just being chased down a really dark hallway by the nurses. Those were the monsters in the first film that really got me like that. I remember just watching the first film behind my hands, [terrified].
And then there were certain times where it was just really dark emotionally, and as an actor, I think I want to make it feel as if I, not that I'm method or anyting, but I want to make it feel as real for myself as possible. And I think when you go to that deep, dark place, sometimes it's a little harder to get out of it. So, I think we were all a bit emotionally trained.
- The Direct: "Are there any particular creatures in that world that you had the best time filming with?"
Hannah Emily Anderson: The armless creature was really fun. She's this gorgeous Italian woman named Julia, an incredible dancer, and she's hilarious. I mean, she was just like, in between takes, she'd pull her mask down, and she would just be joking and laughing around, and she was like, super flexible. She would just, like, throw a leg up in the air. And she really was the complete opposite of the character she was playing. Robert, who plays Pyramid Head, was talking about how funny it was to just see him sitting there chilling like having a cup of coffee.
- The Direct: "Were there any fun deleted scenes or references that you know of that maybe were filmed or talked about that just didn't make the cut?"
Hannah Emily Anderson: I'm laughing because there was supposed to be a sex scene at one point, and it was choreographed like a dance, almost, and they kept having to kind of push it, and Jeremy and I kept being like, 'We don't have to film one today!'
And then eventually, when we got to Munich after Serbia, they told us separately, at one point, that the scene was being cut, and we were just texting each other like, 'Oh my God, thank God. Let's go out and have some beer and shit!' So I think we did celebrate.
- The Direct: "Making a film is a very challenging experience. There are a lot of road bumps and things to learn. With 'Silent Hill,' compared to everything you've done in the past, what is the most unexpected challenge that you faced on that film that you really hadn't seen before?"
Hannah Emily Anderson: Really, all of it. Every single piece. There really wasn't a time when I felt super comfortable, and it was always kind of like, how is this going to happen, and how am I going to do this? What is this going to look like? And I did a lot of my own stunts, and that was new for me. I was sort of contorting my body in really strange ways, and it really did demand more of me than any other project has.
