Melissa Barreraisn’t going anywhere. Despite the controversy surrounding her firing from theScreamfranchise, Barrera pushes forward in the industry. And the actress' latest role as the criminal Joey inAbigailis a far cry from the heroic Ghostface survivor she played inScream(2022) andScream VI. During the latest episode ofCollider Ladies Night,Barrera said, “I’m here to stay,” and she’s “proud” of pushing forward in her career after being dismissed fromScream. Barrera told host Perri Nemiroff (viaCollider Extras):
“Just continuing to put myself out there, you know?Unafraid… because I’m here to stay [laughs].So, just continuing to audition.I have a lot of things that I still want to do.I have a lot of like dreams that I want to accomplish, a lot ofdifferent kinds of movies that I want to do. I want to produce, I want to direct.
So, there’s so much that I can busy myself with.Focusing on something that happened, and already happened, and it’s not… it’s nothing.Like you [Nemiroff] said, there aremore important thingsthat are happening in the world, andthat was just a little hiccup. I’m good.”
Barrera also addressed reading the script and coming up against the first challenge of portraying a character inAbigailwho could have been very similar to Barrera’s role, Samantha Carpenter, in the last twoScreamsequels. Barrera said:
“On paper,the role felt very straightforward and potentially very similar to Sam in Scream.So, I was like, ‘Okay, cool. How can I make her different? How can I make her distinct?’ Especially since I just did Scream VI, and so I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, she’s doing the same thing,’ you know?That’s never what you want. So, I was like, ‘Okay, this is a challenge. This is cool.’And I was excited about this strong, observant, kind of cold criminal woman that is the character.”
Melissa Barrera Never Freaked Out Over All the Drama
Melissa Barrera is “very grateful” for all the supportfans showed her online after the actress was fired from theScreamfranchise for speaking out in support of the Palestinian cause in regard to Israel’s attack on Gaza. During her interview onCollider Ladies Night,Barrera told host Perri Nemiroff that contractually she was obligated to only do twoScreamfilms, so the actress doesn’t have any regrets and feels lucky to have doneScream(2022) andScream VI. And Barrera is also “proud” that she never freaked out while dealing with all the drama during the completion of Universal Pictures’Abigail. Barrera told Nemiroff in the same sit-down:
“I think I’m proud of myself because I was dealing with a lot, personally,while shooting the last bit of the movie. And sothe fact that I wasn’t freaking out,and I was actually just going to work and doing that, it was a new kind of experience for me.But it just showed me that I’m like, ‘I got it.’ I really love what I do.”
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Barrera’s character Samantha Carpenter doesn’t rank amongthe bestScreamcharacters of all time,but Sam is an integral part in bothScreamandScream VI. However, Barrera isn’t going to dwell on what could have been, and the actress continues to march on in her career. Barrera added:
“And so,I know that I’m a professional and that I can do it no matter what, that I can compartmentalize,and thatI’m not the kind of actor that will take all my stuff to set and then make everyone’s life miserable.I’m very good about keeping it professional andkeeping it light and fun, because everyone wants to have fun on set.But the fact that I was able to do that,I’m proud of myself for that.”
Abigailhits theaters on April 19, and fans can check out the horror film’s official trailer below:
