In the Carolinas, Madelyn Cline is telling two very different stories. Returning to the coast of North Carolina to reprise her leading role as Sarah Cameron in the fifth and final season of The Outer Banks, under the beating summer sun, Cline and her co-stars are set to bring their characters’ secrets and mysteries to an explosive end. Then there’s the latest I Know What You Did Last Summer iteration. The swampy Carolina heat turns ominous as five friends make a pact to keep a deadly secret between themselves, but one year later, their past returns to haunt them: stalked by a serial killer who somehow knows exactly what went down. On set, Cline found a kindred spirit in her I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star Chase Sui Wonders, portraying on-screen best friends, which immediately translated off-screen.

Chase Sui Wonders: Oh, hi!
Madelyn Cline: Oh my god! It’s Chase Sui.

CSW: Maddie! Hello, cutie pie.
MC: Thank you for doing this.

CSW: Oh my god, it’s an honour.
MC: I’m literally packing to come see you.

CSW: New York is not ready!
MC: It’s not ready. I love Chase and yap.

CSW: I love it. How is filming over there?
MC: It’s fucking hot bro, it’s really hot. The heat index is at 101 degrees all the time. But New York is hot too, so I can’t really complain.

CSW: It’s actually not that hot here, it was hailing yesterday in 80 degree heat.
MC: I made vegan white cheddar mac ‘n’ cheese carbonara with peas, arugula and prosciutto [holds up to camera].

CSW: You know how much I love cheese. I didn’t know you were a chef!
MC: I just really love getting creative with instant mac ‘n’ cheese. Every time I see peas, I think of that meme…

CSW: Of course, the image is seared into my mind. I guess we should talk about peas. [both laugh] Peas are so good, an initial bonding session of ours was peas.
MC: It was, it was that meme. I love going to London because whenever I ask for a bowl of buttered peas, they’re like, “Yeah, of course.”

CSW: Duh?! Whereas here they’re like, “What are you talking about?” I guess we should talk about things other than peas. [laughs]
MC: We should talk about how we met, we can take it all the way back to Smokehouse.

“The more life you live, the more prepared you are to tell a story.”

CSW: We’ve got to take it all the way back to Smokehouse, for sure. We met right after I got cast and Jenn [Kaytin Robinson, director of I Know What You Did Last Summer] gave us each other’s numbers. Girl, we immediately went to Smokehouse and got some garlic cheesy bread.
MC: We had a lot to talk about. [both laugh]

CSW: It felt like we shared a past life. We wasted no time, a big hug and then right into it.
MC: Straight into it.

CSW: We had an amazing server, do you remember? He was so into us.
MC: He was very enthusiastic.

CSW: He was telling us all these stories about Smokehouse, I think he checked up on us every five minutes. He was really trying to get the goss, clearly.
MC: He wanted to be one of the girls.

CSW: That was a beautiful hang. We just talked about how cool I Know What You Did Last Summer was, how cool Jenn was and how it was going to be such a fresh take.
MC: I know. That was before we shot in Australia, and we were like, “Wait…”

CSW: [In an Australian accent] We’re going to Australia, mate!
MC: To hear us talk about it we’re like, “Urgh, love Australia but don’t want to shoot there again.”

CSW: It’s so far. Just shooting a horror movie is hard wherever you do it. We also took a beautiful photo together at Smokehouse, because they come around and take your photo to commemorate your time. We were already fast friends.
MC: I was two tequila sodas deep and I was like, “This is going to be great.”

CSW: From when I first met you, I was like, “This girl has the sweetest heart ever.”
MC: That’s so nice.

CSW: It’s true! I was like, “Damn, that’s a real one.”
MC: The feeling was very mutual. Total kindred spirits. I just remember thinking, “Damn, this bitch is so fucking smart.”

CSW: Oh my god. [laughs] We were talking about all kinds of stuff, do you remember we were talking about you getting into production and our ideas for some…
MC: I have more by the way, we need to kiki after this about it.

CSW: We need to do that. That was immediately the best tuning fork ever.
MC: It was a very good first meeting, it was basically like a blind date.

