Why Chloe East Knew She Was the Perfect Person to Star in ‘Heretic’

Chloe East has a distinctive coping mechanism for navigating the pressures of her growing fame — she convinces herself that every project might fail. Her first big role was in 2021’s HBO teen drama Generation, and when network executives touted the series as “the next Euphoria,” her first thought was, “Is it, though?” Next, she scored a part in Steven Spielberg’s biopic The Fabelmans, playing the Jesus-loving Monica, a mashup of the director’s various childhood love interests. She went to the premiere at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and psyched herself up for the possibility that she was cut out of the film entirely. Now, a few weeks out from her first starring vehicle — A24’s latest thriller Heretic, alongside Hugh Grant and Yellowjackets’ Sophie Thatcher — she’s entertaining the idea that no one will see it. 

Of course, she’s been proven wrong every time. Generation, though a one-season wonder, is responsible for launching the careers of young talent like Chase Sui Wonders, Justice Smith and Lukita Maxwell. And her turn in The Fabelmans was straight-up scene-stealing. “They included me in so much of the movie and people were roaring with laughter at my part,” East recalls of that premiere. “I was like, ‘What?’ And then I saw that people were leaving Letterboxd reviews — an app I respect with my whole heart — and saying my name. That was a big shock.”

In the time since, East has been booking constantly. Her upcoming year is an embarrassment of IMDb riches: She’ll be opposite Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano in Liz Feldman’s next show, No Good Deed; she has a part in Kogonada’s highly anticipated A Big Bold Beautiful Journey; she’ll play Amy Adams’ daughter in At the Sea.

The 23-year-old was raised in San Clemente, California, but says that her taste was honed by childhood visits to L.A.’s independent cinemas. “I was a film snob at 13. I remember my dad once took me to Holy Mountain, which is an X-rated movie,” she says. “We got to the Aero Theatre and they’re like, ‘We absolutely cannot let your daughter in.’ ” She has a nearly insatiable appetite for working, but perhaps more key to building out her career is her ability to pinpoint when a role is — and isn’t — right: “If cracking a character for an audition feels like really hard work, there’s probably someone better suited for the job.”

When she read the script for Heretic, she knew she was just right. The film, which comes from the co-writers of A Quiet Place, follows two Mormon missionaries (East and Thatcher) who door-knock a prospective recruit. They’re lured in by Hugh Grant’s apparent charm (and his assurances that his wife is home), only to find themselves trapped in a deadly cat-and-mouse game of religious fanaticism. East isn’t Mormon herself, but grew up religious and has many childhood friends who practice — some were even on their own missions while she filmed. 

“This sounds cocky, but I felt like there was no way anyone knew the character more than me,” she says. “I felt protective of the role, and I desperately wanted it so I could give a respectful representation of a Mormon missionary. I just felt it in my bones.” 

The film is both an examination of religiosity and an entertainingly gory thriller, and though East is not a horror head herself, that element appealed to her cinephile side. “I would get really lost in the sauce while filming this,” she says. “We’d do these long 15-minute takes, and you’re sitting in that scariness for so long that you start to believe it.” 

The Vancouver-set production was also her first experience as a lead, and while the work felt the same as her past jobs, she was struck by the star treatment that A24 offered — a personal refrigerator constantly stocked with Yerba Mates, a ride to and from set each day (her first time not driving herself) and even a Taco Bell truck (she’d let slip that she was a fan). “Since there’s more pressure on you [as a lead], stuff like that can make things a little easier and more enjoyable, but I do hope I never actually want the princess treatment,” she says. 

Try as she might to resist it — or, at least, to resist believing it — her life is changing. East is conducting this interview via Zoom while in production for her next job, a project too secretive for her to say anything. (“I’ve only told my family and my dog,” she admits.) It’s a heavy mental load for someone so young, but she is learning how to make use of the industry veterans with whom she shares a call sheet. She has stayed close with Adams since they wrapped production on At the Sea. “I’ve worked with a lot of incredible people who I can’t relate to at all. Like, Hugh Grant and I don’t exist on the same planet. But with Amy, she started on a Spielberg movie, she grew up religious, she had a quick rise. It feels like we speak the same language.” East points to her iPhone and shows off a list in her Notes app of “Questions for Amy.”

“What is most important to me is making sure I’m always in the position that, if everything went away, I would be fine,” she says. “I think that’s why I try to convince myself that every job will be a failure — I’m testing that feeling. ‘If I can’t act anymore, it would be a bummer, but I can still go surfing and see my friends and bake a chocolate cake.’ ” 

This story appeared in the Oct. 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.