Next year, Matilda Firth will be seen playing Ginger in the Blumhouse supernatural horror film Wolf Man, with the film having a Universal Pictures release in January, with Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner also in the cast. In the newly-released sci-fi thriller film Subservience, Matilda plays Isla, and earlier this year, she played Sophie in the Channel 5 series Coma, with Jason Watkins and Claire Skinner playing her on-screen parents. Matilda filmed for an episode of Mr Bates vs. The Post Office as Millie-Jo Castleton, and last year, she played Nancy O’Riordan in Series 2 of Time, playing the daughter of Jodie Whittaker’s character Orla. For her first on-screen regular character, Matilda played Grace in both series of the Channel 4 sitcom Hullraisers, and her further projects include playing Little Carole in the 2022 TV movie Christmas Carole, working on the Disney film Disenchanted, being part of the McDonald’s Christmas advert in 2021 and playing Young Mia (Mia McKenna-Bruce) in Vampire Academy. We recently spoke to Matilda about filming for the upcoming 2025 release of Wolf Man, playing Isla in Subservience, what Sophie was like to play in Coma and her time as Grace in Hullraisers.

It has been announced that you will be playing Ginger in the upcoming Blumhouse supernatural horror film Wolf Man alongside Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, is there anything you can say about your time working on the project?

We were in New Zealand for three months, filming in a studio just outside Wellington but we also got to do lots of location shoots. It was an amazing shoot and I learnt so much from both Chris and Julia, they’re great actors and just lovely people – I loved working so closely with them. Leigh (Whannell – the director) always made it fun on set and I feel so excited to be part of this movie. I can’t wait for people to see it!

How did you feel finding out you’d booked the role and what are you looking forward to for the Universal Pictures release in January?

I had a Zoom call with my UK and US agents and they told me the good news – it was an incredible feeling! When we were going through the different stages of the audition process, I really felt like I understood Ginger and, after having a Zoom call a few weeks earlier with Leigh to talk about the movie, I knew I really wanted to work with him and be a part of this film. Getting the news that I’d got the part was the best feeling ever! Leigh also called a day later to congratulate me, which was really lovely. I’m looking forward to the premiere in January – not only to see the completed film but to see everyone again!

In the newly-released sci-fi thriller film Subservience, you play Isla, what was it like on set of the film and what was Isla like to play?

We filmed this in early 2023 in Bulgaria and it was my first supporting lead role in a movie. The set was great, most of the scenes take place in a house so they actually built a whole house, including a garden with a swing (where I spent my break times!). Around the house they had photos of me from when I was younger – they superimposed Michele (Morrone) and Madeline (Zima)’s faces onto the faces of my real parents, which was funny! Isla was a fun character to play, she’s really close to her parents and very protective of her little brother. I think she shows her protective side in the scary bathroom scene and the hospital scene, both of which were lots of fun to film!

How would you describe Isla and how did you prepare for the role?

I think Isla’s quite a brave girl, she has to cope with her mum being sick and possibly dying and then of course she goes through quite a lot when Megan Fox’s character goes bad! The main thing I had to do to prepare for the role was brush up on my American accent. I’d filmed American accent roles before (Disenchanted and Vampire Academy) but, as this was a bigger role, I had to make sure my accent was right.

What are some of your favourite highlights from filming Subservience and working opposite a cast including Megan Fox as Alice?

The cast were all really lovely – as I had more scenes with Michele, I got to know him really well. We’d play in the fake snow outside the house and he was always making me laugh, he was really fun! The hospital scenes with Megan and Madeline were great to film too. There were lots of interesting props (like a fake beating heart that looked so real) and the baby hospital beds all had dolls in them, some of them looked really life-like so seeing them all lying there was pretty creepy.

What was it like playing the regular role of Sophie in the Channel 5 series Coma earlier this year alongside your on-screen parents played by Jason Watkins and Claire Skinner?

It was filmed in Budapest, which is a beautiful city and I spent my days off exploring it.

Sophie was a lovely character to play. She gets increasingly scared by the trouble her dad is getting into – he tries so hard to protect her from everything. Sophie has asthma so we spent some time looking at what happens when people have an asthma attack so I could copy it for my scenes. I couldn’t do it for too long though or I started feeling a bit faint!

You appeared in an episode of Mr Bates vs. The Post Office as Millie-Jo Castleton for ITV earlier this year, how was it being involved with the series?

