{"id":1176874,"date":"2024-11-11T09:51:19","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T17:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/?p=1176874"},"modified":"2024-11-13T07:58:27","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T15:58:27","slug":"heretic-sophie-thatcher-growing-up-mormon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/heretic-sophie-thatcher-growing-up-mormon\/","title":{"rendered":"Heretic Star Sophie Thatcher on Growing Up Mormon, Having a Twin, and Making Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sophie Thatcher thought her days as a Mormon were a distant memory after she left the church at age 12. But her new role as a young Mormon missionary in the upcoming A24 horror film Heretic<\/em> gave her a chance to reconnect with her childhood self.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thatcher plays Sister Barnes and Chloe East is Sister Paxton. The two young Mormon missionaries go door-to-door to spread the word about their religion \u2014 but end up trapped in the home of Hugh Grant\u2019s cunning and psychopathic Mr. Reed. They lean on their faith to try to escape.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was very surprised when I got the role, because I’m so far removed from being Mormon now, and I feel like I’ve done a lot of work on myself to make myself seem like I’m not Mormon, or just different from that,\u201d Thatcher tells MovieMaker.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thatcher, who grew up in Chicago, left the religion on good terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn’t have a negative experience. It just did not resonate,\u201d she says. \u201cI think being exposed to working in theater and the outside world, it felt like it didn’t connect, and I wasn’t engaged in the church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was because I was doing eight shows a week, so I couldn’t go on Sundays. It was as simple as that. And it wasn’t like I forcefully tried to find a way out. It was just because I was working all the time,\u201d she adds. \u201cMy older siblings had left the church too, so I had their influence in my ears. It was pretty natural. It wasn’t dramatic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heretic<\/em> brought up a lot of old feelings she drew on to make her performance more authentic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sophie
Sophie Thatcher in Heretic, A24<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI definitely felt a little bit like a misfit at church\u2026 it feels pretty far removed from who I am,\u201d she says. \u201cMy immediate family isn’t still Mormon, but all of my outside family, they’re all still Mormon.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She appreciates writer-director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods\u2019 efforts to depict the faith accurately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe writers are very close to Mormons. They do an amazing job of capturing them and not being offensive and not being a caricature, because I think it could have been so on the nose,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also Read:<\/strong> Hugh Grant \u2018Crushed\u2019 His Tony the Tiger Audition for Unfrosted<\/em>, Wine Glass in Hand<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More About Heretic Star Sophie Thatcher<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Sophie
Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East in <\/em>Heretic, A24<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 23-year-old is perhaps best known for Showtime\u2019s Yellowjackets<\/em>, in which she plays Natalie Scatorccio, part of a soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness. She was also in the 2023 Stephen King horror movie The Boogeyman, <\/em>written by Heretic<\/em>\u2019s <\/em>Beck and Woods, and appeared in Ti West\u2019s horror MaXXXine <\/em>earlier this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thatcher started in Chicago\u2019s theater scene, working her way up to starring in a production of The Diary of Anne Frank <\/em>at age 14. But she\u2019s also a musician, having just released her debut EP, Pivot & Scrape<\/em>.\u00a0She also has a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” that plays during the credits of Heretic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mom’s a pianist and plays for the church choir \u2014 still does. So I grew up with a lot of music,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was very, very young, I was always putting on shows,\u201d she adds. \u201cI’m a twin sister, and I feel like that immediately gave me a partner to engage with who I could joke with and be artistic with. I think that separated me from other kids and made me feel a little, to some extent, outcast. I felt like I didn’t need friends because I had my twin\u2026 so I think that let me to dive deeper into anything artistic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says she prefers music to acting: \u201cIt feels like my release right now, which is interesting, to make it into an actual thing and to have it be public because for so long, it just felt like a very personal, private journaling thing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She makes a point not to put too much pressure on herself as an artist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don’t know what’s going to happen with it, and I think right now, I’m just trying to set no expectations,\u201d she says.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heretic<\/em> is now playing<\/a> in theaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A version of this story first appeared in the fall 2024 print issue of <\/em>MovieMaker Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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