In only a few short years as an actor, Madison Wolfe has racked up an amazing array of big and small screen credits. From with her debut in 2012's On the Road and The Campaign to her appearances in last year's acclaimed films Trumbo and Joy, she's steadily built up a repertoire of appearances alongside some of biggest names in the industry, including Will Ferrell, Bryan Cranston, and Jennifer Lawrence. Her latest film is this week's much-anticipated horror sequel The Conjuring 2. I had a chance to talk to Madison about about her career so far, how she nabbed her Conjuring role, and what she hopes to accomplish in the future. What follows are some highlights of our chat:
Just to start things out, what got you interested in pursuing this as a profession?
Well, ever since I was really young, I always loved to perform, and my first co-star was actually my grandmother. I would write scripts for her and make her play different characters, and my Aunt Carol noticed this, and then she signed me up for Launch, which is an acting school here in New Orleans, and after taking lots of classes with amazing teachers, I eventually signed with CTG South, and they've just been really guiding me ever since.
Can you talk about what it was like getting the gig on The Campaign? Right out the gate, you got to work with Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis.
I can remember just being amazed on set, and I've gotten to work with a lot of A-list actors, some amazing people, and I'm really, really thankful and lucky that I've gotten to do that at such an early stage of my career because I've learned so much from each of them.
As far as [director] Jay Roach, you've gotten to work with him twice now. You were on The Campaign and Trumbo. How did one experience differ from the other for you?
Well, I love Mr. Jay. He's awesome, and I think that both experiences were very, very fun, and I don't think I'll ever forget them, but I remember working on Trumbo, and that was really, really awesome because it was with my sister, Meghan, who is also an actress.
Yeah, I talked to Jay last year about Trumbo, and that's actually one of my favorite interviews that I've ever done because he's very thoughtful, and he takes the craft very seriously but he doesn't take himself seriously.
Absolutely.
You've managed to go between comedy and a lot of horror and a lot of drama. What genre do you prefer to work in?
Personally, I love the whole intense drama and horror side of it. You know, when I'm watching movies, I like that genre because I like to figure out the special effects. "What are they doing? How did that actor get there?" And I love a good challenge.
You have the Conjuring coming up. Had you seen the first one at the time you signed on to do the sequel?
I had seen the first one. When I got the audition, I convinced my mom to let me see it, finally. For research, I called it.
Now, you got to work with James Wan on that behind the camera, but also we've got Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. Did you get to sort of get some tips from them?
Absolutely. And you know what? I don't even think that they realized they were doing anything, but just watching them be amazing people and actors and actresses that they are, and director, Mr. James, I learned so much, and I fed off of them, and they made my performance so much better.
In the four years you've been doing this, I'm sure you've had a lot of personal growth but also growth as a performer. What are some of the things that you've really tried to internalize to improve yourself as an actor?
Well, I think it's always important to keep learning. So, I am constantly taping and auditioning, and I'm on set, and I think that one of the most important lessons that I've learned is never to give up because, especially with the role on TheConjuring. When I got that audition, it was a British accent, brown hair, brown eyes, and production told me after that they weren't looking for an American. So, I think that if you believe anything's possible, and you truly, truly work on your craft, I think that you'll be set.
With that in mind, obviously, you've managed to work with some amazing filmmakers already. Who would you like to work with in the next ten years?
Obviously, this is a huge one: Meryl Streep. I've always looked up to her because, just in the little clips of her movies that I've seen and I've studied, you can understand that she has transformed so much, and I admire that she can just be a chameleon and do
Just to start things out, what got you interested in pursuing this as a profession?
Well, ever since I was really young, I always loved to perform, and my first co-star was actually my grandmother. I would write scripts for her and make her play different characters, and my Aunt Carol noticed this, and then she signed me up for Launch, which is an acting school here in New Orleans, and after taking lots of classes with amazing teachers, I eventually signed with CTG South, and they've just been really guiding me ever since.
Can you talk about what it was like getting the gig on The Campaign? Right out the gate, you got to work with Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis.
I can remember just being amazed on set, and I've gotten to work with a lot of A-list actors, some amazing people, and I'm really, really thankful and lucky that I've gotten to do that at such an early stage of my career because I've learned so much from each of them.
As far as [director] Jay Roach, you've gotten to work with him twice now. You were on The Campaign and Trumbo. How did one experience differ from the other for you?
Well, I love Mr. Jay. He's awesome, and I think that both experiences were very, very fun, and I don't think I'll ever forget them, but I remember working on Trumbo, and that was really, really awesome because it was with my sister, Meghan, who is also an actress.
Yeah, I talked to Jay last year about Trumbo, and that's actually one of my favorite interviews that I've ever done because he's very thoughtful, and he takes the craft very seriously but he doesn't take himself seriously.
Absolutely.
You've managed to go between comedy and a lot of horror and a lot of drama. What genre do you prefer to work in?
Personally, I love the whole intense drama and horror side of it. You know, when I'm watching movies, I like that genre because I like to figure out the special effects. "What are they doing? How did that actor get there?" And I love a good challenge.
You have the Conjuring coming up. Had you seen the first one at the time you signed on to do the sequel?
I had seen the first one. When I got the audition, I convinced my mom to let me see it, finally. For research, I called it.
Now, you got to work with James Wan on that behind the camera, but also we've got Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. Did you get to sort of get some tips from them?
Absolutely. And you know what? I don't even think that they realized they were doing anything, but just watching them be amazing people and actors and actresses that they are, and director, Mr. James, I learned so much, and I fed off of them, and they made my performance so much better.
In the four years you've been doing this, I'm sure you've had a lot of personal growth but also growth as a performer. What are some of the things that you've really tried to internalize to improve yourself as an actor?
Well, I think it's always important to keep learning. So, I am constantly taping and auditioning, and I'm on set, and I think that one of the most important lessons that I've learned is never to give up because, especially with the role on TheConjuring. When I got that audition, it was a British accent, brown hair, brown eyes, and production told me after that they weren't looking for an American. So, I think that if you believe anything's possible, and you truly, truly work on your craft, I think that you'll be set.
With that in mind, obviously, you've managed to work with some amazing filmmakers already. Who would you like to work with in the next ten years?
Obviously, this is a huge one: Meryl Streep. I've always looked up to her because, just in the little clips of her movies that I've seen and I've studied, you can understand that she has transformed so much, and I admire that she can just be a chameleon and do