The Big Picture

Welcome to a new episode of Collider Ladies Night with
Lisa Frankenstein
star, Kathryn Newton.
During her conversation with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Newton revisits her journey from meeting Bernadette Peters to getting her “monster belt” on the big screen.
Newton also recalls a game-changing fan convention interaction and how Cole Sprouse gave her the confidence to tackle playing Lisa Frankenstein.

Kathryn Newton is taking over in the best possible way. At 27, not only has she already amassed a vast filmography, but it’s one that’s packed with variety and bold creative swings. She headlined a Paranormal Activity film, she’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she was a comedy ace in Blockers, she stars opposite acting icons in HBO’s acclaimed series Big Little Lies, and she’s a certified horror genre powerhouse thanks to Freaky, Radio Silence’s next movie Abigail, and Zelda Williams’ wonderfully dark and charming feature directorial debut, Lisa Frankenstein.

Newton leads as the title character, a misunderstood teenager who feels alone in the world after her mother is axe-murdered in their living room. Lisa’s step-sister Taffy, played by the effervescent Liza Soberano, is always there to offer support, but the only one who can fill Lisa’s heart is a guy who died in 1837 (Cole Sprouse). One night, Lisa’s fantasy becomes a reality when a lightning bolt reanimates his corpse, kicking off a joyfully horrific adventure to help him regain his humanity — and his missing body parts.

With Lisa Frankenstein now in theaters nationwide, Newton took the time to join me for a Collider Ladies Night interview to revisit her journey thus far, including the pivotal moments that helped her tackle this delightfully bonkers monster movie with confidence.

Lisa Frankenstein A coming of RAGE love story about a teenager and her crush, who happens to be a corpse. After a set of horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a journey to find love, happiness – and a few missing body parts.Release Date February 9, 2024 Director Zelda Williams

Kathryn Newton Recalls a Game-Changing ‘Supernatural’ Fan Convention Moment

Image via Universal

It’s one thing to recognize one’s dream to become a professional actor. It’s another to actually believe you can do it. For Newton, that feeling didn’t come from booking a big role or crushing a tough scene, but rather, from an encounter that confirmed her work really makes an impact.

“
I think I’ll always be like, ‘Is this real?’
But the part that
did
make me feel super real was a convention. I went to a
Supernatural
convention. I was on a show called
Supernatural
, and I played Claire Novak.
I met a fan who was the same age as me. I can still see her. It makes me so happy just thinking about her because it made me feel real.
It made me feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, you love this character, Claire.
I
love this character, Claire!’ And we’re the same age. And I met a lot of people, but they were real people, so I was a part of some human experience way bigger than just me and my on-set — which was a great experience — but my on-set experience of doing a TV show and ‘being an actress.’ I was like, ‘Whoa, this is really connecting.’ That was when it felt like, ‘Oh, I wanna do stuff like this that brings people together.’ That’s what you wanna do, and
Supernatural
was a pretty big one before I was a part of the show, so I was lucky that they were welcoming enough, but it was a huge deal to me. At that time I had never met a fan like that.”

Yes, at that time Newton had never met a fan like that, but a lot has changed since. In addition to Supernatural, she’s now part of loads of films with hugely enthusiastic fanbases, Lisa Frankenstein included. Just last night I had the honor of moderating an opening night screening Q&A for Newton, Sprouse, Williams, and writer-producer Diablo Cody, and to say the crowd was overjoyed to hear from the team after watching the film is an understatement.

In Williams’ director’s statement for the film, she notes, “This movie ISN’T a groundbreaking spiritual journey that will change your worldly perceptions … but it IS a ride – so maybe just try to put your hands in the air and let the coaster take you!” Yes, Lisa Frankenstein is a highly enjoyable ride, but it’s also more than that. In a footnote, Williams confirms as much. She recalls an early screening during which the host asked the focus group what they thought the message of the movie was. Yes, there were mentions of some of the film’s most wild elements, like flying body parts, but one attendee said, “That you can be a completely unhinged weirdo and still deserve to be loved!” That’s a significant and spot-on takeaway from the film, an impression the movie makes in large part due to Newton’s ability to craft a wildly lovable unhinged weirdo.

Paul Rudd’s Tip for Kathryn Newton on ‘Ant-Man’ That Helped Her Soar in ‘Lisa Frankenstein’

While it’s quite clear Newton soars in the role when you watch the finished product, initially, there was some apprehension. She looked back on her first read of Cody’s script and said:

“The first thing I realized is, ‘Wow, my co-star doesn’t talk. It’s just me talking.’ Like
90% of the movie is just my voice and I was like, ‘Wait a minute, how’s this gonna work?’
So I think anyone would be like, ‘Am I up to this? Can I carry this? What do I need to be supported?’ But I think that if you met Zelda [Williams] you would know it was like nothing. She’s so smart and intelligent, and from day one was holding my hand through every decision I made —
that’s all you need is someone who says yes and encourages you to take risks
. I
had
to take risks in this movie, and it was really easy.”

