Thomasin McKenzie has come a long way since her brief appearance in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy. The New Zealand actress has since starred in indie darlings and major studio films alike, including M. Night Shyamalan's Old, Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, and Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho. Now, she's set to conquer the Wasteland in Prime Video's Fallout Season 3, and she's about to face a brand-new challenge.
In a recent episode of Collider Ladies Night, McKenzie sat down with Perri Nemiroff to discuss her upcoming projects, including the Gothic horror Victorian Psycho with Maika Monroe, and her role in the third season of Fallout. The actress revealed that she's about to do something she's never done before in her career: act against a green screen.
A First for McKenzie
"I've not done it yet, but I'm about to. I'm about to act with a green screen, and I've never done that before," McKenzie shared. While she's done plenty of acting to tape, where you perform to a mark on a camera, this will be her first time working on such a large scale with visual effects technology. "That'll be an interesting challenge," she added.
Interestingly, McKenzie's closest brush with green screen work came during her time on The Hobbit, which filmed in her hometown of Wellington, New Zealand. "They had a huge green screen. You could see it for miles," she recalled. "So I saw that green screen [when] I was in The Hobbit, but I didn't act in front of the green screen."
A Fan Before She Was a Cast Member
McKenzie is joining Fallout Season 3 alongside newcomers Aaron Paul, Manny Jacinto, and Emily Mortimer, and she couldn't be more thrilled. "I am so, so, so excited to be a part of Fallout. I watched the first two seasons, and I fell in love with it," she said. Her friends and family are equally excited, making this one of the first roles where people have reacted with genuine awe. "It's one of the first jobs I've done where people are like, 'Oh my God, you're doing Fallout!' which I have to say is quite a nice feeling."
This season also marks McKenzie's first time filming in Los Angeles, a city synonymous with Hollywood dreams. "This is my fourth time working in America, but my first time working in L.A.," she explained. "I grew up wishing I was American so that I could be part of this world. It's just very exciting."
What's Next for McKenzie
Before she dives into the post-apocalyptic chaos of Fallout, McKenzie will be seen in Victorian Psycho, a Gothic horror co-starring Maika Monroe, hitting theaters this weekend. She's also set to portray Audrey Hepburn in Dinner with Audrey, a role that promises to be a career highlight.
For fans of Fallout, Season 3 is already in production, and with McKenzie's addition to the cast, the excitement is building. The series, based on Bethesda's beloved video game franchise, has been a massive hit for Prime Video, drawing in over 100 million viewers worldwide. With new faces and new challenges, the Wasteland is about to get even more unpredictable.
To hear more from McKenzie about her journey from indie films to the Wasteland, check out the full Ladies Night interview at the top of this article. And for more on the latest in TV and streaming, don't miss our coverage of VisionQuest's finale tease or Sam Claflin's wild role switch.