CSW: That’s exactly what it felt like.
MC: I got dropped off like I was in middle school.

CSW: You literally did, and got picked up. [laughs] It wasn’t that long ago but it seems like a lifetime ago.
MC: It’s been eight months!

Chase: From when I first met you, I was like, “This girl has the sweetest heart ever.”
Madelyn: That’s so nice.
Chase: It’s true! I was like, “Damn, that’s a real one.”

CSW: No, it’s insane. We are so grown up.
MC: We’re so old now. [both laugh]

CSW: What are you up to at the moment?
MC: Shooting the last season [of The Outer Banks], we’re five days in.

CSW: Is everybody excited?
MC: There’s an excited energy because everybody’s very aware this is the last go around, so everyone is starting to feel like they miss it already. Even though it is a very hard show to shoot, the energy is like, “Oh my god, this is the last time we’ll ever get to do this.”

CSW: You’ve been with these characters for so long.
MC: I know, it’s very sweet.

CSW: How much longer do you have?
MC: Until Christmas.

CSW: That is really intense.
MC: When do you go to shoot The Studio season two?

CSW: I think we start at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
MC: Great, so I’ll be done in time to come bug you on set. I’m going to show up in a golf cart, throwing burritos at everyone.

CSW: Perfect. [laughs]
MC: Was it intentional that your character had a Mini Cooper?

CSW: No, can you believe that?! [both laugh]
MC: I wondered if that was your car.

CSW: I asked Seth [Rogen], “What kind of car am I driving?” He was like, “A Mini Cooper.” I was like, “That is fascinating because I also have a Mini Cooper.” [both laugh]
MC: That’s really funny.

CSW: I had to learn how to drive a stick shift for it, which is very difficult.
MC: I can’t do it, I always stall it. You were whipping it like a fucking pro.

CSW: Thank you so much. What was it like working with me on I Know What You Did Last Summer? I know what it was like working with you.
MC: I know what it was like working with you last summer, you’re giggles magoo. [both laugh] If there is anyone who will find humour in anything, it’s you. And I’ve never met someone who laughs at their own jokes so much. [both laugh] It’s my favourite thing in the world, the way that you entertain yourself and everyone around you is just so charming and amazing. Also, I think it’s so interesting because it’s such a contrast to where Ava [Chase’s character in I Know What You Did Last Summer] is in this story, she was really going through it, bless her, we love her. We all are, it’s a horror movie but I feel like sometimes when you’re on set and the characters that you’re embodying are having a rough go of it, it can get a little heavy. It’s nice to be on a set where everyone is very aware of themselves and aware of what they’re doing.

“Chase: What was it like working with me on I Know What You Did Last Summer? I know what it was like working with you.
Madelyn: I know what it was like working with you… you’re giggles magoo. [both laugh]”

CSW: That’s very true. One of the most fun weeks was when we were filming on Reaper’s Curve, it’s objectively the heaviest sequence in the movie but we were having so much fun and playing Psych!
MC: That was fun.

CSW: Working with you on I Know What You Did Last Summer was a joy, the way you would take the darkest, craziest lines and turn them into moments of comedic genius and make them so unexpected. Your line delivery is so on point, and I feel like I’ve never seen you be like this in anything. I can’t wait for the fans to see it.
MC: We had fun. I remember when I first taped, I answered the phone and I had my triple shot espresso and my big Stanley cup.

CSW: Oh my god, you have a Stanley cup?
MC: I love my Stanley cup, I drink so much water because of it. They saw me sipping from both and they were like, “What the fuck?” I held up my Stanley and was like, “This one’s for my cortisol,” and then I held up my espresso and was like, “This one is for my not cortisol.” Jenn was like, “I just remember you saying that and thinking ‘OK, this is Danica.’” [both laugh]

CSW: That’s literally Danica, that could’ve gone in the script. There are so many Maddie-isms in Danica, I feel like no one could’ve done this part but you. Do you feel like there are more Maddie-isms in Danica than in other characters that you’ve played?
MC: Totally. Initially, when I read the script, I wasn’t reading for Danica. I read for a couple of different characters and we ultimately landed on Danica, which was really fun because when I read the script I always laughed with her. I felt like there was an element of humour and lightness she brought to this really heavy, traumatic story. She’s just ironic, Danica knows what’s going on but she’s very much a character.

