‘Orphan’ Star Isabelle Fuhrman Talks Two New Movies at the American Film Market

Nick Clement
·3 min read
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Actor Isabelle Fuhrman is wasting no time in racking up impactful performances. After her auspicious debut as the titular character in 2009’s horror-thriller hit “Orphan,” she recently reprised the role in this year’s prequel “Orphan: First Kill.” Her ultra-intense performance in 2021 indie “The Novice” made critical waves, signaling a talent who goes all-in with her work. She recently wrapped two Radiant Films Intl. titles, sci-fi mystery “Littlemouth” and thriller “Unit 234,” that latter  of which will be sold at AFM. She spoke with Variety about her recent rise in the industry.

You’ve been very busy!

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The last year has been a wild ride! I’m currently shooting Kevin Costner’s “Horizon,” which is so surreal. And I shot “Unit 234” and “Littlemouth” earlier this year, with about one month off in between. By the end of the year, I’ll have filmed five movies, so I’m going with the flow, and right now that means a lot of work. But I love it, so I’m very happy.

What can you say about “Unit 234”?

It’s about a young woman who works at a storage facility and finds an unconscious man in one of the units. The script is such a cool ride, and Andy Tennant is a favorite director of mine. We filmed on the Cayman Islands because it was a COVID-free zone, and I got the chance to play someone who goes through a real emotional transformation, which was a very beautiful aspect of the script.

 And “Littlemouth”?

“Littlemouth” was a script that I read very fast. I think everyone has a mild obsession with aliens, and I’m a true believer and absolutely love that stuff. It’s a sci-fi movie that challenges what we know about life, and it’s still grounded in reality, and yet the story is a little far out into the future which allows you to dream a bit. Working with Dennis Quaid was such a great experience. He’s so playful on set, and has such an infectious and gracious energy. He’s been in this industry for so long, and he loves doing the work, and that was so nice to see in terms of someone I’ve looked up to for so many years. The film is a cool spin on the sci-fi genre that people haven’t really seen yet.

 You seem attracted to thrillers.

I don’t typically watch thrillers, but when I read them, the great ones can be very captivating. They can strike a very primal chord in people, especially when survival is involved, and roles like these really stretch you as an actor. It’s like flexing different muscles to learn more about yourself, and when the characters are darker, it’s a really cool process to find out how to humanize them.

 What’s something you want to tackle soon?

I really want to do a biopic. I want to play a real person, and it’s all about disappearing into roles. I’d love to take a stab at seeing how far and I can get into a character from real life. I don’t ever want people to see the actor playing the role in anything that I do. It’s about being challenged, and I think that’s the next big challenge I want to face as an actress.

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