For Brigette Lundy-Paine, a career in acting was written in the stars. “My parents are both actors, and they raised me as an actor from the time I was a baby,” the fresh-faced, shaggy-haired brunette tells us over Zoom. “I had a brief moment when I thought I would study environmental science in college, but I didn’t get into any schools except for acting — so it was decided for me.” In fate, we trust.

Best known for playing teen heartthrob Casey Gardner in Netflix’s Atypical, the 29-year-old actor shines as Maddy in the new A24 release, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow. The film also features Justice Smith, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Fred Durst, and Danielle Deadwyler, and is produced by Emma Stone and Dave McCary. The story revolves around two teenagers bonding over their love of a television series. When their favourite show is mysteriously cancelled, the plot turns into a reality-bending horror-thriller. With a whirlwind of press surrounding the feature, critics have said Brigette delivers a soul-bearing, star-making performance. They consistently choose roles that catapult them into an idiosyncratic world, set apart from the glazed-over, glossy verse of tepid, over-told narratives.

“I think when I first started, of course, I went in for every single audition. I wanted to do anything asked of me and was like, ‘Please let me be an actor — this is what I want to do.’ Then I realised that I was a bit strange,” Brigette laughs. “I learned a lot about myself. I’m not going to get the day player parts on TV shows. I’m probably not going to get the romantic lead. Then I was like, ‘I don’t want that, but what do I want?’ When I started to think about that, the void opened up: what I want isn’t just readily available—it’s more in relationship building. The last two movies that I did were Gabriel Abrantes’ Amelia’s Children, and then I Saw the TV Glow. Both of those came out of an immediate connection between myself and the director. It felt very personal. I want to give more time to projects that feel like there are unending possibilities of what we could do. I get excited when I read dialogue that’s really surprising. I find that you can feel it when a director has thought deeply about their own beliefs and has written with fearlessness. I want to be able to sit across from someone and not feel their blankness or judgement clinging to profit. I want to work with people who are able to take risks. I have arrived in a place where I’m ready to let my truth sing. I want to go through that process of vulnerability.” The ‘weird’ and more honest side of Hollywood is theirs for the taking, and Brigette’s ready to grab hold.

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