Actress Grace Courtney talks about her role in the new supernatural horror feature Playhouse. The well-received spooker, hailing from brothers Toby and Fionn Watts, is available now on digital in the US and Canada.

Congratulations on your first major movie, Grace!

Thank you! I was excited to get to work on a horror, let alone a feature film, and it didn’t disappoint.

How did you get involved?

Toby and Fionn put out a casting call and I asked my agents to submit me. I also got in touch directly because it sounded like such an awesome project. I auditioned for them and the rest is history.

Can you remember where you were when you got the call or email that you’d been picked for the movie?

Yes actually because I was shooting a commercial at the time. I’d been cast as a young mum-to-be and was taking a break from wearing my pregnancy bump when my agents called me with the good news.

What were the producers looking for in the character of Bee Travis? Did they tell you why you snagged the role over other actresses that auditioned?

I think someone who could play both Bee’s moody, argumentative side and her raw vulnerability. They had already cast William Holstead as Jack, so I was able to audition with him which was super helpful. They said we had believable father-daughter chemistry which was obviously really important.

I imagine working on a feature film was quite different to the TV and short film work you’d previously done?

The main thing was getting to spend time in the role of Bee. With Playhouse I had the chance to explore her backstory and really show how she changes as the film develops. This was a particularly special production as all the cast and crew were living in the castle we filmed at. It meant everyone could get to know each other really well, and wandering round the castle on breaks was very atmospheric.

Was it a local shoot?

Local if you live in the far north of Scotland… I think it took me about 12 hours to travel there by train and car, which is a lot when you consider the size of the UK. It was really helpful for me, as we meet Bee while she’s trying to adjust to a completely new life having been uprooted by Jack. I could channel being far from home into how Bee was feeling. Though for me it was enjoyable!

Some of those locations were amazing. Was it hard not to feel a little scared just being in some of the places?

Oh definitely, particularly when we were filming in the hall beneath the castle. It’s built on the site of an old Viking structure, and I got spooked when someone walked off with the only light… Watch out for the hall in the sleepover scene with Bee and her friends.

Was it a gruelling shoot? Did you find it hard to ‘come down’ at the end of it all?

It was a fast-paced shoot as we had a lot to fit in, so sometimes very long days of filming. Also my bedroom doubled as Bee’s bedroom, so there was lots of mental crossover for me and it could be hard to separate myself from her. Luckily a team of local bakers kept us going with a mountain of amazing cakes and we had a great wrap party on the last night to help everyone decompress.

Now that you’ve had a taste for starring in a horror movie, do you fancy the idea of doing more?

For sure! I’m a big horror fan so it was fantastic getting to play a lead in one. I love the way horror can span so many stories and topics, it’s one of my favourite genres. I even have an idea for one myself, but who knows where that will go! Mostly it was great getting to work with Toby and Fionn, I feel very lucky to have had the experience.