In Prime Video's Carrie, misfit high‑schooler Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) has spent her life hidden away inside the walls of her home with her fiercely protective mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan).
After her father’s sudden, untimely death thrusts her into the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, Carrie is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community, the relentless pressure and casual cruelty of the social‑media age, and the awakening of mysterious telekinetic powers that rise alongside her adolescence.
The series takes a deep dive into Chris Hargensen and Tina Blake, who we learn considerably more about than in the original novel. Played by Alison Thornton and Josie Totah, respectively, the pair find themselves at the centre of a couple of the series' most toxic relationships.
Thornton brings a surprising vulnerability to Chris, exploring the pain and loss of control that informs her cruel treatment of Carrie, while Totah's Tina is driven by an almost desperate desire to fit in with the girl she idolises.
We spoke with Thornton and Totah about bringing these expanded versions of Chris and Tina to life, the twisted relationship between their characters, and the experience of filming the premiere's intense shower scene with Summer H. Howell.
You can check out the full interview with the Carrie stars in the player below.
Alison, there’s so much more to this version of Chris than what we saw in the book, and we get a much better understanding of why she acts the way she does toward those around her. How important was that deep dive for you in shaping your approach to the character?
Alison: Oh, I think that was one of the most important things to me in terms of this version of Chris — why she’s making the choices that she’s making and the fact that she is coming from a place of pain. And everything that she does to Carrie is awful, and it really doesn’t have much to do with Carrie. It’s just bad timing for poor Carrie, and Chris is just trying to find any control in her life because she’s kind of lost all of it. And I just really wanted to make sure that she feels like a human that’s in pain that’s just making mistake after mistake and ultimately becomes her own victim.
Josie, the same could be said about Tina. We learn a lot more about her, but her actions are maybe more closely connected to pleasing Chris. What about that dynamic with Allison did you really enjoy exploring?
Josie: I just think it’s so fun to play someone who is so seriously desperate to belong and to fit in. And I remember I did the tape with like my best friend Landry and I did the whole thing and I finished it and I was like, 'God, that was…' She said that was so funny. And I was like, 'I was dead serious.' Do you know what I mean? So that was fun to play with. Like I was so serious about wanting to be like her. And Allison was such a great person to work off of ’cause she was so grounded in her version of Chris that it made it believable for me to want to be like that.
Alison, Chris has this power over Tina. From your point of view, what was that dynamic like?
Alison: Oh, I mean, we had so much fun on set, and Josie is so good in the show and would just make us all laugh with her improv all the time, and just brought things that were not on the page.
Josie: So it wasn’t allowed?
Alison: No, it was incredible. Episode three was amazing. That was like we got to be together every day, and we locked in. And I loved the days that it was like just us.
Josie: Yes. We have some really good stuff in that episode. And I think it’s really interesting, too, because while Chris has this power over Tina, we also have moments where Tina has power over Chris and knows how to push Chris’s buttons. So it’s a very, very toxic relationship that they have.
Alison: It is. They’re in a toxic relationship.
The series kicks off with that shower scene, which obviously is iconic. It doesn’t make for pleasant viewing, but as I said, it’s an iconic moment. So what do you both remember about that day on set, and working with Summer in such a traumatic sequence for her character?
Alison: Yeah, that was a really intense day. We shot that scene all day. It was all we shot that day. And it was… I remember it being very upsetting to do, because you know, you see Summer giving such a beautiful performance, and it’s so heartbreaking. And I remember going back to the tent after filming, I think like the wide shot, and Mike brought us a bunch of Labubus to kind of cheer us up and bring us out of it. And then we were all just like laughing and holding our little Labubus, and it was really something that I think I needed on that day.
Josie: Yeah, it was very intense but conducted with like so much intention.
Carrie premieres worldwide on October 7 on Prime Video.