In the recent release of the biographical sports film Young Woman and the Sea, Olive Abercrombie portrays Young Trudy (Gertrude) Ederle, who was the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926, with Daisy Ridley playing the older Trudy, and she attended the Disney red carpet premiere at the El Capitan Theatre. Across both series of Amazon Prime’s Outer Range, Olive plays Amy Abbott, with Tom Pelphry playing her on-screen father, and in last year’s romantic comedy film The Other Zoey, she played Avery MacLaren, alongside a cast including Drew Starkey, Andie MacDowell and Patrick Fabian. During her acting career so far, Olive has worked on a number of other projects including the 2023 horror film Oracle as Blair, the crime thriller Midnight in the Switchgrass as Bethany, The Haunting of Hill House as Abigail, and she was seen in Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches as Daphne Mayfair, and will be returning to the role for Season 2. Olive answered our questions about portraying Young Trudy Ederle in Young Woman and the Sea, her time as Amy Abbott in Outer Range, working on feature film The Other Zoey and playing Daphne Mayfair in Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches.

Most recently on screen, you were seen playing Young Trudy Ederle in the biographical sports film Young Woman and the Sea, how was it telling Gertrude Ederle’s story and sharing the role with Daisy Ridley?

It was an honour to be a part of sharing that forgotten story. I love Daisy, so it was amazing for us to both be playing the same character. I remember when I first met her she was wearing a daisy T-shirt. She smiled so big and told me she loved my audition tape. That was awesome. Starting the movie I was most excited to meet Jerry Bruckheimer because Pirates of the Caribbean are some of my favourite movies! Joachim Rønning was so warm and lovely as a director, he encouraged me so much on set. I could tell he was having so much fun directing the scenes where I annoy my dad by playing the ukulele over and over. And he seemed to really like my improv playing “shave and a haircut”!

How did you prepare for portraying Trudy and what was Young Woman and the Sea like to film?

To prepare, I watched videos online and tried learning as much about the character as I could so I would be able to play her better. Also, working on the film was so much fun! I would be on set with all the actors, doing the scenes, then after work me and the other child actors would go to the beach and swim (Lilly Aspell and Raphael Bishop). We did school and explored Bulgaria together for months. I was one of the few Americans on set so I enjoyed learning different words and phrases from the British and Bulgarian cast and crew.

To prepare for the ukulele parts, I learned to play and sing several old-timey songs. It was such a dream to get to play and “sing” like that for a role. Lol.

What was it like attending the Disney red carpet premiere and how was it watching the completed film for the first time?

It was so great to be able to see everybody again, and seeing the movie all put together was an amazing feeling. The El Capitan is such a pretty theatre! There was an organist playing 1920s songs before the show as well! The red carpet was held around this famous pool at the Hollywood Roosevelt and it was stunning. It was only my second premiere and my first time doing red carpet interviews so I was nervous.

You played Amy Abbott across both series of Outer Range for Amazon Prime, what did you enjoy most about working on the show?

My favourite part was working with all the hardworking, kind, and talented actors every day. And not just the actors, the directors and all of the film crew, everyone was just so sweet. They really believed in me. I celebrated my 10th and 12th birthdays on set both seasons which they made so special. Loved Julie in makeup and JQ also, and she got me into the Spooked podcast! Everyone on set had really cool ghost stories. Many places in Vegas, New Mexico where we filmed are haunted.

How was it filming alongside the rest of the cast, including your on-screen father Tom Pelphry, and what was Amy like to play?

Playing Amy was really different from other roles I had played. She has a straightforward “Abbott” way of speaking, which is quiet and short, but underneath the surface she is very complex, and she also has some funny spark in her. There’s a lot weighing on her but she’s also still a kid. Josh Brolin is a terrific actor and director. He directed Season 2 Episode 6 and he was so collaborative and supportive. It was great working with him. Sometimes when working with all of the actors, I would forget I’m not the character. Their acting helped me get into scenes and I couldn’t have done it without them. Tom Pelphry was so good, I accidentally called him Dad off-set a couple of times. I had some scenes with Imogen Poots both seasons – we got to do this crazy mirror scene where we mimicked each other’s movements. That was one of my favourite scenes to shoot! Shaun Sipos had so much great acting advice and he blew me away in Season 2. Noah Reid was so funny and cool and is just a really nice guy. Lewis Pullman was also really friendly and cool, he always had kind words for me at roping practice. Tamara Podemski is so genuinely talented and her family is so sweet. Also, producer Heather Rae was so supportive. When I was horse riding for the show, she got me horse books and always brought cookies to set. By the end it felt like family. I loved working on Outer Range.

What was it like being part of last year’s romantic comedy film The Other Zoey as Avery MacLaren and how would you describe your character?

