Infiniti Chase by working with Leonardo DiCaprio. Regina Hall and more

Chase Infiniti saw the dream she never has fully believed that reality would be realized.

The 24 -year -old Indianapolis native made her debut in the “One Battle After Oll” by Paul Thomas Anderson, entering the role of Willa Ferguson, a teenager taken between family heritage and personal identity when a group of former revolutionaries met to save her after an enemy resonates 16 years later.

“It’s half Paul and half me,” says Infiniti about the character of Willa. “Half of her comes from her writing, and the other half I have brought in my own life and experiences.”

The Infiniti path to the epic of Anderson’s sprawling militia was not simple. Raised in Indianapolis, she studied musical theater at the Columbia College in Chicago. Despite her passion, she has not won many roles in university productions, instead of finding opportunities in summer actions and community theaters. “I never thought it would happen. I would have been satisfied with a single line in a film, “she said, remembering her first dreams.

Infiniti presents itself in Hollywood, and the rest of the world looming cinema during the premiere of season 12 of the Podcast Circuit Variety Awards. Listen below.

His name, a mixture of Chase Meridian by Nicole Kidman from “Batman Forever” and “Toy Story” by Pixar, feels strangely prophetic for an actor who now enters under the projectors of Hollywood.

In “One Battle After Other”, Willa is not a teenager in stock. With a purple belt in martial arts and a sense of the razor agency, it appears to be one of the most convincing young protagonists in Anderson. “She is asserted, but not pretentious. She hopes. I think it represents the possibility of a better future, ”explains Infiniti.

Infiniti prepared for this role while traveling with Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio (who plays his father) in Eureka, California, the film’s decor. “Meet people in this city helped me to locate Willa. I noticed how the communities interacted, and that founded her for me. ”

Infiniti shares the screen with DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and the double winner of the Sean Penn Oscars. A key sequence with Penn, in which Willa undergoes a tense DNA test, has become a lesson in restraint and reactive action. “It was like a fight,” she describes. “He is intimidating, but Paul [Thomas Anderson] encouraged us to look at this raw and natural reaction. It was exhilarating.

Infiniti is particularly efficient in his admiration for Hall and Taylor during our sitdown. Speaking of Taylor’s performance, she said that she was “so incredible” to give life to the character of Perfidia, which makes her “even more colorful” than what appeared on the page.

Regarding Hall, Infiniti highlighted the strength and subtlety it has brought to the role of Deandra. “Deandra is a calm character in a sense, but she is not silent,” she says. “She is really the most central strength of force in the film, and she does a fantastic job of almost perfecting in each character and being a mother in Willa – a mother whom she never had.”

Despite the starry company, Infiniti admits that it always adapts. “Half of me thought I could be here, half of me thought I couldn’t. I had no industry connections, no work on the camera before that. Paul literally hired me without seeing my first job, ”she says. “Now I’m on this press tour and it’s surreal.”

The real parents of Infiniti take it all. “My mother cries every time she sees the trailer. There is a photo of lockjaw holding the photo of Baby de Willa and she always says:” It’s my baby. “”

Although she has just arrived, Infiniti already dreams of future roles. She would like to work with Greta Gerwig or Steven Spielberg – and she expresses her passion for movie musicals. “If they adapt” Natasha, Pierre and the great comet of 1812 “in a film, I don’t even need to book it. I just want to be seen for Natasha,” she said.

Regarding the advice to his young me, Infiniti Borrows Wisdom has transmitted to him: “You have nothing to prove, but everything to show.”

Quick fire questions with Infiniti Chase

Favorite film by Paul Thomas Anderson (other than “One Battle After Other”)?
“Boogie Nights.”

Leonardo DiCaprio favorite performance?
“Catch me if you can.”

Benicio Del Toro’s favorite movie?
“The usual suspects.”

Favorite horror film?
“To go out.” (Although she admits that she is an auto-written “scared cat”.))

Film that makes you cry every time?
“Toy Story 3.”

The funniest film of all time?
“One battle after another.” (“It’s an action comedy!” She laughs.)

Director with whom you would like to work most?
“Steven Spielberg, Greta Gerwig, or the Daniels. Honestly, whoever wants to see me. “

Dwayne Johnson, star and producer of Benny Safdie’s Dramatic Biopic, “The Smashing Machine”.

The Podcast “Awards Circuit” by Variety, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longetta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your single window for animated conversations on the best of cinema and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit”, presents interviews with the best talents and television creations, discussions and debates on reward races and major industry titles, and much more. Subscribe via Apple, Stitcher, Spotify podcasts or wherever you download podcasts.