The star of “In the Heights” explains a step in representation in the world of SCREAM.
Melissa Barrera was interviewed by the New York Post to promote the already acclaimed cinematic adaptation of In the Heights. This is set to be THE movie of the summer in the US – right when everyone is needing an explosion of joy, music and representation.
In this amazing interview, Barrera also talked about SCREAM and secretly geeking out everytime she shared a scene with Neve Campbell and especially with Courteney Cox (Melissa is a huge fan of Friends, to the point of quoting episodes).
“I would be doing a scene with Courteney or Neve, and when the directors would cut, I’d whisper to them, ‘Take a picture, take a picture!’ I would act all casual, so they could get a shot of us.”
She also brought an interesting fact about her character, Sam Carpenter:
“The role was written to be played by a white girl, and I feel like the studio was giving me a chance, and casting me and leaving the name as-is is a step in representation, and being open to giving the role to the best actor, not just casting an ethnicity.”