I would describe Avery as funny, pesty, and energetic. She was very fun to play. Avery will say whatever she wants, whenever she wants and will not let anyone stop her. It was my first comedy role!

How did you find the experience on set of The Other Zoey and what are some of your favourite highlights from filming?

I think most of my favourite moments were in between the scenes when I got to hang out with all the actors. Drew Starkey was such a fun scene partner, we loved making jokes and playing games. And when I watched Andie MacDowell and Patrick Fabian doing improv on set it inspired me to try doing more improv. Andie was so cool. Director Sara Zandieh was very chill also, and when it came to changing up the scene or lines, she trusted us – it was great working with her.

Can you tell us about the 2023 horror film Oracle and how was your time playing Blair?

Oracle was great, it was my first horror movie role. The Crovetti twins and I really bonded over horror. I will forever have fond memories of playing the game Among Us with them and their mom. I recently discovered that game is like Alien and The Thing in real life, which are two personal favourites.

Ryan Destiny is such a sweetie, we loved telling each other stories and playing games on set. And Heather Graham was so nice, we talked a good bit and I just really enjoyed my time with her.

You had a guest role in Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches as Daphne Mayfair, how was this?

It was a really fun day meeting Alex and seeing my friend Anissa Matlock. It was my second time shooting in New Orleans (Oracle also shot there) – I love that city’s spooky vibes! I heard Annabeth Gish, who played my mom in Hill House, is also in it.

I’m actually back for Season 2 coming out next year! This season, I got to work with Alyssa Jirrels, who plays my older sister. She is super duper nice and cool. I got to work with Jen Richards, who is so funny and gave me tons of good movie suggestions. I got to meet Harry Hamlin, who was in Clash of the Titans! I love the stop-motion in that movie! This season I did lots of ghost tours and cemetery visits. We got to see Anne Rice’s house and visit her resting place.

What do you remember most from playing Bethany in the crime thriller Midnight in the Switchgrass in 2021 for your first feature film?

It was a long time ago but what I remember most is when me and Lukas Haas went to a place where you could feed ostriches. That was really fun! He plays piano too so I remember playing piano and foosball together and eating lunch and stuff.

I remember the premiere was my first premiere, I was nine… we brought headphones because I couldn’t see the adult parts of the movie.

In 2018, you played Abigail in The Haunting of Hill House, do you have any stand-out memories from this project that you can share?

One time when I was on set, I was passing by the room where they were shooting Carla Gugino’s death scene and she walked by me with fake blood all over her face and clothes. She passed by me and gave me a big smile and said hi and walked off. I was standing there like wtf happened!? I had no idea what her storyline was because I was only five, so I was totally lost. I went to my mom and I said: “MOM, IS CARLA OK?!”. I will always remember that. Now that I’m 13, I just recently watched the show all the way through and it is so freaking good! All the actors’ performances are FLAWLESS. It was so cool to watch it and be like “Ooohhh, I remember doing that!”. I can’t believe that I got to be part of such a cool show at such a young age.

How did you get into acting and was it something you always wanted to do?

Even when I was three or four years old, I loved dressing up and pretending to be characters. My mom had been posting little videos of me dressing up and people started reaching out and asking if she had ever considered putting me in acting stuff. She was hesitant at first, but after asking me and me saying yes we thought we would try it. I auditioned for a little while until I got the role of Abigail in The Haunting of Hill House. After wrapping on that, I thought it was so much fun so I decided I wanted to keep going. I still love acting so much, and I am so grateful that my family supports me to do it.

What are some of your favourite films and TV shows to watch?

I have so many favourite movies and TV shows, if I say them all we are going to be here for a while so I’ll just say a few: Shaun of the Dead, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Stranger Things, Kubo and the Two Strings, Parks and Recreation, The Mighty Boosh, The Sixth Sense, What Lies Beneath, What About Bob, Corpse Bride, Coraline, The Haunting of Hill House, Beetlejuice, Drag Me to Hell, Gilmore Girls, Cloverfield, The Man Who Laughs, Aliens, and I really like this thing called The Amazing Digital Circus (it’s a YouTube thing, idk if it counts). I still have about 3,000 more but I can’t fit them all, lol.

How do you like to spend your time away from acting?

I love making stop-motion videos, crocheting, playing piano, playing guitar, drawing, and animating. Those are just some of my hobbies, but crocheting is really fun because I can just make little toys for people and stuff.

Do you have any upcoming projects that you can tell us about and what are you hoping the rest of the year brings for you?

For the acting part I do have a project I’m working on but I can’t talk about that yet, but this fall I’m going with my choir to sing at Carnegie Hall! That will be my first time in New York. I’m really excited about that.

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