Zac Efron’s been working non-stop for about two decades now, but even with dozens of titles to his name, he’s yet to tackle a horror movie. Ryan Kiera Armstrong, on the other hand, is only 12-years-old and has already been part of two major horror properties, the IT films and also American Horror Story.
The two join forces in the new adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter. Armstrong plays Charlie, a young girl with pyrokinetic abilities who’s having an increasingly difficult time controlling them as she gets older. Complicating matters further, she’s also being targeted by a nefarious federal agency looking to harness her power and use it as a weapon. But no matter how dangerous things get, her father Andy (Zac Efron) is always there to do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it means resorting to tactics that put his own life at risk.
With Firestarter hitting theaters and Peacock on May 13th, I got the chance to chat with Efron and Armstrong about their experience making the movie, beginning with why now felt like the right time for Efron to jump into horror. Here’s what he said:
“I love the genre. I’ve always wanted to do one. But I think there were several cool elements. A, this is Stephen King, but then also Keith Thomas, the director, he did a great film called The Vigil that I saw several years ago and I’ve just been a fan of his ever since. And I thought this was a really, really great story. It’s the inception of kind of a superhero coming into her own … [Ryan] was a great first daughter for me to have. It was awesome.”
Even at such a young age, Armstrong is clearly oozing with know-how and raw talent, but one’s got to imagine that there’s still a lot to take from someone with so much experience like Efron. Here’s what Armstrong said when asked if she saw Efron do anything on set that she really appreciated:
“He was very, very giving and very present and very real in the moment. And it’s amazing to work off of someone that’s doing that, and it’s honestly very fascinating to watch.”
Efron wasn’t letting that compliment pass him by without throwing one right back Armstrong’s way. He told her, “I got that same vibe from you. You made me go, ‘Huh, I need to get on my game!’”
Looking for more from Efron and Armstrong? You can check out our full conversation in the video interview at the top of this article. And be sure to keep an eye out for our spoiler-filled chat with director Keith Thomas coming soon!