Woman Crush Wednesday: Open Your Hearts to ‘Locke & Key’ Star Darby Stanchfield

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Locke & Key

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Hello there, guys and ghouls! Halloween is on the horizon, but today we’re skipping the tricks to leave you with the wonderful weekly treat that is our Woman Crush Wednesday piece. Today, we’re celebrating a scarily skilled actress who has been killing it in the entertainment industry for the past two decades and counting. Her work in an upcoming Netflix show just might haunt you, but it’s only a testament to her talent, work ethic, and commitment to spreading the Spooky Spirit to all this October, so make sure to check it out after giving a big round of applause for this week’s WCW, the delightful Darby Stanchfield!

WHO’S THAT GAL: Darby Stanchfield

WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: Stanchfield reprises her role as Nina Locke in the highly-anticipated second season of Netflix Original series Locke & Key, which premieres on the platform this Friday, October 22nd. The supernatural horror show based on the Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez comic book series of the same name revolves around Nina (Stanchfield) and her children Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) Locke, who move from Seattle to Locke family patriarch Rendell’s (Bill Heck) family home “Keyhouse,” in Matheson, Massachusetts after Rendell is murdered by his former student. The Locke children find keys in their new home that have the ability to unlock doors in magical ways, and must protect these mystical keys from a demonic entity (Laysla De Oliveira and Griffin Gluck) that wants the keys for itself and its own evil purposes. Season 1 ended with some epic twists (The demon bullet! Ellie! Gabe’s real identity! OH MY!) that set up all sorts of jaw-dropping drama and action in this upcoming season that is sure to have you hooked from the start.

Locke & Key‘s sophomore season is already receiving plenty of ink and buzz from publications like TV InsiderThe A.V. Club, us here at Decider, and more, so make sure to see what all of the hype is about by checking out Stanchfield and the rest of the cast’s terrifyingly terrific work in Locke & Key: Season 2 as soon as it drops this week, only on Netflix.

WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: Stanchfield’s professional onscreen career began in 2000, with the role of Nora in an episode of CBS crime-drama series Diagnosis: Murder before swiftly accumulating one-off appearances in shows like AngelAmerican DreamsMonk, and Strong Medicine within the next few years. Then in 2004, the actress had her feature film debut starring as Sibyl Vane in 2004 horror-drama The Picture of Dorian Gray, opening up the door for even more roles on screens big and small to come her way. From there, Stanchfield racked up guest appearances in shows like Without A Trace24The InsideBonesCold CasePrivate PracticeThe MentalistCSI: NYHow I Met Your MotherCSI: Miami, and Burn Notice, as well as acting work in films like 2007 comedy-drama Waitress, 2015 drama The Square Root of 2, 2016 action-adventure The Rendezvous, 2016 crime-horror Carnage Park, 2018 horror-mystery The Clinic, 2019 drama Justine, and 2020 comedy-drama Stargirl.

While Stanchfield has had recurring roles in popular television series like JerichoNCIS, General Hospital, and Mad Men, she is perhaps best known for her role as series regular Abby Whelan in the hit ABC political thriller show Scandal, in which she appeared in 120 episodes from 2012 to 2018. With this impressive and extensive filmography under her belt, it’s no wonder that Stanchfield is the talented, versatile, and hard-working actress she is today, and so we have no doubt that the amazing actress will only continue to produce more excellent work for many years to come.

WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER AGAIN: Luckily, you can look forward to more out of Stanchfield in the future, as she has a drama film called Mosquito currently in the works. The movie is a story of sacrifice and showmanship told through rival doctors in the Old West, and also features actors like Nestor Carbonell, Shawn Hatosy, Liza Weil, Austin Abrams, Jeff Daniel Phillips. For even more from Stanchfield in the meantime, be sure to keep up with the latest from the actress by following her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook ASAP!

Watch Locke & Key on Netflix