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.
Mike Flanagan’s take on Carrie brings Stephen King's iconic story into the present day, giving familiar characters a chance to be reimagined for a new generation. Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and Joel Oulette (Trickster) play Billy Nolan and Tommy Ross, respectively, with both characters finding themselves at the centre of very different relationships throughout the series.
While Tommy develops an unexpected friendship with Carrie White, Billy's relationship with Chris Hargensen (Allison Thornton) is considerably more toxic, with Conti embracing the character's unsettling worldview and willingness to cross some very dark lines.
In our exclusive interview with the actors, Conti and Oulette discuss finding the core of these characters in a modern-day setting, building their relationships with Howell and Thornton, and the very different dynamics that make Billy and Tommy so compelling.
You can check out our conversation with Conti and Oulette in full below.
Joel, to start with you, what did the process of working with Siena to figure out what Tommy and Sue’s relationship would be in today’s world look like for you?
Joel: I mean, working with Sienna, it was great. I feel like every day on set we kind of brought that chemistry that I feel like all the fans of Carrie and Stephen King hopefully would relate to, and doing that in a high school setting… it was just fun.
Arthur, there’s a great scene with Billy and Chris on the bridge where he’s holding on to that brick and talking about the power that he has over life and death. How was it getting into the mindset of a guy like this who has quite a unique view of the world?
Arthur: Yeah. I mean, I love that scene. That was my audition scene. So when I did that it felt like it was a culmination of a lot of work and a lot of time. And I think the most interesting part of it for me was not playing him as evil. Like… the most disturbing thing about that scene is that they don’t know. They just think it’s funny. They think it’s a funny prank. They don’t have any understanding of what they’re actually doing, really. And that’s sort of what’s the most chilling about it. And I think playing it as somebody that’s just carefree and doesn’t care what other people think of it, as opposed to like an intentionally malicious thing… I think that was really fun.
Given that this version of Carrie obviously has taken this story and placed it in the present rather than the 1970s like the book, how useful did you both find that in terms of figuring out who these characters are at their core?
Arthur: Mike’s writing first and this specific version of Billy and Tommy, because I think the characters in the show are not exactly as you’ve ever seen them before.
Joel: Yeah. They got different twists and turns, I feel like.
Arthur: Lots of twists and turns.
Joel, I thought Tommy’s dynamic with Carrie was really interesting. A friendship that blossoms over the series. Working with Summer on that dynamic, how much fun was it to figure out what these characters would look like today?
Joel: Yeah, I think me and Summer were trying to figure out what kind of dynamic Tommy and Carrie have in this adaptation compared to the other ones. And I feel like there’s definitely that friendship, and I would say Tommy’s like a big brother to her in a way and is looking out for her and is not scared to help her when he sees fit.
In contrast, it's such a toxic relationship between Billy and Chris. How much fun is it, as an actor, to sink your teeth into that kind of back-and-forth with her?
Arthur: It’s really fun. We had so much fun. I think Allison and I are quite sort of sweet, mild-mannered people. So it’s cathartic for us to let loose a little bit. And we had a lot of fun finding that dynamic between us.
Carrie premieres worldwide on October 7 on Prime Video.