It was great being part of this series, and my little brother Tom got to play the role of Millie-Jo’s brother Cameron in this too! So many people saw this show and recognised both of us from it, we felt so lucky to have been a part of it.

Last year, you were in the cast of Series 2 of Time as Nancy O’Riordan (the daughter of Jodie Whittaker’s character Orla), what did you enjoy most about joining the show and playing Nancy?

It was great doing a strong Yorkshire accent and Jodie was so lovely, she really looked after me and the boys playing my brothers on set. Even though the show was about a women’s prison, the cast and crew really protected us from anything stressful. There’s a scene in the prison visitors room where one of the prisoners starts screaming at someone. I was expecting there to be swearing (as my mum had read the script and warned me) but they didn’t swear at all while we were in the room – all the swearing parts were added after we’d left. Jodie is a brilliant actress and I loved watching her. When she was doing her speech about her mum at the funeral, I had real tears because I really felt her emotion.

Can you tell us about your character Grace in the Channel 4 sitcom Hullraisers and how was it having Grace as your first on-screen regular character?

I loved playing Grace! She had a bit of an attitude in Season 2, I often felt a bit bad for her mum and dad! I think her personality was more like her dad than her mum, who was really funny but a bit crazy sometimes. I felt really lucky getting this as my first series regular role (I was six). It was such a nice experience, it made me want to do even more acting – it was the start of everything. I felt sad on the days when I wasn’t filming and had to go back to school!

Do you have any stand-out memories from working on Hullraisers across both series that you can share?

In the very first episode, Grace is taking part in a drama club play and she mistakes some drumming for the start of a football chant, which is very sweary! The director wanted all the other children on the stage to have natural shocked reactions to me swearing so for the practice he asked me not to swear and instead shout out something else instead. This meant when we did the scene for real and I actually swore, all the kids on stage were shocked. It was really funny – one of the girls told me off afterwards and didn’t believe me when I said it was in the script!

How was it playing Little Carole in the 2022 TV movie Christmas Carole and what was it like attending the cast and crew screening?

The Christmas Carole set was great, with old-fashioned Christmas decorations and Christmas music. I already knew the director (Ian Fitzgibbon) as I’d worked with him on Hullraisers so I felt at ease straight away. However, during one of the scenes, I had to sing a short solo of Let’s Face The Music and Dance while Suranne (Jones) stands really close, staring at me. While I love singing, I did feel a little nervous doing it in front of lots of people on the street! The cast and crew screening was great, it was the first one I’d ever attended and it was so nice seeing everyone again as well as watching the movie for the first time!

How did you find the experience filming for the Disney film Disenchanted?

Being on the set of a Disney movie was magical! The scene had a giant stomping through a fairytale village. The village they created was just wow – there were market stalls and shops and lots of animals everywhere, it really did look like a fairytale! Patrick Dempsey was really lovely to work with and it was also my first experience of having a stunt double. There were a lot of people on set as it was a crowd scene, and everyone was dressed as a fairytale villager – I loved it!

You were seen playing Younger Mia (Mia McKenna-Bruce) in Vampire Academy, can you tell us about this?

We spent a week at Pamplona in Spain and they filmed our scenes in a beautiful villa on a mountainside. My costume was a gorgeous golden dress and my hair was straightened so it was all glossy and shiny – I felt like a vampire princess. Sadly, I didn’t get to wear any fangs!

What do you remember most from working on the McDonald’s Christmas advert in 2021?

The Imaginary Iggy McDonald’s Christmas advert was my first lead in a commercial. We filmed it in a house in London over four days with the brilliant director Bertie Ellwood. I remember that there were stand-ins for the character of Iggy (who wore fluffy suits) so I knew where to look. We were filming in the middle of July so they must have been boiling! In the scenes where I’m hugging Iggy, there was a white blow-up version of him that was used and we weren’t quite sure at that time what he may end up looking like. It was exciting seeing the advert to see the final version of Iggy!

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

I asked my mum if I could try acting as I’d seen other kids on TV. She took me along to a local drama club on a Saturday afternoon and soon after I started I joined their in-house casting agency. I don’t know if it was something that I wanted to do professionally – I just knew that it looked fun and I wanted to try it. Thankfully, I was right, it is fun! Although I love acting, eventually I’d like to be a director and create my own films.

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