Newton’s mantra for taking risks? “You just can’t hold back. You’ve just got to try it. You don’t want to finish the movie and wish that you had tried that joke or did that weird thing.” She noted that mentality came from her Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania co-star Paul Rudd. “I stole that from Paul. He told me that before I started Ant-Man.” She continued, “These movies, just like this podcast, it’s all an opportunity to be yourself, to be your full self, and if you are in any way doubting it, you’re gonna miss it. It goes by in a second. And movies are so much fun, you don’t wanna waste a day wishing you tried a joke.”

Newton certainly didn’t waste a moment on the set of Lisa Frankenstein, and it served the film well. Not only can those big swings strengthen an individual’s performance, but they can also have a ripple effect that inspires scene partners as well. Newton recalled such an instance:

“There’s a lot I did in this movie that I wish I probably didn’t do, but I did and that’s why we’re here talking about it. There’s a scene, and it’s in the trailer, where I see Henry [Eikenberry] and Liza Soberano’s character in bed together and I come through the door screaming. That was a little much, in my opinion, looking back at it. But, I had no idea I looked like that! I can’t control my face! That’s just what happened. I didn’t know I was going to do that. But, by me doing that, [it] ignited Liza, she started crying and Henry started laughing because it was uncomfortable. It’s like,
I had no choice but to go there so that everyone around me could do something, because if I didn’t do anything, nothing was gonna happen
. This character was insane, and I can’t just do nothing. I had to bring something so people could bounce off of it and go there. And by me definitely taking the risk, it didn’t feel like it because my supporting cast supported me. And they were
good
. They were really good. So we all did it together, really.”

Cole Sprouse’s A+ Pep Talk Gave Kathryn Newton the Confidence to Do ‘Lisa Frankenstein’

Image via Focus Features

Newton couldn’t have been surrounded by a better team of people on the Lisa Frankenstein set, a team that included one of her greatest cheerleaders, Cole Sprouse. In fact, Newton noted that Sprouse’s confidence in her ability to pull off this role is a big reason she agreed to do it. She recalled:

“He’s the reason I did this, really. I remember before we started, I saw him at a party and
I looked at him and I was like, ‘You think we could do this?’ And he’s like, ‘I know you can do it.’ He’s like, ‘You have to do it. No one else can.’
I was, like, gonna cry. He was available, emotionally available, he was so professional, and he was just down to play
.
Whatever I said, he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s try it. Yeah, let’s do it!’ And it’s like, ‘Okay, great!’ So he just kind of held my hand and we went for it. I don’t know if it’s because we’ve both been acting so long, but I think
we genuinely appreciated the opportunity given to us from this amazing script with Diablo Cody and this amazing director.
And we just wanted to have a good time. We were both just so grateful to have these fun roles and be on this fun movie and say these insanely funny words that there was never a moment of, like, being tired or anything like that. I think we both appreciated it.”

Kathryn Newton’s Dance in ‘Abigail’ Is “M3GAN on Steroids”

Image via Universal

Newton’s deep appreciation for the creative opportunities she’s given continues with her next film, one of my most anticipated movies of 2024, Abigail. Newton plays a member of a group of would-be criminals who are promised $50 million if they watch the kidnapped 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure for the night. Sounds easy, right? It might have been if this 12-year-old girl wasn’t a bloodthirsty vampire.

While teasing what to expect from the April 19th release, Newton highlighted a particular moment in the movie that she calls “M3GAN on steroids.” She explained:

“They’re another duo that every time I would be like, ‘Hey, Matt, come here.’ I’d be like, ‘Should I do this?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ And I’d try it. There’s this thing in the movie where I dance and in the script it was about this long. It was like, ‘This blah, blah, blah, and she dances.’ I’m like, ‘Okay,’ and
I worked on a dance and I shot, like, a two-minute thing on my phone for them to pick hopefully five seconds of. They turned it into a whole thing. It’s a whole thing. It’s like
M3GAN
on steroids
, and I did not expect that. So thank goodness I started on Broadway with Bernadette because it really came full circle.”

Looking for more from Newton on her journey in Hollywood thus far including her memories from the set of BadTeacher with Cameron Diaz, getting the chance to work with Greta Gerwig on Lady Bird, and more? Check out her full Collider Ladies Night interview in the video at the top of this article, or you can listen to the conversation in podcast form below: