Miki Ishikawa, Sierra McCormick, Nick Sagar and Andrew Sullivan
Share a Drink With Us
by Jay S. Jacobs
You never really think of vampires as having PTSD, but after watching I Don’t Want to Drink Your Blood Anymore, you really come to appreciate what a life-changing, traumatic thing it is to be turned.
The life (or lack of life) of Eiko (Miki Ishikawa of The Terror), a young Japanese American woman who makes the mistake of inviting a vampire into her home for a one-night-stand, becomes an eternity of melancholy and loneliness. She becomes agoraphobic, refusing to leave her home for decades because she knows that if she were to leave the house, she would not be able to resist her yearning for blood. She does not want to be a killer, so she survives on the blood of small animals, mostly cats, a solution that some viewers (this one included) will have an issue with.
Her life is just a long series of days of watching television and avoiding humanity until she makes her first friend, Jessica (Sierra McCormick of The Vast of Night), an outcast local girl who has figured out Eiko’s secret and is fascinated by the idea of spending time with a real vampire. Her solitude is also broken by the return of Douglas (Nick Sagar of the upcoming The Holiday Hitman), the vampire who originally bit her.
Right before the world premiere of I Don’t Want to Drink Your Blood Anymore, we spoke with the stars and film writer-director Andrew Sullivan on the red carpet at the Philadelphia Film Festival.
How did you come up with this idea?
Andrew Sullivan: Partly the pandemic. As much as everyone has their own opinions about it, it was just – for myself – you’d get on Zoom calls, but you wouldn’t want to be seen. Not because you didn’t want other people to see you. You didn’t want to see yourself, where there’s no reflection. You don’t want the food you were eating. You wanted something else. I’m not sure if it was 10 a.m. or Wednesday or May, right? There was just a timeline where we all had stunted growth, and so it just felt like a lot of us were reluctant vampires, right? You were told to [shelter in place]… and I believe in safety… but in doing that, you are just in a moment of inaction.
What was it about the script that, when you first read it, made you think I’ve got to do this?
Miki Ishikawa: I was really compelled by Eiko’s story and her whole experience. Fighting monsters, or more so, becoming this idea of a monster that she didn’t want to become. What it would be like to fight against this thing that people are designating you to be. Also you know it’s happening, but you’re not willing to succumb to that idea. I just love that. There are so many different layers that I would get to explore with character.
Sierra McCormick: I would say taking the very familiar idea of vampires and exploring the humanistic aspects of what it is to be a vampire, what that would be like, and what that would mean. That was something that was very appealing to me.
Nick Sagar: These two have been saying the most amazing things, I just want to repeat them.
Andrew Sullivan: Not only should you see people you don’t know and that makes strangers more strange, which is unfortunate. You might not see the people you do know, right? So it just came pretty quickly from at least where I was emotionally. That does not mean that’s where anyone else was emotionally, but where I was emotionally, that was the basis for this film.
The story balances horror and comedy and intense emotions. What parts were easiest for you to get ahold of, and which were more difficult for you to reach?
Miki Ishikawa: I will say for myself, I usually like, especially on sets, I do like being among crew and hanging out with everyone. I had to really dial it in and really learn what it was like to contain my energy. Which is a new thing for me of just being like, “Oh right, she’s not that person.” I can’t take on everyone else’s energy and what they usually bring in when you’re on a set and hanging out and stuff like that.
Andrew Sullivan: Hopefully, I did it. (laughs) The director’s being a tone cop, but the tone here changes to your point a lot, right? Like it is a very quiet internal movie when Eiko starts it. When Miki starts it. Then Sierra, as Jessica, takes over, and it’s a very different film because Jessica caught a unicorn that is a vampire, and the best part of that is no one else knows. And Eiko caught a best friend, and no one else knows. Then when Douglas comes in, they’re very different tones.
Miki Ishikawa: I had to actually really isolate myself, which is a new experience that I don’t normally do, but it did help a lot with just being able to tap into what Eiko was feeling at all times. Just the idea of feeling really lonely and isolated, and so I did a lot to isolate myself. Then it was amazing when Sierra and Nick show up and they are injecting life back into Eiko’s world.
Sierra McCormick: I got to function as the palate cleanser to some of the isolation and despair. I came in with some boisterous, excited energy. It wasn’t hard because everyone was ready to have a little bit of a break (laughs) after being so contained and on such a small, small scale, capturing the smallest, most subtle moments. Having a little bit of a break and being the effervescence a little bit for the moment was very fun. I enjoyed playing that part. (laughs again)
Nick Sagar: That’s a good question, man. Probably the fun. The most difficult part was being so “my way or the highway.” I’d like to think in real life I’m a little bit more considerate of people’s emotions, feelings, and stuff. Not to give away too much, but Douglas, he don’t give a fuck. (all laugh) That was the part that was the most fun, but also something that was a bit further away from myself.
Andrew Sullivan: You’re hoping through music, through the performances, through everything that the audience is willing to go with that. Most films are a little bit more steady tone-wise, and that’s great, and that’s amazing. To tell of the 50 years of loss and grief, and just the person just going through that, it felt like you needed to just see ups and downs very differently than just a straight tone.
When did you know that Miki and Sierra and Nick were the right people to play your roles?
Andrew Sullivan: Pretty quickly. It was about a Japanese American young woman. So we got to audition a bunch on tapes because of just the timeline thing. It just became clear, partly auditioning, but a lot more just talking to Miki. Just talking and talking because you need someone who’s comfortable being uncomfortable. You need someone who’s willing to in the quietest moments just be secure – and be insecure. To not look like you’re winning, to look like you’re losing. That’s hard.
