The Conjuring: Last Rites Breakout Mia Tomlinson Is Scary Good

A new scream queen has entered the chat. Mia Tomlinson, with her sweet yet haunting smile and blood-curdling scream, is The Conjuring: Last Rites's breakout star. She's playing a grown-up Judy Warren, the daughter of famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, in the final installment of the successful Conjuring franchise. The Michael Chaves directed film, which released September 5, is now the biggest horror opener of all time worldwide, and Tomlinson's performance, at once filled with a wholesome innocence and bone-chilling vigor, has people talking.

The 30-year-old is an indelible star on the rise with previous roles in the Britbox thriller The Beast Must Die and Netflix's The Lost Pirate Kingdom, and The Conjuring: Last Rites marks her feature-film debut. While also heavily considered for the part of young Lorraine, Tomlinson turned down the role and fought hard for Judy, a bold move that paid off for the English actress.

Following the film's Paris premiere, we caught up with Tomlinson to talk about being welcomed into the Conjuring family, the story behind that truly terrifying mirror scene, and Judy's Wednesday Addams like style.

You premiered the film in Paris last night. How was that?

That was great. I was really nervous because yesterday I had an afternoon with French press, which was the first time I had properly done any sit-down in French interviews. Of course, that was so nerve-racking, but I was really proud of myself because I actually think I did well. It was a full-circle moment for me because, as a newer face and this being my first cinema worldwide role, I was getting to promote it and present it in Paris. … When I was 14—around the age when I was like, "Oh, I'm definitely going to do acting"—I became obsessed with Amélie Poulain. Have you seen Amélie, the film? It's a classic French film, and she's in Canal Saint-Martin. That was my favorite film at the time, and I was like, "I have to speak French. I have to live in Paris." So it was a bit of a double-whammy moment for me yesterday. I can feel the energy seeping out of me right now. I'm feeling really grateful, really positive, a little bit emotional, and very happy and excited.

The Conjuring universe consists of nine films, the last of which is The Conjuring: Last Rites. Did you go through a master class of all of them going into this?

My brother had seen [the first] Conjuring and was so freaked out by it that it really put me off watching it, so I hadn't seen them. It wasn't until I had gotten through the audition process and I was going to meet Michael that I was like, "Okay, now's the time I really should watch the first one." The night before I had my final audition that was the deciding one, I watched Annabelle Comes Home and [The] Conjuring. [The] Conjuring has this hide-and-seek clap, and it's so terrifying. I'm still traumatized by it. I didn't sleep that night, so I arrived at my audition, and I had these two giant eyebags, and I was so tired. I remember walking in and being like, "You guys did your job because I didn't sleep last night!" But I think that was pretty helpful coming in because I think Judy is pretty tired of seeing all of the visions, so I definitely looked the part without the help of makeup.

It was a really fun process doing all the research for it because the films, as much as they are terrifying, there is a fun element to them, and you get that sense when you're in the cinema. I have seen it three times now with public audiences. It's weird because everyone reacts at different times, but sometimes, people are gasping, and then you hear someone scream, and then they laugh out of this almost awkwardness or embarrassment of having screamed so loudly. There is a fun element of The Conjuring because it feels like a family, and the reactions are familiar, and the room feels engaged with each other, which is what I love.

What were some of the horror films that left a mark on you growing up?

I think I was quite unusual as a younger person with my taste because of the nature of my parents' work. We had quite a lot of old-school and independent films at home. I went through a really big horror phase when I was younger with my primary school friends sneaking off and watching The Ring when we weren't supposed to and then not being able to explain to your mom why you can't sleep. But I guess, for me, it was more Tim Burton. I loved Edward Scissorhands as a kid and Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow was the first horror-genre film I was watching, and I was obsessed with that. I probably watched it the most out of any film because it was when I started to get really interested in films. As I got older, my favorite film was Requiem for a Dream, so I'd say it came into more thrillers and horror within the sense of humanity and the human condition. [The] Conjuring is more of the classic, textbook-horror-genre film, and in that world, mine was sort of an early, naughty age of watching The Ring and maybe Saw as well, which is another James Wan film.

The Conjuring: Last Rites is the final installment of the Conjuring universe. How was it for you to join this beloved franchise and work with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who have been the faces of it?

I'm still kind of processing it a little bit. I feel so honored to have been brought into a franchise like this that has been so successful as a British actress and it being the first time I've been in a cinema-level film. The Conjuring creators James and Peter [Safran] and Michael, they've also dedicated so many years and so much time to this, with Patrick and Vera of course. There's a lot of trust being brought into it, then, with me as Judy, so it was a massive deal for me, and I still feel really honored and a little bit like "Oh, pinch, pinch, pinch."

My audition process was funny, and I've actually realized that Michael is telling people about it, so I may as well talk about it. I had done my auditions for Judy, but they asked me to come in and meet Michael and bring in prep as well for young Lorraine. That was a really interesting role because, as an actor, it's such a hard scene to play out. So I came into that and did a 10-minute improv of me giving birth, and I guess I was so taken by the scene and its intensity that I wasn't fully aware of what was happening and came to it and thought, "Oh god, maybe I've taken it too far" and then realized they were all really moved by it and emotional, and Michael was like, "I'm really torn because you have done so amazing in this audition for young Lorraine, but you have the power to take on Judy, and you're really good as Judy. Would you come back and do both of them again just so I can see it again?" And I said, "I'll come back, but for Judy."

