With its gripping tension and emotional complexity, Lifetime’s new thriller Girl Taken has viewers buzzing—and one of the standout performances belongs to Canadian-born actor Eric Hicks. In the film, Hicks plays Perry, a man whose desperate yearning for connection pushes him into murky, morally grey territory.
SpoilerTV’s Kim Rogers caught up with Eric to talk about what it took to step into Perry’s emotionally volatile shoes, the real-life experiences that shaped his performance, and the lessons he’s taking with him from this role—and from life itself.
Finding Ground in ChaosWhen Eric Hicks first read the script for Girl Taken, he knew right away he was in for a wild ride.
“Oh man,” he said, laughing. “When I finally got the full script, I was like, ‘Oh… oh!’ It was juicy, but also like—how are we gonna do this?”
Even before diving into the full script, Eric had a sense of the emotional stakes from the audition scenes. But once the entire story unfolded, it became clear this wasn’t going to be a light lift.
“You book the role, and then you realize—you have to go there now. Emotionally. Mentally. Some of the places you have to take yourself are not easy. That’s the work.”
Still, for Eric, there’s comfort in the doing. Instead of getting lost in the overwhelm, he grounded himself in preparation.
“I just get to work,” he said. “I read that script front to back as many times as I can, trying to get the story and the plot in my brain, but also being open, knowing that they’re guaranteed going to do script rewrites. The story is going to change.
And change it did. A major rewrite arrived just one day before filming a scene: a character originally written as Perry’s friend, Kyle, was suddenly killed off. That meant Eric had to completely reframe Perry’s relationships and emotional motivations—overnight.
“It’s like a knife to the gut,” he said. “that guy that I thought was my best friend is now dead. But you know, you are constantly changing the plot in your mind and trying to adjust and it’s a fast moving machine, but that’s the beauty of it. It is nice to be challenged, it really is.”
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To understand Perry, Eric had to build him from the inside out. That meant constructing a rich backstory—one that, while never explicitly shown, informed every line, look, and silence.
“I made it in my mind that Perry was lacking family roots. He was always an independent kind of cat trying to make stability in his life in a way that he never had growing up,” Eric explained.
It’s this internal void that drives Perry’s every decision—and misstep.
“Perry just wants family, he really craves stability, he craves family, he craves community, but its just not the bedrock of his foundation. He doesn’t know how to function in that world. And so the actions that he takes are all just, you know, a little misguided although well intentioned” Eric said.
Eric layered Perry’s emotional world with principles from Vipassana meditation retreats, which he’s done himself—10 days of silence and self-inquiry. One of the key lessons he brought into the role was the concept of “clinging” as the root of suffering.
“Perry likes this, he wants more of it, he is clinging and craving, he doesn’t want to let go of this. That’s the source of all of our misery as opposed to accepting things exactly as they are just being in the moment, moment to moment to moment, it is what it is accepted.”
Channeling Real PainPreparing for Perry’s intense emotional scenes required Eric to tap into personal experiences—most profoundly, his relationship with his father.
“My dad is my best friend in the world. We have these open, honest communication. It is such a deep, beautiful love that I’ve never had with another man before and you know, my dad got sick a few years go, he had a psychotic break. Mental illness is a real thing and when you experience it firsthand, it’s really difficult to witness, especially when its someone you love most in life. So for me, that’s just a well of emotion, this deep love and to not have my father in my life anymore, is my biggest nightmare.” That pain—of loving someone fiercely and fearing their loss—became the emotional anchor for Perry’s desperation.
“So I just bring that vulnerability into Perry. To lose Dani, to lose their child—it is something I will fight against to keep, I will do whatever it takes to keep that and I have to open that part of myself up when doing the actual scene work, so that I can understand emotionally what state of desperation he’s in. I allowed myself to be available and to be willing to be damaged and hurt and vulnerable in that sense.”
© 2025 Corus Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.A Scene That Broke Him Open
One moment in particular pushed Eric outside of his comfort zone: a pivotal scene when Perry is confronted by Detective Henrique at the farm. Beneath Perry’s calm exterior, panic brews—his world is unraveling.
Hicks explains that Perry had to put on a mask in that moment.
“You have to act like nothing’s wrong, but underneath, it’s just panic. And so to have that calm intensity with Henrique, have intense moments played off casual and then the following scene where you know, I come in the house and Dani’s asking me what’s wrong.” he said.
That moment led into a private breakdown scene between Perry and his partner Dani, which Eric said was essential for showing Perry’s humanity.
“The audience needed to see that moment of Perry actually panicking and losing it. You see all of it come to the surface for the first time and you realize how desperate he is. He is going through his own suffering. We all have our own demons to battle in life. There is a humanity to even the darkest of times and the darkest of characters and the brightest of characters that they all have. We are all complex humans with a whole array of emotions.”
Lessons in Love—and Missed Opportunities
Though proud of the performance, Eric was candid about a scene he wishes he’d approached differently—a dinner table moment that, in his eyes, missed the chance to show more of Perry’s love for Dani.
“I felt Perry was too moody and too judgmental and a little too harsh. That was an opportunity for him to really open his heart and connect with her and have a heart to heart and I kind of missed that opportunity,” he admitted.
It’s a reflection that speaks to Eric’s ongoing evolution as an artist—and a human.
“You’re always kind of learning and navigating as you go through the filmmaking process.”
The Takeaway: Three Simple Words
Asked to sum up Girl Taken in just three words, Eric didn’t hesitate:
“Have more understanding.”
He elaborated, “Everyone’s going through something. You never know what pain someone’s carrying. And when you understand that—it takes away judgment. It helps you navigate life with more compassion.”
Whether you see Eric Hicks as a rising star or a fully-formed talent finally getting his due, one thing is clear: his portrayal of Perry in Girl Taken is a haunting, human, and deeply nuanced performance that will stay with viewers long after the final scene.
Girl Taken is now streaming on Lifetime. Don’t miss it!