CSW: It was the perfect blend of your humour, Sam’s [Lansky, co-writer] humour and Jenn’s humour. Even when we were doing additional photography and just riffing, talking about the scene, suddenly you’d say something and Jenn would be like, “Oh, that should go in there.” That would just be you as Maddie spewing whatever.
MC: Also, you as Ava, us being best friends – it was fun to see what you brought to Ava and how Danica complements her.

CSW: Totally. Danica and Ava are like the yin and yang. My favourite scene in the movie… When we got to see it, I was choking up.
MC: It was the first scene we shot together.

CSW: I know and we were definitely pulling from our connection. That scene felt so real, so raw and very much Chase and Maddie having a heart-to-heart.
MC: That’s what it was. It’s so nice because, in a way, it was cathartic. There’s so much ground that we covered personally in such a short amount of time, and then we got to film this scene and do what we both love and cry a little bit about it.

CSW: It was the purest form of girlhood.
MC: It’s so girlhood. I feel like if I could sum this experience up, it felt very girlhood.

CSW: Between me, you, [Sarah] Pidgeon and Gabs [Gabbriette].
MC: The girls.

CSW: It’s so easy for a young cast to get very dramatic, but we all love each other truly to our cores. That chemistry really shines through and it just made the whole project so enjoyable.
MC: The self-awareness and humour this movie has, it’s so easy to get heavy on a horror mov- ie. Sarah’s just incredible, her eyes and her face, she’s so interesting to watch, and then Gabs is so fucking funny.

CSW: She’s so funny and raw. For this to be her acting debut is going to be utterly shocking to people. She is such a personality in her own lane, and then for her to be an absolute star on-screen – she crushes it. She didn’t even know what a mark was [at first], but it didn’t matter because she’s so good, they just followed her and were like, “OK, whatever we’re capturing is incredible and real.” It kind of makes you be like, “I would love to have that first job feeling on every job I do.” At the end of the day, what matters is that you give a compelling performance.
MC: Totally. I think there’s an awareness of camera and storytelling that she already has, it’s crazy how easily she just assumed the role and how natural she is. We love the boys… but we love the girls.

CSW: We’re here to talk about the girls, it’s girlhood at the end of the day.
MC: After we watched a little bit of it, this is the first time I’ve watched something and wasn’t cringing the whole time because I’m so anxious and uptight about watching myself.

CSW: A first watch of anything is not pleasant.
MC: Brutal.

CSW: But with this one, it just rips and the pacing is so intoxicating, there are no moments where you’re distracted by superficial things.
MC: It doesn’t allow you to take yourself out of it.

CSW: Exactly. It’s so good that we saw a little bit of it before because we would be the most obnoxious audience members at the premiere. We were hooting and howling at the screen.
MC: You know what though, at the premiere I might still be doing that.

CSW: 100 percent. I feel like this movie is ushering in a new chapter of your career, The Outer Banks is coming to a close and now it’s time for Maddie Cline, the movie star. Do you feel like your career has taken this grand road map, looking back on it all? Do you feel like it’s prepared you for what’s to come?
MC: I feel like it’s been a very slow and steady type of beat. Looking back at it now, I feel like everything has happened in its own due time based on what I think I was or wasn’t ready for. I’m grateful for all the timing. It’s so easy to be jealous or to feel like things aren’t moving at the pace that the clock in your head is telling you that you should be moving at, or you’re not where you want to be. Thinking about The Outer Banks coming to a close and everything I’ve done this past year, like this movie, and The Map That Leads to You, and Day Drinker. I feel so much more prepared and mentally stronger. Our job is [reflecting the] human experience, and the more life you live, the more prepared you are to tell a story.

