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.
Amber Midthunder (Prey) and Matthew Lillard (Daredevil: Born Again) play teacher Rita Desjardin and Principal Henry Grayle, taking characters created by Stephen King in 1974 and reimagining them for a new generation.
In our exclusive interview, Midthunder and Lillard discuss bringing their characters into the modern day, the challenge of playing teachers in a world dominated by social media, Lillard's very different approach to the restrained Henry, and the difficult experience of filming Carrie's shower scene.
They also share what they hope audiences take away from this new adaptation and why, at its core, the story is ultimately about the choices between cruelty and kindness.
Check out our conversation with Amber and Matthew in the player below.
You’re taking your characters from 1974 and trying to figure out who they are in today’s world. So for both of you, what did that process involve as actors to figure out who they are now?
Amber: Something that I really love about Mike’s adaptation of this is introducing it to the modern world. Obviously, we have social media playing a big role in the show, and sort of for all of the faculty and all of the adults, it’s really about navigating and trying their best to help these kids navigate this new world and being just as, if not more, helpless than they were. And then obviously there’s all the supernatural elements of the show, but I think that there’s really this sort of humanity, and I think that there’s really an angle in for everybody who’s watching to relate to either a character or an element of the show.
Matthew: Yeah, I mean, I think one of the great things about working with Mike Flanagan is that he has this depth of writing that, as an actor, it’s easy to slide into.
Matthew, poor Henry is caught between these warring students and teachers. I’d love to know what the biggest challenge for you was in figuring out your approach to playing this really beleaguered principal in this high school.
Matthew: Working with the cast around me. It is really hard to persevere as a professional when you are surrounded by these young upstarts who are constantly trying to steal your thunder. They have no idea about my lit game. That’s the worst thing to say. [laughter] You can’t steal it from me.
Amber: You’re right. Oh, damn it.
Matthew: Listen, every job offers its own complications. For me, it was sort of being at the centre of the show as an element of being really grounded and being really simple. To me, I like to be explosive. I like to chew scenery sometimes in my career. And Mike really wanted me to be this pillar, and sometimes for me that’s difficult.
Amber: But what I will say is that Matthew has this great… obviously he brings this great energy both to the scenes but also on set, right? That sort of really wakes everybody up and also really connects everyone. And so I think you do really serve as like a connective tissue. And there’s also… I love watching you because that energy is still there, but it’s channelled in a really different way than I think people are used to seeing you.
Matthew: That’s very sweet. Can you clip that? Can I take that home and share that with my children?
Amber, that shower scene in the first episode, obviously it doesn’t make for pleasant viewing, but it’s a very iconic moment. What do you remember about that day working on set with the younger actors like Summer, Alice, Josie and Siena?
Amber: I mean an incredibly heavy day. But everybody just… I mean, the thing about this cast is that we all became incredibly close very quickly. And so the support, not just from that day but the entire show, the support that everybody had for each other… There was this culture, and you’ll hear Mike talk about it, where we all would come in on days we weren’t working if somebody else had a big scene or we wanted to support or just watch. And I think that was a really big marker of that day. Mike, I think, does a great job of setting the tone and saying, “Hey, I know you guys are about to do something that is really uncomfortable and might be really triggering, and I want to be able to give you guys room to process that both as actors and as people.” And then I think that’s sort of a trickle-down effect of the cast amongst each other and the crew and everybody else after that.
Matthew: I think that is an incredible example of what a director and the person Mike Flanagan is. Just the fact that he has the capacity to say it out loud, to acknowledge it, and then to give us space is brilliant.
Given that you both play teachers in the series, what’s the one lesson you really hope people take away from this version of Carrie? I think it’s a series with just so much to say about what it’s like for kids today.
Matthew: Yeah, I mean, I think that Mike says it best: the story is really a story between the choices of cruelty and kindness. And to me, what’s reflected is the unrelenting choices that the protagonist and the antagonist make. And I just think that… my hope is that in the world right now we need more kindness, and people see this as a wake-up call to love those around you. I know that sounds really crunchy granola, but at its core it’s really a story of a kid rising up out of being bullied.
Amber: And how we treat those who are different. I think there’s a lot of conversation in this show about… I keep thinking about like this is really a story of if just a few things had been done differently, or a few conversations or even words had been shared… You know, the tragedy of the show, I think, is that it goes so far off course and it didn’t need to.
Matthew: Yeah. And they use that in the publicity. They say, 'We could have been friends.' It’s devastating.
Amber: It’s so devastating.
Carrie premieres worldwide on October 7 on Prime Video.