Aside from thinking she had blown her chances with a technical fumble, Madelyne Cline was as excited as she was intimated to undertake her role in Glass Onion.
Joining Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, and Daniel Craig for the second instalment of Rian Johnson’s whodunnit, Cline plays one half of an influencer duo—her boyfriend Duke played by Dave Bautista.
But despite the South Carolina native’s rapid Hollywood rise since she landed the role of Sarah Cameron in Netflix’s Outer Banks, the 25-year-old is just as deep into TikTok’s algorithm, H2O: Just Add Water and horoscopes as any of us.
Ahead of the highly anticipated release of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, marie claire sat down with the star to talk planning a murder, the all-star cast and the hardest scene to film in the upcoming season of Outer Banks.
Marie Claire: What are you drinking?
Madelyn Cline: “It’s ‘spooky season’ so I made cider!”
Marie Claire: I feel like in America there’s a lot of seasonally-themed drinks like pumpkin spiced lattes, but that’s just not a thing here.
Madelyn Cline: I hate pumpkin spice. If I’m having coffee, I want it to taste like coffee.
Marie Claire: Fair enough, so why the cider?
Madelyn Cline: Growing up my mum made cider all the time. She always had one of those drink heaters, so we had a constant supply of cider.
Marie Claire: You’ve been very busy wrapping Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Were you a fan of the genre before you got the role?
Madelyn Cline: It was one of my favourite movies that I had seen in theatres. It’s so smart and fun and engaging. Rian Johnson perfected the ‘who done it’ genre, he brought it back.
Marie Claire: I read that when you found out you got that part you accidentally gave your producer a heart attack because he thought you were leaking the script. Is it safe to say that in real life you would not be great at concealing a murder?
Madelyn Cline: I received an email through the Amber app and my hands were shaking. There was a message on it with the number of one of our producers, so I screenshot it so I could have his number. The app immediately locked me and I thought, ‘Oh no, they’re going to think I’m trying to leak a spoiler!’ I hadn’t got the part yet, so I thought I completely blew it like it.
Marie Claire: I think it’s safe to say you probably wouldn’t get away with planning a murder in real life?
Madelyn Cline: No, absolutely not. I would be the first person to slip up. I’m a terrible liar. When we were playing mafia as a cast, I would always usually be one of the first to go.
Marie Claire: The film has such an all-star cast, including Daniel Craig, Janelle Monáe, and Kate Hudson. What was that experience like? Do you have a standout memory?
Madelyn Cline: So insane and intimidating, but at the same time… It’s so funny, growing up I would watch and admire all of them. I feel that actors, artists and singers are like paintings… They’re so incredible to watch, learn from and admire. There’s a lot that goes into filming, it’s a dance. You’re constantly going back and forth in giving and receiving.
Marie Claire: Did you have any standout memories?
Madelyn Cline: Seeing dolphins in Greece. It was just so magical.
Marie Claire: Did you ever watch the Australian show H20: Just add water growing up? I think it made everyone want to be a mermaid and talk to dolphins.
Madelyn Cline: [Mimics the Australian accent] ‘Cleo no, the condensation!’
Marie Claire: So embarrassing that that’s what the world thinks our accent sounds like.
Madelyn Cline: I know, but it was so iconic. It’s so funny. I loved that show growing up.
Marie Claire: Season 3 Outer Banks returns next year, what were you most excited for about returning to filming?
Madelyn Cline: It feels safe. We’ve lived with these characters for so long and it does kind of feel like you’re going back to school or summer camp. That’s kind of comforting when you’re shooting on such a strenuous, physically and emotionally taxing show.
Marie Claire: Outer Banks became such a massive hit during the pandemic, what was the best part about experiencing such success in isolation?
Madelyn Cline: The only way I really was able to gauge any of it was through socials. I could see the show was getting a lot of popularity and people liked it, but I didn’t really realise the magnitude of it until we were out of lockdown. It’s been a slow introduction into it, but it’s still quite shocking sometimes., I still feel very much the same.
Marie Claire: I watched in your Vanity Fair video you referenced the Tiktok coffee hack. Are there any other Tiktok trends or hacks that you’ve tried in real life?
Madelyn Cline: I’m on a few sides of Tiktok. I love ‘horsetok’. I’ve been thinking about getting a horse. I’m still trying to decide if that’s a good idea or not. I’ve been on ‘physics Tok’, which is really fascinating, I get a lot of my celestial calendar dates from there. I am guilty of getting tarot cards read as well… I’ve been on a lot of sides of tick tock, I’ve definitely been on mushroomtok. But not the regular kind…
Marie Claire: What’s been one of the hardest things you’ve had to film throughout your career?
Madelyn Cline: In this upcoming season of Outer Banks. There’s a progression of scenes in the last episode and that was very dark and scary for me.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is streaming on Netflix from December 23.
