Madelaine Petsch on The Strangers: Chapter 2

Madelaine Petsch stars as Maya in The Strangers: Chapter 2, which is now in theaters, returning as the lone survivor forced to fight masked killers. She said the Strangers trilogy was filmed back-to-back (and out of sequence), which let her shape Maya’s arc in real time but took a heavy emotional and physical toll, including a severe panic attack and months of high cortisol. Petsch called the role creatively demanding yet rewarding and said she is in a personal phase of healing and growth while remaining close with her Riverdale castmates. While promoting the film she honored the late Luke Perry as a mentor who taught her two guiding rules — don’t read about yourself and introduce yourself to every crew member — lessons she still follows. She also teased that the terror continues in Chapter 3, suggesting the reimagined franchise isn’t finished.