Evil Dead Rise has child star Nell Fisher in the gory horror movie. For a film that uses 1,717 gallons of blood, including deaths by a chainsaw and an elevator flooding with blood, it is eyebrow-raising how director Lee Cronin managed to get a 9-year-old to star in his film. It came down to conversations with her parents and finding someone talented for the youngest daughter of Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland).
Lee Cronin spoke to Insider about how Evil Dead Rise cast Nell Fisher. In the video, he explained that it first came down to finding the right actor for the part, like anything else, regardless of age. Between seeing what she could do and conversations, she got the job, the first major film in her career and the first that is part of a beloved franchise.
“I think when you cast a kid, first of all, you need to find someone really talented,” he said. “Looking at Nell as an example because she was nine years old when making this movie. First of all, I identified her talent. That’s the first thing, and she’s an extremely talented young performer.”
‘Evil Dead Rise’ cast child star Nell Fisher in the horror movie after her parents’ approval
🎥 "Evil Dead Rise" director Lee Cronin told @eammonjacobs that he got child actor Nell Fisher to play with "fake blood."
He said it was all about ensuring the 9-year-old actor knew it was "make-believe."https://t.co/U2IEbCwTbq pic.twitter.com/w8Ir0b5Z2T
— Insider Entertainment (@insiderent) April 21, 2023
Finding talent is one thing the director felt he did when he found Nell Fisher for Evil Dead Rise. Then, he said you needed to talk to the parents. He joked that he “slipped them a brown envelope full of cash” to convince them. It ended up coming down to talking with them to make sure they understood the project, the story, and the environment to gain their trust to let their daughter star in what will most likely be the most violent project she will sign on for, even if she acts until she is in her 90s.
“She never would have been in the room if her parents hadn’t already read the screenplay, you know, and got a sense of what this movie was about. Luckily her dad was someone that wanted to be an actor, became an environmental lawyer. But he’s an Evil Dead fan as well.”
Separating reality from fiction is an important part of making a film, especially when you have an actor so young. At that age, it could be more difficult to discern pretend and real violence. So, the filmmaker showed her the fake blood and vomit, which she had fun playing with. Through that, she could “understand it’s make-believe.”
Evil Dead Rise is out and ripping into theaters now. You can catch the mayhem and see how Nell Fisher handles such an intense film like an Evil Dead entry.
