Crawling on Ceilings, Overcoming Claustrophobia, and 10-Hour Makeup Sessions: How Natalie Grace Became Lee Cronin’s The Mummy
The American actress breaks down her new take on the classic monster in this gory update from Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin
by Lana Thorn 17 April 2026
Photo: Alexandra Zak-Johnson
There are debut feature film roles, and then there’s starring as the titular monster in a grisly reimagining of The Mummy.
In the Blumhouse body horror blockbuster from Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin, Natalie Grace plays Katie, the missing daughter who is returned to her parents (Jack Reynor, Laia Costa) and grandmother (Veronica Falcón) after being entombed in a sarcophagus for eight years. But what seems to be a miracle soon turns into a nightmare when it becomes clear that Katie is not the sweet little girl she once was.
In a trial by fire, the role required Grace to take on everything from doing her own stunts to facing her claustrophobia head-on by acting in a sarcophagus. However, speaking to Phantasmag over Zoom on the eve of the film’s release, the 20-year-old actress has evidently come out of the experience feeling invigorated. Even if the part made her scream in her sleep, she already wants to do another scary movie. Reflecting on her journey towards becoming the face of a big studio horror film, Grace discusses her Stephen King-heavy on-set reading list, how chicken nuggets helped her stay sane during filming, and the gruelling process of shooting the soon-to-be-infamous toenail-clipping scene.
Warner Bros.
Phantasmag: I read that the acting bug bit you early. You starred in your first play, Annie, at just four years old, and went on stage with a 102-degree fever…
Natalie Grace: I did! It probably wasn't a very good idea, but no one could stop me. I remember my parents, grandparents, and everyone were saying, ‘We really think this is what Natalie is supposed to do.’ And I was proving it by refusing to get off the stage even with the flu. I brought my blankie and a stuffed animal pillow up there with me. It was ridiculous.
P: When did you decide that it was the career for you?
NG: I was just kind of born with a love of art. I did dancing for a long time. I loved singing, painting, drawing—anything artsy. Then, at around 10 or 11, it turned into an interest in film. I was obsessed with watching movies and copying the actors’ facial expressions. I'm sure my parents thought it was very odd.
P: As well as being a big film fan, you’re also a big reader. I saw last night on your Instagram that you recently read Eric LaRocca’s Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Stephen King’s The Shining. What did you think, by the way?
NG: Both of those were so good. I had found a Reddit thread on Things Have Gotten Worse, and people were saying how they didn't like it because it was gory, and they felt like that was the only point to it. I found it very interesting—it freaked me out, and I wasn't able to sleep. Then, with The Shining, I had watched the movie at least four times before reading the book. But the book is its own standalone masterpiece. I wish there were a version of the movie that was exactly like the book.
P: Whether it’s literature or film, what was your relationship with the horror genre like growing up?
NG: When I was little, I was scared of everything. I didn't like scary movies until high school. Filming [Lee Cronin’s The Mummy] completely changed my relationship with it. I love reading anything scary, especially during the filming process. It helped to read horror novels during the shoot, and it opened me up to a whole new genre.
Photo: Alexandra Zak-Johnson
P: What kind of things were you reading during filming?
NG: A lot of Stephen King: Carrie, Misery, just anything I could get my hands on. There was a book called Supplication [by Nour Abi-Nakhoul] that really freaked me out.
P: Starring as the titular character in The Mummy is quite the role for your first feature film. Can you walk me through the audition process?
NG: It was kind of crazy. I auditioned with a scene that is still in the film, and then 30 seconds of facial expressions. There was also a scene where I had to hit someone in the face, and my mom had to hold my ankles down off camera. I didn’t think anything was going to come of it, but within a day, they asked me to do a callback with Lee [Cronin] over Zoom. Not even an hour after the callback, they asked me to go to Ireland so I could meet with Lee. I thought I’d have to go up against five other girls, but I remember walking in, and he just wanted to offer me the role. Right after that, they had me go to LA for a 10-hour makeup test.
