Freaky's Nyla Chones is the kind of friend you want in a crisis. Cool and collected, she calmly stands by her pals through their worst moments -- even if it involves a sinister body swap with a serial killer. When her best friend Millie finds herself in the body of the Blissfield Butcher, Nyla steps up to the challenge and aids in Millie's race against time to get her body back before it's too late.
Speaking to CBR, Freaky star Celeste O'Connor explained exactly why their character Nyla is "the mom of the group." They recalled how Vince Vaughn worked with them to develop authentic teenager dialogue, as well as his role in their secret handshake as it appeared in the film. They also explained why Millie's discovery of self makes the film so relatable, shared their dream storyline for Nyla and more.
CBR: How did you land the role?
So basically I do everything over a self tapes, pretty much, because I live in Baltimore. So I've always [done self tapes], so not that much has changed for me during the pandemic. But I did a tape for Freaky, and then did a second round. So after two rounds of the audition process, I got on FaceTime with Chris [Landon], the director, and we basically just chatted and got along super well. He was in some costume room or something, because there was a bunch of scary masks hanging on the wall behind him. I was like, "Oh my goodness!" I mean, after we FaceTimed and talked and chatted, then that was it. So it was all virtual the first time I met him or else from the cast until when I got to set, which was funny.
When this movie came out, my Twitter feed lit up with praise. What has the reaction to the film been like for you?
It was fun to do the Tweeting along with people, especially when it came out OnDemand. It was really, really exciting to be on Twitter and seeing what everybody was saying about the movie. We just got so much positive feedback from it. So many people loved it, and it really warms my heart, honestly, because we really had so much fun making it. So to be able to see other people having fun when they were watching it, it was just exactly what we wanted to do. So that was awesome.
What do you think it is about the film that has led so many people to really engage with it?
I think it's the genius of Chris Landon and also Michael Kennedy, the co-writer, because I just think it was so funny and entertaining, and also so scary. I think their writing was just brilliant, also because so many people, I think, of different ages could relate to the character. I remember watching it with my roommates, who were all laughing and having the best time, and then I also went and watched it with my parents and they were also laughing. So it was this kind of magic that they created this world that could be fun and entertaining to people of all different backgrounds and ages. So I think that was it. Also, just creating characters that we can all relate to, and especially that young people can relate to, feels really good.
What's one of your favorite memories from set?
I mean, there are so many! I guess if we're talking about actually on set, because we hung out a lot as friends outside of work, which was really fun. I remember we were shooting during Halloween last year and our DP dressed up as this blow-up unicorn. He was in this huge blow-up suit and came to this party as a huge blow-up unicorn. It was so funny!
But I think, on set, there was this one night where we were shooting from 8 pm until 8 am. It was a night shoot. It was the night that we shot the final fight scene where we're all wrestling with serial killer Kathryn [Newton] and running and jumping. It was so exhausting, but I just remember it felt like a huge sleepover. We were all eating candy and trying to stay awake and making jokes and laughing and having the best time, even though it was, like, five in the morning. So that was kind of just how it was on set. It was always a good time.
Tell me a little about your experience working with Vince Vaughn.
It was amazing to be able to work with him and learn from him as somebody who is so talented and so respected, especially in terms of comedy, because I'd never done comedy before. So I feel like I just learned so much from him, and also he was very open with us and receptive with all the young people. So it was really nice to be able to learn from him, and also that I felt like he was learning from us, because there was a lot of times where we would do like improv, and for Vince to be like, "Oh, what would a teenager say here?" I remember -- I think they put this in the movie -- the hashtags! When he was in the car, being like, "#stressed, #excited," that was something where we improved and we kind of bounced ideas off of each other. So it was really, really amazing to be able to work with him.
How long did it take you to perfect that secret handshake?
Honestly, we just came up with that on the day of! We improvised that. It took like hours and hours and hours to film that fight sequence in the kitchen, which was also another really fun day and a challenging day. At the end of that, Vince was like, "Oh, what something I could do with you guys that only us three would know how to do? Something muscle memory." And we were like, "Oh my god, handshake!" So we just made that up on the spot.
Thank God we remembered how to do it, because it kind of was complicated, looking back, but we literally just made that up on the spot. It was so funny that it ended up in the final cut of the movie.