Yes, it can be…
Andrew Sullivan: Miki was up for that challenge, which was great. Sierra and I, on the very first like call we had, it was just like, oh, she’s Jessica. It’s like when Jessica takes over, maybe Sierra takes over the whole movie setting. It was great. It was amazing. I learned so much from watching Sierra. It was great. Nick again, it was just like we had a couple calls, and it was just he has so much charisma. It’s this thing, how are you a mentor to someone who you don’t like, but you sort of like that they like you? How can you do that rock star vampire that’s the only thing that’s closer to the lore than what Eiko is? It’s just destiny. The whole crew found that with me.
You don’t want to drink blood anymore. So, what do you guys want to drink?
Sierra McCormick: I want to drink Diet Coke.
Miki Ishikawa: I’m kind of boring. I just like a nice ice-cold glass of water.
Sierra McCormick: (laughs) That’s so boring.
Miki Ishikawa: I’m thirsty. I just want water.
Sierra McCormick: What’s your water of choice? I need to know.
Miki Ishikawa: Oh, I’m not bougie. Anything. Anything near me.
Even tap, right?
Miki Ishikawa: I’ll do tap.
Sierra McCormick: In L.A.?
Miki Ishikawa: But sometimes I will crave a nice Mexican Coke.
Sierra McCormick: Oh, okay. There you go.
Miki Ishikawa: But I hardly ever do it.
Are there any vampire movies that inspired you to get ready for this film?
Miki Ishikawa: I watched everything. Bram Stoker’s original Dracula, and obviously Let the Right One In, and Interview with the Vampire. There’s just so many. I tried to watch everything to get bits and pieces of all the films. What’s the film with David Bowie? I can’t remember.
Sierra McCormick: The Hunger.
Miki Ishikawa: The Hunger. Oh yes. There are so many films that I got to watch, which was really fun. Immersing myself in the world and seeing everyone’s version of it.
Earlier you mentioned John Wanamaker’s, so I assume you’re a local.
Andrew Sullivan: Yeah, so I’m from Huntingdon Valley, so I’m halfway up. There used to be a Christmas store within there where kids could go from the train. You go in there and you pick presents to wrap for your parents.
I remember it.
Andrew Sullivan: I loved the Christmas Village. I love Philadelphia. I love that Philly, like 20 years ago, was not angry, but it was trying so hard not to go to New York, it didn’t always appear to be Philadelphia. In the past 20 years [it’s become its own wonderful thing].
How cool is it that you are being shown at your hometown film festival?
Andrew Sullivan: It’s everything to us. Our comfort of loving the city, knowing the city, and bringing the actors out and our composer and everything. It means the world to us.
Miki Ishikawa: It’s amazing.
Sierra McCormick: Oh, I love it. It’s a wonderful experience.
Nick Sagar: Actually, with the creator being from here. It’s his hometown, that’s pretty awesome. We get to see the love he has for the city too.
Andrew Sullivan: When I introduce the film, I’m going to talk about the movies I’ve seen in this venue. I saw RRR here the first time. I saw RRR here the fourth time. When Adam Naiman came with his book for the Coen Brothers and they shared Hudsucker Proxy and did Q&A, I was here that night. Sight and Sound, when they did the 100 films, I was here for Indonesia Love, and that is one of my 10 favorite films of all time.
Miki Ishikawa: Hometown pride, right?
Nick Sagar: Yeah, the hometown pride. Love it.
Andrew Sullivan: When I was 22 years old, I used to work at Allied Advertising. We worked with the movie studios, and we’d be marketing here for those films. I used to do press screenings and house screenings at the Bourse and the East. I worked for Paula back then and Bob back then. They’re great humans and great people. So the theaters that are part of this festival, I used to do screenings every week there. It’s a silly thing to talk about, but the city matters a lot to me. Being here, getting to do this, it’s the world to me.
Have you been able to explore the city at all? What do you think?
Nick Sagar: A little bit.
Sierra McCormick: I’ve been here before, so I’ve gotten to explore before. I’ve seen the Rocky stairs, but more than that, I’ve seen the Mütter Museum. That’s been my favorite so far.
Miki Ishikawa: Yeah, I was here when I was younger. Got to walk around a little bit today, so hope to come back.
What do you hope that people think when they leave this movie?
Miki Ishikawa: What do I hope? That’s a good question. I guess I want everyone to experience… we all experience loneliness at some point, and I think just how important it is to make sure you feel connected to somebody else. Connection is so important no matter what that relationship is. Just being able to reach out to somebody, or that you think about them or whatever. We all experience the same things at the end of the day. The human race, we all go through the exact same things, and I think that we’re not as isolated as we think we are. So yeah, I guess that’s what I’d want. (laughs)
Sierra McCormick: That you can take a genre film lens and tackle delicate, very humanistic subjects with it. So if someone isn’t really into horror movies necessarily, and they see this, they can see that there is a way to touch on the very delicate humanistic subjects with a genre lens.
Nick Sagar: Just no cats were harmed in the filming.
Miki Ishikawa: (laughs) Yeah. That’s important. That’s the most important.
I’m a cat daddy, so that’s really important.
Nick Sagar: Me, too.
Sierra McCormick: I’m a cat mother.
Nick Sagar: I love that. Cat daddy. I’m going to get a t-shirt.
Copyright ©2026 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 27, 2026.
Photos by Jay S. Jacobs © 2026. All rights reserved.
