Isabela Merced spills on her love for "gory horror" and how the 'Saw' franchise was a seed that eventually led for her to be cast in 'Alien: Romulus.' She also hopes that the potential success of 'Alien: Romulus' will help open the door for more women of color being cast in leading roles.
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00:00We've seen you do action, comedy, drama, but this is your first horror movie.
00:04What made you want to step into this genre?
00:07You know what?
00:08I'd never been set out to, you know, I want to do a horror movie right now.
00:13I think, in my mind, horror sort of always tended to lean towards, like, demonic stuff
00:18and, like, the spiritual stuff, and I'm, like, scared of that.
00:21So for this to be my first horror movie is really cool because it's right up my alley.
00:25Like, I love gore.
00:26I love, like, the bloodiness.
00:28I love...
00:29I just, yeah, I just, I love the Alien series and what it has to offer and, yeah, it was
00:34kind of perfect for me.
00:35Again, I stayed up throughout winter break.
00:38In seventh grade, I watched all of the Saw movies in, like, in one winter break.
00:42Like, that's how much I love gore.
00:44So I couldn't tell you how excited I was every day to see the practical effects, makeup,
00:48to see how it was all done because, again, I found it absolutely fascinating.
00:52The trailer for this film is so intense, especially for your character.
00:55You just have this look of sheer terror on your face.
00:58What was it like going to that emotional place while making this movie?
01:01I think it was, it was exhausting, but it was also thrilling at the same time.
01:05I mean, before every take, you had to make sure your heartbeat was up because if not,
01:09Fede knows.
01:10Fede, our director, would say something, you know?
01:13So we brought our best.
01:15I think everybody here is new enough to the extent that we want to prove something, and
01:20we want to prove that we're worthy of being a part of this immense franchise as the youngest
01:25people in it and youngest group in it.
01:27So the energy that we bring to screen, all of us, like, especially my peers that are
01:32here with me today, I think it's extremely impressive, and I'm really proud of them.
01:37And you have so much coming up.
01:38You've been so booked and busy with The Last of Us, with Superman, all of this stuff going
01:44on for you right now.
01:45What sort of roles are you looking for going forward?
01:48I think, I think as a woman of color, it's very easy for me to probably get put into
01:53the best friend category, and honestly, a lot of the scripts that I've been reading
01:57lately are for the best friend.
01:58I think a challenge for me that I would be really excited to take would be obviously
02:04a very, a new character that I've never played before, but also somebody who leads a franchise
02:09or a movie or something.
02:10I think I'm capable, and I want to prove it to people.