“Looking back at it now, I feel like everything has happened in its own due time based on what I think I was or wasn’t ready for. I’m grateful for all the timing.”

CSW: You have so many more tools. As we are both moving along in our careers, the more texture you can add to a character comes from things not going your way, you wanting something and having expectations and those expectations not being met. As much as getting the job skyrockets you and makes you feel like you’re on top of the world, moments where you don’t get the job are almost just as important.
MC: Almost better. Getting the job is one hurdle down, but then you realise you have to put your money where your mouth is. Being on set, not being your own worst enemy, and getting over the hurdles in your own head. Then being able to deliver and not choke up is another thing altogether.

CSW: It’s true but I do feel like both of us have had a nice steady progression of being on these TV shows and I feel like this movie has come at a really awesome point in both of our careers. It’s a movie of a really epic scale.
MC: It’s so cool, it’s legendary. It’s a cultural zeitgeist, especially being from the Carolinas.

CSW: Exactly. I should ask you about the Carolinas as an entry point into this whole story.
MC: It’s very close to home. My dad and his side of the family are all in North Carolina and I went all the time while growing up. This is a hot debate, but I kind of prefer North Carolina over South Carolina. I Know What You Did and One Tree Hill, all these movies and TV shows, Wilmington used to be a hot spot for filming. It’s very much ingrained into that Carolina spirit. There’s a hub of artists and filmmakers who have been here forever, who stayed even after everything moved to Atlanta because they love the film industry here and love shooting here. There’s a lot of love for the film industry [in Carolina] and I Know What You Did Last Summer falls under that umbrella.

CSW: That’s in the canon. I also think geographically that part of the country looks very specific – it gives it a texture that you can’t get anywhere else.
MC: Just on its own, it’s already spooky.

CSW: When was it that you fell in love with acting? Did you have any movie stars you looked up to as a kid?
MC: I don’t know if there was a specific moment I fell in love with acting. I feel like people have really cool cornerstones or particular moment, but I just remember watching things and thinking, “I could do that, I want to do that, and I think I could maybe do it better.” [both laugh]

CSW: Hell yeah!
MC: The confidence of someone who’s just watching something versus actually doing it. I realised later that this was much harder than I ever thought.

CSW: For me, my anchors are my friends, like you and other people in the industry who can relate to how chaotic the lifestyle is. I’m excited for us to have homes and families and people we can go back to, but I’m also valuing the time in our life now where we’re so unanchored we can go to Australia for three months, have the time of our life and not have to worry about getting back to our babies.
MC: When I’m on location and untethered, I miss my friends, my family, my house, my dog, the things that keep you tied to your reality, but then you also realise there is going to be so much time for that – enjoy what you can while you can. I’m so excited for our generation of actors to have kids and to see what they do, what they take from us.

CSW: To see what our nepo babies turn out like. [both laugh]
MC: It’s crazy to think that one day I might have a nepo baby. I’m going to make them scoop shit.

CSW: They’re going to be shovelling cow dung.
MC: I’m going to have a farm. Have you ever seen this Instagram account called Zillow Gone Wild?

CSW: No…
MC: It’s an account where these houses on Zillow are either absolutely incredible, or it’s an underground bunker for $20,000. There was one that came up today in Maine, it looked like a mid-century modern but it was brand new and I was like, “Looks like I’m going to have to move to Maine now too.”

CSW: Shall we go in together on a bunker?
MC: I’m thinking we should do a timeshare and just share it with our families.

CSW: Perfect. Do they have a place where our kids can shovel cow dung?
MC: Yes, absolutely. I really want to get those mini highland cows.

CSW: Oh my god, they’re so cute.
MC: Also, I met some ducks yesterday and I really want to have some ducks as well.

CSW: Ducks are so cute, I had ducks as a kid.
MC: They’re very smart.

CSW: They’re geniuses.
MC: Just like us!

Interview originally published in Heroine 23

Hair: Adam Markarian;
Make-Up: Jen Tioseco;
Nails: Mamie Onishi;
Fashion Assistant: Sophie Bohmeier