Muses of Media

Inde Navarrette and I go “way back.” Her words, not mine.

When she arrived at the press junket for our interviews, I was already waiting outside the room, second in line. I complimented Navarrette on her outfit; she thanked me and went inside. Soon, it was my turn, and when the PR crew began introducing me to her and Michael Johnston, she jokingly interrupted, “Oh, we go way back.”

I’d only met Navarrette twice before this, about a month prior. Since Obsession released, she’s probably met thousands of people and had hundreds of conversations with other journalists, so I was pleasantly surprised that she remembered me. The only other time that’s happened was with musician Aurelio Voltaire.

I only had five minutes with the actors, so I began my questions as quickly as I could, but the actors stopped me. Johnston and Navarrette asked the crew to tell the journalists outside the room to keep their voices down and close the door fully so the room would be as quiet as possible. “I’m so sorry to interrupt you; I want you to have a good interview,” Navarrette said.

I was so locked in that I didn’t even notice the noise coming from outside. Johnston and Navarrette didn’t have to do that. I recognize that I’m in a unique position to have these kinds of interactions with them. But I’ve conducted interviews where the talent clearly did not care a lick about me, so this gesture of mutual respect goes a long way in my book.

Watch the full interview with Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette below:

Conventional wisdom says you should never meet your heroes, that the people we imagine them to be are different from who they are in real life. If you get the opportunity, you should absolutely meet Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston.

I’m obsessed with them.

And clearly, so is the rest of the internet. Merch, tattoos, social media reenactments of scenes, and Halloween costumes, all based on Obsession, have been all the rage. Navarrette’s character, Nikki, is even the number-three top-trending search for costumes on Google this year. Of course, the actors wanted the film to do well, but they could never have predicted this kind of massive fan reaction. Johnston said he’s glad for this because “there was no pressure” during filming, but he sees the fan engagement as a big compliment.

“There’s kind of no words to put forth to it. I’m just really happy that people really love the movie,” Navarette said. “I went to Hollywood Horror Nights, and I talked to the scare actor [playing Nikki], and I just gave her a little high five because I’m like, ‘You’re doing a good job.’ It’s not just me now that’s personifying Nikki; it’s everybody. And I love that.”

Unfortunately, Navarrette and Johnston can’t ride the highs of a single film forever. That’s just not how this industry works (unless you’re Tommy Wiseau). Amid speculation (which was later disproven) that she’d turned down Heat 2, Disney announced that Navarrette would join the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as the mutant Rogue and appear in the upcoming X-Men film.

Michael Johnston also announced that he accepted a role in the reboot of The Mummy with Brendan Fraser. Fans have a tendency to feel possessive over actors and characters they connect with, sometimes acting as if the actors owe it to their fans to only accept roles in films they approve of.

While the internet has either been congratulatory or silent regarding Johnston hitching himself to a popular franchise and popcorn action flick, Navarrette’s casting drew swift debate and backlash on the web. Many naysayers shared comments that believed a role in a comic book franchise to be beneath her talent or that she was cashing out, despite the fact that she was previously a cast member on the DC show Superman and Lois.

Johnston, who has also done voice work on X-Men ’97, says that he tries to avoid fan discourse.

“I’ve played a fair share of characters in, especially my voiceover work, [where] I wasn’t the one to originate the role, and I have to try to stay away from from from reading what people say,” Johnston said. “I just bring pieces of me and how I feel about the character to the role. I mean, maybe I like to to watch previous actors’ versions of the character, but I think I try to not get the public opinion in my head because then it’ll just make it too much pressure.”

Navarrette said that while fans’ expectations and opinions can create a lot of pressure on her, she understands that it generally comes from a place of love.

“I’m really happy that people love Rogue. I’m really, really happy. I love Rogue, so I definitely feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion, and it’s beautiful because it’s stemming from that love of what their movies are,” she said. “I think that being a part of something as big as Marvel, I mean, it’s not just a genre film; it’s Marvel. [Nikki and Rogue] are very different characters, and I really love that I’m able to try something new with such a big stage. It feels like I’m performing for like a heavyweight championship.”

But the fans aren’t the only ones who seem to struggle with certain films and performances. As popular and financially successful as they tend to be, horror and superhero films are often overlooked or deemed less worthy of prestige by awards shows and the industry at large compared to other genres, like drama, romance, or comedy.

Citing titles like Get Out and The Silence of the Lambs, Navarrette believes the industry does recognize the achievements and merits of horror, even if not to the extent that fans of the genre would like. However, it doesn’t seem like she cares much about that level of recognition, and is instead just grateful for any love audiences show.

“There’s a lot of there’s a lot of superhero slop out there, sure, but also there’s a lot of really incredible projects as well,” Johnston added. “For us to come up with a project like Obsession where we’re not doing the the studio formula and telling the audience how to feel, and leaving it very open-ended, it’s really cool to be in that conversation of how we’re influencing this next generation of filmmakers. I never thought about that when we were making it. We were just being honest and truthful, so being a part of that conversation is really cool.”