Exclusive Interview: Kiersey Clemons Discusses Her New Film Susie Searches, Her Character’s Duality, and More

Actress and producer Kiersey Clemons is delivering one of the performances of the year in her new film, Susie Searches.

Susie (Clemons), an awkward college student with a failing true-crime podcast, seizes the opportunity to boost her campus and online popularity by solving the mysterious disappearance of Jesse (Alex Wolff), a campus heartthrob. With her star on the rise, events take a dark turn as Susie digs out the truth and soon finds herself in over her head.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Kiersey about Susie Searches, exploring her character’s duality, and more.

Please Note: This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike. We stand in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, and will not be conducting further interviews until a fair deal is reached.

PC: There are so many twists and turns that happened throughout Susie Searches. What was your initial reaction when this project came across your desk?
Kiersey: I was excited to play with the beats that could turn this mystery into a thriller or scary movie. Finding my way around that, while also trying to add a layer of comedy, was challenging and very exciting. How do we make people fall in love with Susie? You want people on her side, even if you disagree with what she’s doing. I knew that this great script would come with this great challenge, but that’s what makes you want to do it.

PC: Before signing onto this project, you actually got on Zoom with Sophie [Kargman]. What was discussed in that initial conversation? How did building that initial trust guide you throughout this process?
Kiersey: It helped so much. We had spoken for maybe a year and a half before we even got to filming. We met virtually in 2020. We had no idea how long it would be until the movie would get made. Would people still make it? But it was really me and Sophie as this team. Sophie was so on top of every minute detail. Nothing gets past her. We were able to support each other and make sure that everything that we spoke about in the last year and a half wasn’t forgotten or lost in the mix. This is an indie movie, so it made it a lot more efficient for us to have our way of communicating, getting straight to the point or even me making a certain face and Sophie coming over and being like, “Am I annoying you?” [laughs] I could say, “Yes.” [laughs] Or she’ll be like, “You look confused. You don’t like that take, do you?” Building that connection made the filming a lot more efficient and made it a better film.

PC: It’s Susie’s mother who encourages her to get her voice out there. Who were the people in your own life who have supported you on this journey? How did you discover your own voice?
Kiersey: I think my aunt had to do a lot with it. She was a kindergarten teacher. She’s been a teacher my whole life. She’s inspired a lot of people. She says exactly what comes to mind. She’ll do anything shamelessly to make someone laugh. She has this beautiful, abundant energy. When I was younger, I really admired her and wanted to be like her. She was one of those people.

But I also have amazing parents who heard me out when I said I wanted to be an actor. They helped me just enough to encourage my resilience. But they also knew that I was trying to do something that was very difficult to break into. They wanted me to be a levelheaded, rational person whilst also dreaming big. They were rooting for me and encouraged me.

PC: As you were saying earlier, Susie is this really compelling character where you don’t agree with the decisions she’s made but you understand why she’s made them. You brought so much depth to that contrast. As an actress, how did you create the space for yourself to dive into those two different sides of her? How challenging was that?
Kiersey: We talked a lot about what we didn’t want Susie to be. That left a lot of room for her to be anything aside from what we knew we didn’t want her to be. Because that would shift the whole tone of the movie and that would take away from the themes of the film if you are all of a sudden afraid of her or you start to not understand why she’s doing what she’s doing. We wanted to make sure that it was always clear that she was coming from a place of desperation to be seen. She’s been made an outsider. I didn’t want people to say that this was her villain origin story. I didn’t want it to feel like that. I didn’t want it to seem like she was becoming a villain. It’s more so that her world started to unravel, and her world was so small to begin with. The one time she takes something into her own, we’re all like, “Susie, you could have opened up to the world in a very different way. You didn’t have to do that.” But she’s been so isolated that she didn’t know better.

PC: Everything that Susie does is so calculated, but there’s a moment with her mother towards the latter half of the film where she lets her wall down. How did you prepare for that scene in particular?
Kiersey: Filming it was really beautiful. It’s one of those scenes where you’re filming it and everyone is teary-eyed on set. Any time that happens on set that means the scene is going right and something’s happening. I felt her desperation to have this connection. Her mom is the only person that she has a connection with, and it’s so limited by her disability. You see this moment of vulnerability where it almost feels like if her mom was able to give her some advice, hold her and uplift her, maybe it would have changed everything. But who’s to say? Maybe it wouldn’t. But in Susie’s mind, it does feel that way. If only the one person in my life could be there at this moment, how different would things be for me? Would I be such an outcast? Would I have created this situation? Would I know how to exist and be with other people? I was holding all of those thoughts in my mind and in that scene.

To keep up with Kiersey, follow her on Instagram. Watch Susie Searches exclusively on DIRECTV.