Into the Dark: Britt Baron spills on what it was like playing a pop star for the upcoming Valentine episode

Britt Baron stars as a pop star whose identity has been stolen by her crazy ex-boyfriend in the upcoming Valentine episode of Into the Dark.

We had the chance to chat with GLOW actress Britt Baron about her first official horror role in the upcoming “My Valentine” episode of Hulu’s anthology series, Into the Dark. She told us what it was like working with her excellent co-stars, and how she managed to get into the right mindset to play a pop star fighting for survival throughout the tense, thrilling, and very stylish episode.

1428 Elm: I just watched the episode the other night, and I enjoyed it. I think it was one of my favorites. 

Britt Baron: Oh, great! I haven’t even seen it. (Laughs.)

1428 Elm: What was it like for you to play a pop star?

BB: Um, terrifying. (Laughs.) It seemed like such a big mountain to climb, and it’s so different from anything I’ve ever done before. The music industry, I feel, is so different from the acting industry. So, to figure out how to realistically take on the persona of a pop star was scary but fun.

And Maggie Levin, who is the director and writer, grew up in the music industry. Her father is in Peter Gabriel’s band, and I think she spent a lot of her childhood on tour with him. That was a beneficial resource. She’s also friends with a ton of musicians, so I had a great support system going into the project, but I was intimidated. It was a fun challenge.

1428 Elm: Did you do your own singing?

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BB: Oh no, gosh no. Even just performing those songs was such a big feat for me. I was always joking with Maggie that she made me conquer all of my fears which was singing and heights, I had to like hang from that roof at one point, but, no, no, I’m not a great singer.

But I thought the music and everything they put together for the film was amazing. I got to rehearse, and they did make me sing.

I guess I didn’t know this, but when you lip-sing on camera, it’s very obvious. So I actually did have to sing, it’s just not my vocals, thank god!

1428 Elm: I thought the music was pretty catchy. I was like, “oh, I would listen to this.”

BB: I know the songs are amazing! Keeley Bumford is the writer, and she wrote all of the songs just for this episode, which I thought was so impressive because they were super catchy. I was excited; I would listen to them in the car going to set.

1428 Elm: Is this your first official horror project?

BB: Yes, it was!

1428 Elm: Was that intimidating for you?

BB: Yes, because the stakes are so high in horror. I mean, you have to sell the fact that this person you’re playing, the character, is terrified. In my case, for a lot of the movie, she’s just trying to survive. So as an actor, that’s really hard. The stakes really couldn’t be higher in horror films because it’s usually life or death. And coming from GLOW, which is like a comedy, it was an exciting challenge.

1428 Elm: I know you had a lot of intense scenes with Benedict Samuel especially, did you guys talk about how you were going to approach those?

BB: I don’t think we ever necessarily sat down and talked about it. But I think for me, sometimes when you do that — this is so silly and actor-y talk — but I feel like it can put you in your own head rather than just listening and reacting. Sometimes it’s that simple, I think. I had done, I feel, the background work I needed to, and Benedict is so incredible, and I think one of my favorite actors I’ve ever worked with.

I thought he was so supportive and so giving as a scene partner. I think he’s amazing in the film, he was terrifying and crazy and just sporadic, which made it easy for me to react to because I never really knew what he was going to do. A lot of the movie, Valentine is just reacting and calibrating how to respond to him without setting off the beast. I loved playing off Benedict and getting to know him; I think he’s phenomenal.

1428 Elm: You guys had a couple of, I don’t know if you used stage combat or did stunt work, but I was impressed with the work that went into those moments.

BB: Oh, good! I think some of the stuff Benedict and I did wasn’t even really rehearsed, I feel like some of it was like, he would grab me, and we would figure it out. But I think in those moments, I was so grateful that we had developed such a safe and trusting bond. I completely trusted him.

I feel like any time we had to do anything, he was always advocating for me on set and making sure I felt comfortable, that I felt safe. In a way then, because I felt like I trusted him, I felt like we were able to just run through in those moments when he was grabbing me or holding onto me.

1428 Elm: I think it made the film feel tenser because some of those moments happen so suddenly and leave you shocked.

BB: I know! That character is so erratic, he goes from 0 to 100  in a second, and I think my character, Valentine, knows that. They dated, and they were in a serious relationship, so my journey with him is always like “don’t wake up the monster.” How do you manipulate this guy, this force, that there’s no rhyme or reason sometimes to his behavior, which is what’s so scary.