Which aspect of Nyla do you relate to the most and why?
I relate to Nyla a lot. She is kind of like a caretaker. She's kind of the mom of the group. She is very focused, very determined. She always is trying to keep Misha [Osherovich]'s character [Josh], who is fun and wild, just keeping everybody on track to be able to solve this problem that they have. So I think I relate to her a lot in that way. In the same way that she's like, "Hey guys! Let's focus on this goal!", I think I'm also very goal-oriented. I also can be the mom of the group. So it was cool to take these personality traits, or whatever it is, that I really identify with and plop them into a character who's experiencing something so crazy and see how that plays out. So that was really fun.
Which character would you say has the most interesting dynamic with Nyla and why?
I think that Misha's character, Josh, had the most interesting dynamic because Nyla and Josh are opposites. Nyla is very grounded, very responsible, calm, collected, and then Josh can be very outrageous and dramatic. I think that seeing them relate in this way, where they're so different, is really fun, because you get to see this spectrum of how people respond to insane situations. I also think that it's cool to see because there's so much love between them. They have such a solid friendship, that Nyla can be like, "Josh, stop it! You're being ridiculous!" They have such a love between them and understanding between them. They always will fight for each other, and they will always protect each other, but they're also so different, which I think is really funny.
If you could create a dream story arc for Nyla, what would it be?
I think it would be cool to see Nyla swap bodies. I think there can never be enough stories with Black girls, and I think that at the point that we're in -- culturally, politically, and also in the entertainment industry -- I think that it would be really cool to just see Black girls doing crazy, normal shit and their stories not having to be about racism or some intense struggle. So I think that's definitely something that I would want to see for Nyla. I would love to see Nyla swap bodies with somebody, because, yeah, it would be fun.
When I was speaking with Misha the other day, they mentioned they got some creative control over their character. What did you bring to your character?
For me, Chris and Michael were really good about building Nyla. I think I brought some of my own politics to the role, for sure, which I think fit very nicely in what they were trying to do for Nyla as the woke character, the woke friend. [laughs]
Also, it was cool to be able to work with our costume department in a way that felt collaborative as well. For me, I love fashion; I love styling. It's something that I do in my own time. So to be able to work with Whitney [Anne Adams], who is our head costume designer, and say, "Oh, I really love this outfit. I really love this" and work together and bounce ideas off of each other and come to Nyla's outfits together was really fun.
I remember we had our first fitting and we were trying on a million different things, and you're like, "How are we going to decide?!" and we finally came on whatever it was -- the two or three outfits -- and we ran over to Chris like little children, like, "Hey, Chris, can we do this?! What do you think about this?" We were just so excited! That was really fun for me.
What do you hope viewers take away from the film?
First and foremost, this movie is about being yourself and finding yourself, which is something that I think everybody can relate to. So on top of it being a good time, being super entertaining and fun to watch, I think it also has so much heart and that the center of this movie is about this character Millie, who actually finds herself by being in a different body and finds her strength and finds her power.
I think that's something that, as young women, we're all trying to learn, but even just generally, for everybody, I think it's something that they can relate to. So it was really meaningful for me to be a part of a story that is about finding yourself, because I'm always trying to find myself and I feel like that is the journey of life, is to be able to really connect to and find who you truly are.
What's next for you?
I'm in school right now. I'm in college. I'm a second semester senior. So I'm graduating from college in May, which is just so exciting. It just feels so good to be at the end of this journey and to have really completed it -- you know, to finish things is wild. It feels really good! So I'm doing that until the spring/summer.
Then my next project coming out is Ghostbusters[: Afterlife], which we're shooting for the fall for that to be released. So I'm really excited for that. Then, you know, keeping working and excited for what will come after those things.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
It's kind of a cliche one, but I would able to fly, for sure, because I love traveling. I love traveling, I love seeing new places, but planes are not eco-friendly. So flying on airplanes is bad for the environment, but I love traveling, so if I could just zip away and fly to Spain, that would be amazing. For no other purpose, just to relax and eat cool food and see different places. That's all I would use my superpower for.
Directed by Christopher Landon, Freaky stars Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O'Connor, Misha Oshervich, Uriah Shelton, Alan Ruck, Katie Finneran and Dana Drori. The film is now available digitally and on Blu-ray.
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