I remembered I called my agent and was like, "That's not like me. I don't know why I did that! Of course, I'll take any job. I want to be in it!" Michael ended up saying to me, "That's why you got the job"—because, I think, I really believed in myself. I think Judy was so appealing to me because I'm such an energetic and outward person. I was so fascinated by playing someone who is so internalized and so blocked and has this constant exhausting mask of trying to hide what is going on for her from everybody.

I came into the table read, and of course, [Michael had] already given me a fantastic introduction I'm sure because he's like that. I came in, and Vera was like, "Congratulations! Welcome to the Warrens!" I instantly felt part of two families, the Conjuring and the Warrens. Vera and Patrick, they are [as] talented as they are welcoming and supportive. They really are model actors in terms of how they behave. They know it takes a team to make a brilliant film, and they have created such a beautiful atmosphere with the Conjuring set. I came in thinking it's going to be a horror set. It's going to be ominous. And it's actually more like a comedy set because we're just laughing and playing, and you have to because there's a ridiculousness to it as well.

Was there a scene, a day coming up in the schedule that made you really nervous?

The mirror scene. What audiences don't know with that is we tried multiple different versions of it, and that was nearly three days of me screaming and crying consistently in a mirrored room. That does take a lot, especially the crying aspect, the energy that pulls from you. I was also extremely ill, and that was such an important scene for me and Michael because visually it's so important. It's a massive metaphor because Judy is so hidden, and here she is in this claustrophobic space with all these mirrors looking at her. She can't escape her reflection. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but in this film, mirrors are, and this is where Judy is exposed to not only her wish in life—which is normalcy, marriage, and love—but she's also exposed to darkness and these all-intrusive visions. It's saying you can't hide.

It's an important character moment for her, so I think I really wanted that to go well, but I've started to approach work in the way of being like, "You come in. You do your best. You do everything that you can do." There's no point trying to imagine what you think it will be or what you want it to be because you'll just see how you feel in the moment, and that's the most truthful to it anyway. Trust that you've done the work. I worked really hard on Judy. I spoke with the real Judy. I watched Mckenna Grace's performance in Annabelle Comes Home and had such a mind map. I kept two Judy characters in my mind. There was Judy Warren, and there is the dark Judy, and I had a character arc for both of them. The mirror scene was actually the point where Judy starts to become possessed because it's the first time she's physically touched by a demon, and this is the moment that I thought, "Maybe that's transmitted something to her, which is why afterward she behaves in a more bolshie way," which is going to the Smurls' house [and] asking questions very unlike the Judy Warren that is actually from the start.

The film is based on the true-life investigation of the Smurl haunting. How much did you immerse yourself in that story and the events that took place?

Well, this is the thing. I love a true crime [story]. I'm always obsessed with the new Netflix documentaries coming on. But I had to resist with every ounce in my body to not delve into the Smurl family. We got sent the most incredible research—all of these old TV reels, news reels, articles, fantastic stuff—which everything in me wanted to read, but Judy wouldn't have known all of this, so I couldn't. I chose two big talk-show interviews, one of them being the Larry King one, and I watched snippets of it as if Judy had. I purposely put it on in the background, and then I would look at it as if Judy had walked past and seen bits of it and was aware of it. As the time went on, when we were shooting the later Smurl scenes, then I was able to be like, "Okay, you can look at this. You can look at that because we shot that, and it's not going to affect your performance or how you're treating the family or engaging with them."

Having watched the film a few times, is there a scene that you weren't a part of that really scared you?

Yes, Vera in the basement with the axe man laughing. That actor is amazing, and he's a very friendly man, which is very conflicting. I could barely look at him walking around on set. He's so big, and his laughter… I remember I came on set because I had to collect something before I left, and they were filming that scene, and I heard him [laughing], and I was like, "Get me out of here!" I found him really freaky.

Can we talk about Judy's style? It felt very Miu Miu coded, which I loved.

I think it's a really important thing to say—all the teams, all the heads of departments were very collaborative and worked together to create the most real environment and space in the Smurl house. When I'm off camera just before I come in and say "Mom" when I do my "Don't run" speech, I was hiding in this pantry where the phone gets pulled in. I was waiting in there, and I was like, "Oh, I just want to have a look." Classic me, they're filming and need me to walk out, and I'm in there getting obsessed. But all the props, there were cake mixes from the '80s, so you can imagine the level of detail. In the costume department, a lot of stuff was sourced vintage and were one of a kind, so that was a whole thing as well—making sure I didn't ruin anything while I'm flailing around and it's a one-off [piece]. But we created a Judy that I think was somebody who wants to be normal, somebody who doesn't necessarily want to be seen as much.

For me, the biggest inspiration is there's a photo that's black-and-white: Lorraine is sat down, and Judy is on her lap, and Ed's stood, and she's wearing this little bow tie, almost like a "Wednesday Addams vibe" dress. We looked at that and said, "That's where I want to go," playing with the parallels of Annabelle the doll and Judy—the puppet, the person who is either controlling themselves or being controlled, and somebody who represents that in her clothing. But I found Judy looked quite stylish. There was this hat, though. This bowler hat. I wasn't as keen on the hat, but I wore it. The funeral scene, I loved that outfit. We played a lot with the collars, polka dots, little bows. The final sequence with the waistcoat tucked into the trousers, it's very dolly, which is quite fun. So there was a lot of thought that went into how it would visually look and what it emotionally represents.

The Conjuring: Last Rites is now in theaters.

Photographer: Claudia Cantarini
Stylist: Morgan Elizabeth Hall
Hairstylist: Kei Takano
Makeup Artist: David Gillers
Producer: Liv Cohen-Dyer