Exclusive Interview: Madelaine Petsch Talks Jane, Her Struggle with Anxiety, and Stepping into the Producer’s Chair

Madelaine Petsch is one of Hollywood’s most versatile young talents. She’s best known for the dynamic characters she’s brought to life in projects like The Shadow Diaries and Riverdale.

This summer, she stars and produces the must-see psychological thriller, Jane. After Olivia Brooks (Madelaine Petsch) is deferred from her dream college, she suffers a series of frightening panic attacks. In an attempt to regain control, she reconnects with her former best friend, Isabelle “Izzy” Morris (Chlöe Bailey), and the two go on a social media-fueled rampage against those who stand in the way of Olivia’s success, opening the door to Olivia’s darkest impulses.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Madelaine about Jane, stepping into the producer’s chair, and her connection to anxiety.

PC: Your character is dealing with so much grief and anxiety in this film. You handle that with so much nuance. As an actress, how did you create this space for yourself to dive into that emotional arc?
Madelaine: What a wonderful question. I was attracted to this project originally because I struggle with panic and anxiety attacks. It’s only gotten worse since I got older. Getting into that particular mindset was kind of a cakewalk for me because I have lived in that mindset. The other stuff was really about character building. It was such a fine line because the whole goal of the film is not for Olivia (my character) to be liked. In fact, you really shouldn’t like Olivia. She’s got demons that she does not handle well and actually does some pretty fu*ked-up sh*t later.

It was funny because it was a balance between making everything grounded and nuanced and making sure that I wasn’t justifying the manner in which she handles herself. You’re not supposed to like her even though her entire goal in life is to be liked. It was this really interesting puzzle.

PC: In addition to starring in the film, you also produced it. How challenging was it for you to wear all those different hats?
Madelaine: It was incredibly challenging but also incredibly rewarding. Working on a film like this as a first-time producer was a boot camp in producing. We had eighteen days to shoot this. I had to go straight into Riverdale afterwards. We didn’t have any wiggle room. It was a lot of putting the puzzle together. It was lots of nights after work, redoing the schedule together, and talking about how to optimize the next day. I felt like such a team player. It made me even more invested in the project (and I don’t know how that’s even possible when you’re the actor on the project). It made it more rewarding. There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Lots of tears on and off camera.

PC: You’ve done a lot of producing since this film. Have you found that the work that you’ve done behind the scenes has impacted the way that you approach your work on camera or vice versa?
Madelaine: Absolutely. Even within my auditions, I feel like I now understand so much more about putting together a cast. When Chlöe [Bailey] came into the Zoom room, it was an immediate obvious yes to me the moment she spoke her first line. I understand that puzzle-piecing. I know I keep using that word, but Jane was really a puzzle. It makes me feel better as an artist, understanding the process and the vision more. It makes me more comfortable in my artistry. It makes me understand attacking dialogue and breaking down a scene or a character on a script in a much more vast way. It’s only made me feel more comfortable and confident in my art.

PC: Great answer. There are so many incredible women in front of and behind the camera on this project. Who were the women in your own life who shaped the artist and storyteller that you are today?
Madelaine: Absolutely my mom. My mom is the woman who did it all for me. She championed my career and who I am as a person from the jump and did everything she possibly could to instill a sense of artistry within me at a young age. I’m very thankful for her. I have a badass female team behind me as well. My publicist is a strong woman. My manager is a force to be reckoned with. I don’t know how she manages everything that she does. She’s sitting right here. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by so many creative and strong people who stand up for what they mean and believe in that. It’s really cool. I learn a lot from these people every single day.

PC: Speaking of incredible women, this is Sabrina Jaglom’s directorial debut. What was it like getting to collaborate with her as you brought this story to life?
Madelaine: You know what I love about Sabrina is that she doesn’t take no for an answer. It’s really cool to see a new director feel so comfortable being like, “This is my vision. This is how it’s supposed to be.” That’s not to say that she wasn’t also incredibly collaborative. She’s one of the most collaborative directors that I’ve worked with, but she was able to stand up for her creative beliefs and her creative vision in a way that I don’t see in directors who have been doing this for a long time. It was really inspiring for somebody in film to want to do that more in a way that’s strong and firm. She’s an incredible, incredible director. I can’t wait to see what she does next because she’s so inspired.

PC: Like you were saying earlier, there’s such great chemistry that comes off the screen between you and Chlöe. How did the two of you build that bond while filming during a pandemic?
Madelaine: Weirdly, I met her maybe four days before we went to camera. It was almost like a natural bond. She is the easiest person to get along with. She’s so genuine and nice. I can’t speak more highly of her. She’s truly the best. It was really easy to get along with her. I feel like she makes friends everywhere she goes. But we also spent every single weekend together. We went to escape rooms every weekend. We went to dinners every night. We really, really enjoyed each other’s company and chose to spend time together but also really worked on the relationship together. She is such an easy, easy, easy person to get along with.

PC: One of the Creator+’s missions is to create impact-driven projects. Jane tackles really sensitive themes of grief, anxiety, and cyberbullying told through a thriller. Why do you think this genre lends itself to this type of storytelling?
Madelaine: I think when you try to push a message in the audience’s face, the message can be lost because there’s so much. This way, it’s up to how the audience wants to experience the film. They can experience it in a way where it’s pure entertainment. It’s a fun ride for them to go along with. Or maybe they’ll identify with a piece of the story in a way that’s unique to themselves. But with a psychological thriller, it lends itself to the audience picking their own fate and choosing how to feel about the film. I feel like it’s more freeing as an audience member to watch it through that lens.

PC: You shared on social media that this project has been years in the making. What has it meant to you to finally have it come out? What do you hope audiences take away?
Madelaine: It was such a wild ride and labor of love. That’s what I’m really excited for people to see. I don’t expect anybody to walk away with a message in mind. I just want people to enjoy it for what it is and enjoy the psychological thriller aspect of it all through the lens of a very damaged high school girl. It’s supposed to be fun. I don’t know if I talked about this earlier, but to me it’s really fun to be able to play the lead of a film and have her be an antagonist from the jump. She’s not meant to be liked. It’ll be really fun for people to see that. I feel like it’s a more nuanced and unique approach to this kind of filmmaking.

PC: There are so many different facets to your talent. As you look ahead to the next five to ten years, is there a dream role or story that you would love to bring to life either as an actress or a producer?
Madelaine: This is going to be very far from left field, but I really want to do an action film. It’s so weird. I mean, I would also love to do a true comedy, but action is definitely the next thing that I want to tackle both physically and mentally.

To keep up with Madelaine, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Jane is out now in select theater and on Creator+ on 9/16.