P: Katie is an incredibly physical, often non-verbal role, and she can be both terrifying and almost funny in a Charlie Chaplin-esque way. Were there any particular films or performances that inspired you when shaping the character?
NG: I tried not to watch anything while creating the character. Once we started filming, I would watch some movies like Poltergeist and The Thing, but from the first time I read the script, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the character. With Lee’s help, we really focused on creating something new.
P: You mentioned the 10-hour makeup test. How long was the final makeup process, and how did the prosthetics help you tap into Katie?
NG: There were three different makeup stages, and the last stage took eight hours. Sometimes it took 10, just depending on how much blood they wanted. By the end of all of those hours, I would be so locked into the character. With each piece that they put on, I felt like I was completely morphing into something so completely the opposite of myself that it really helped me get into the right mindset. I would listen to music and audiobooks; a lot of the time, I was so tired I would just fall asleep. But whenever I would see myself in the makeup, it would click instantly.
Warner Bros.
P: As an audience member, The Mummy is an epic, fun big-screen horror experience, but the story of Katie—a young girl kidnapped and infected by an evil force—is so profoundly upsetting. Was it a gruelling role that required you to stay in a dark headspace, or were you able to find some joy in playing the part?
NG: Both. On set, it was always very fun. The cast did a great job of keeping things light, because I had a dark cloud over my mind the whole process. I remember my mom would stare at me in the morning before I went to set, and she’d ask me, ‘Did you sleep at all?’ Then she told me I was screaming and saying creepy lines in my sleep, then sitting up in my bed and rocking back and forth. I would have run out of the hotel if I were her. My mindset had to be dark, but the process of filming wasn’t.
P: Your director, Lee Cronin, is making a name for himself with his ultra-violent, darkly comedic brand of horror. What was it like playing in that world, and how did you collaborate with him to develop Katie?
NG: I was there about a month before everyone else got there. I did a lot of stunt training, but I would also have a bunch of meetings with him about specific moments. Whenever there was a big stunt or gore scene, he did a really good job of breaking it down and making sure we were always on the same page. We were just very in sync the whole time, and he does a wonderful job of fostering an environment where you feel, as the actor, that the role is completely yours and you can speak to him openly. If you have ideas while filming, he's always open to hearing them and trying them out, even if he doesn't initially think they would work. He's very much an actor's director.
P: Speaking of the stunts, they're such a huge part of your performance. How did you approach the extensive stunt work from your initial movement training to shooting?
NG: The first week I got there, I met the entire team, Stunt Guild Ireland. They're amazing. I would not have been able to do any of this without them because I had never done any stunts before. They had to teach me how to do harness work, how to engage my core for the crawling and everything. Then Lee would give me ideas about the physicality, subtle things like how to hold my wrist.
P: Did you have a favourite stunt?
NG: The crawling on the ceiling. When I first got there, that was the number one thing. They were like, ‘We know this is going to happen a month from now, but you have to start training.’ I was so terrified to go upside down like that, because they take you up in the harness and then you're just plastered to the ceiling. That was my favourite since I was so proud that I had actually gotten in sync.
P: From what I've heard, you suffer from claustrophobia—meaning that playing a mummy discovered in a sarcophagus surely wasn’t the easiest of tasks. How did you work through those fears?
NG: I had claustrophobia until I was put in a sarcophagus, lying on a bed of rocks and being wrapped up fully so I couldn’t see anything. It almost wasn’t acting when you see Katie wake up—it was just so visceral. We only filmed it a couple of times because I think Lee could tell it was almost too much for me to handle. But I really do think I went through exposure therapy.
Warner Bros. Photo: Patrick Redmond
P: Lee Cronin has said that the film was a cathartic way for him to process the death of his mother. Especially when you’re playing such an unhinged character and the material is so dark, did your experience on the film strike any chords with your personal life?
NG: I feel like it just pushed me to change in all aspects of my life. I'm more confident; I’m more sure of myself. I think it changed my personality because it came at such a particular time: I booked the role when I was 18, and I'm 20 now. A lot of people on set said that I learned 10 years of experience in the industry just within those four months. Everything that was thrown at me, even when it was overwhelming, I was able to do it. So it kind of just proved to me that I can do anything I want to if I work hard enough.
