When asked how cinema influenced her, actor Sophie Thatcher rattled off a series of challenging European films.
She referenced the stunning visuals of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s drama “The Double Life of Veronique” and the moving plot of Uli Edel’s tragic biopic “Christiane F.”
She also praised the star of Jean-Jacques Beineix’s erotic tale “Betty Blue.”
“Béatrice Dalle was so completely free and so strange and captivating on camera,” Thatcher said. “That was another movie where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to shape my personality around this.’ ”
Now, the 24-year-old Chicago native is thrilling audiences with her own complex, edgy roles. She drew from her own religious background to portray a Mormon missionary alongside Hugh Grant in the 2024 horror film “Heretic.” She stretched herself mentally and physically to play a robot — used for pleasure — in the recently released sci-fi thriller “Companion.” And she turns in an emotional performance as a cannibalistic plane crash survivor in the dark and twisted “Yellowjackets” series, which returns Feb. 14 for a third season on Paramount+ with the Showtime plan, and then on the Showtime cable channel on Feb. 16.
Thatcher’s career has been driven by her desire to keep challenging herself. For instance, she said it was fear that attracted her to the part of Iris in Drew Hancock’s “Companion.” Whether it was changing her movement to be “smoother” than normal, employing an “eerie,” attentive demeanor, or learning dialogue in multiple languages, the role required a lot of work, she said.
“There were so many technical aspects and a lot of prep I had to do,” she said. “During the first meeting with Drew, I spent like 20 minutes talking about how I’m going to pull off the languages.”
She also wore uncomfortable white contact lenses to portray the robot in a powered-down state.
“That was probably the most annoying part because the contacts kept making my eyes well up,” she said, “so I could only have them in for a couple minutes. It was really hard to do scenes. I had to have someone escort me around because I couldn’t see anything.”
Thatcher said it’s up to the audience to determine whether the film is promoting or condemning artificial intelligence.
“I think it’s up to you to decide what you do with technology,” she said. “I think it’s very much highlighting how dependent we are, and how we are losing, day by day, real human connection.”
When the film’s production was paused as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on strike over AI and other issues, Thatcher reflected on the potential real-life impact of AI on her career.
“That was definitely a slap of reality, just doing this movie and then realizing, ‘Oh, this is all very real.’ ” she said. “It’s almost like we’re replaceable.”
Born in Chicago and raised in Lake Forest and Evanston, Thatcher developed a passion for acting during her childhood. Her first professional role was in a 2012 production of “The Secret Garden” for Music Theater Works (formerly Light Opera Works) in Evanston, when she was 11.
“Playing that role with that cast was just really informative and inspiring, and it solidified my love for it at such an early age,” she said. “It really made me feel like this is exactly what I want to do.”
One of Thatcher’s most prominent jobs was playing Anne Frank in a production for Writers Theatre in Glencoe. Though she described the experience as “exhilarating” and “satisfying,” it also marked a turning point for the then-high school student.
“That really put me to the test and I realized that this is now a job,” she said. “It’s not just something I do for fun. It turned me into an adult really fast.”
Acting also set her apart from some of her peers.
“That made me feel strange, being a child actor but not doing anything young kids care about,” she said, laughing. “I’m not on a Disney show. That’s more accepting. When I told people I was playing Anne Frank, they were like, ‘Oh.’ ”
Thatcher said acting also allowed her to escape the “bubble” of growing up in the Mormon church — an experience she’d later tap into as Sister Barnes in “Heretic.”
“I felt like an outsider because I wanted to challenge the thoughts and beliefs,” said Thatcher, who is no longer a member of the church. “And I think there’s something in Barnes that felt that, too, so I think it was really easy to relate to her.”
Thatcher said she was initially nervous about how others in the church would react to the movie.
“At one point, my mom sent me a text saying, ‘I’m really scared to go into the [congregation] today because your trailer just dropped,’ ” Thatcher said. “But people were very kind about it. I think people are just happy to see that I’m working and making money.”
Prior to landing the role of teenaged Natalie on “Yellowjackets,” Thatcher starred in the 2018 science fiction film “Prospect” with Pedro Pascal. She also studied an acting practice known as the Meisner technique at the Maggie Flanigan Studio in New York.
She said she grew up “obsessed” with the veteran actors on “Yellowjackets”: Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis, who portrays the adult version of Thatcher’s character.
Thatcher said she and Lewis didn’t interact much, but she sent the “Natural Born Killers” star a punk-inspired mood board to represent their character.
While Lewis is no longer on the show, Thatcher’s version of Natalie was elevated to a leadership role among the group of survivors at the end of season 2.
“I’m really excited about her arc this season,” Thatcher said. “It just keeps getting darker. It starts off in a place that you wouldn’t expect to see the Yellowjackets. You see them thriving, and I think that is a cool look into them just getting used to what it’s like in the wilderness. And they’ve built some semblance of a society. But towards the end of the season, she’s really put to the test and my heart breaks for her.”