P: What was it like filming in Ireland? Had you been before?
NG: No, I had never even been out of the country before. It was really beautiful. We were right next to the sea. It's not very sunny there, and I definitely got a vitamin deficiency, but I loved it there. I would live there.
P: You’ve touched on your relationship with your director, but how was it collaborating with your fellow actors on all your incredibly intense scenes?
NG: They were all so amazing. I had crazy scenes with Jack [Reynor], Laia [Costa], and Veronica [Falcón]. I just remember learning something from each conversation I had with them. I felt so inspired and so grateful that I was coming into a cast that had been doing this way longer than I had. Jack was like an older brother to me. One day, when I was starving, he ordered McDonald’s to the set, and we hid it under the bed. So between each take, with blood dripping down my face, I would be eating my chicken nuggets. He did a good job of making me space out so I wouldn’t get too exhausted. Then it was a blessing getting to work with Veronica and Laia. I would get chills being in the same scene with them.
P: Is there any one of those scenes that stands out now?
NG: One of my favourites is when I spit in Laia’s face because we got it in one take. I had to be so still, locked in a catatonic state, and I was just thinking, ‘Don’t move. She’s doing so good; don’t screw this up.’ But then we got it, and we only had five minutes or something to get the scene, so it was crazy.
Photo: Alexandra Zak-Johnson
P: I have to ask you about the toenail-clipping scene. How did you approach that set piece?
NG: That one was a bit of a pain. It took so long to film, and it was difficult for me just because it’s a lot of close-ups, and you only see my toe. So I'm sitting there, and I think I read three different books filming that scene because I was trying to stay awake while they were shooting the close-ups. It took so many hours to get the skin-ripping right, and everyone on set was just cringing because they did not like the gore. It looks so good on screen, but poor Laia and Veronica, they were gagging.
P: You’ve mentioned that, as an acting exercise, you like to journal as soon as you wake up and write the first thoughts that come into your head. What kind of notes were you writing when playing Katie?
NG: Like Heath Ledger with his Joker journal, I would get into Katie’s headspace and write down these demonic thoughts because I was so locked into the character. If you were to read my journals, it would be very worrisome. I was already having scary dreams, and the writing probably wasn’t helping. I don’t know why I made it worse for myself…
P: You’ve gone from several smaller-profile roles to having your face on a poster around the world—I even saw you on my commute to work today. As a young actress, what does this moment in your career mean to you?
NG: It’s opened so many doors and opportunities that I always felt were meant for me, but I didn't know how I was going to get there. There was a long time in high school when I thought about quitting because I've been doing this since I was 10. It’s been a big chunk of my life. Now, I was in LA a couple of days ago, and it’s very overwhelming seeing my face on every bus stop. It’s exactly what I wanted, but I just didn’t think it would actually happen.
P: You had exposure therapy for your claustrophobia, and you’re now able to read horror books and watch scary movies. Is there a recent horror performance that really resonated with you?
NG: The entire cast of Black Phone 2. I was very surprised because it was completely different from the first one—I remember having sleep paralysis after watching that one. I watched the second one twice in theatres.
P: Do you have an actor or an artist that you really look up?
NG: Winona Ryder. I love her. The first films I obsessed over were Heathers and Girl, Interrupted. I have such an interest in her and Angelina Jolie: they’re so specific and have such wonderful personalities that you can’t put them in a box and they’ve done so many different roles. I want to try to be like that.
P: What kind of roles are you interested in exploring next?
NG: Really anything. I have a big interest in thrillers now, and I would do another scary movie. But I want to do action movies because of the stunts. I love doing stunts. So action films, thrillers, and any type of roles that are Winona Ryder-esque. I would love to be in a Tim Burton film. That is the be-all and end-all. I could die happy after that.
P: I hope I'll see you in a Tim Burton film soon. You certainly have the big eyes for it.
NG: I’ve been told that my entire life. I feel like it's meant to be.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is in theatres now.