Alex Essoe

Last updated
Alex Essoe
Born (1992-03-09) March 9, 1992 (age 32)
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present

Alexandra Essoe (born March 9, 1992) is a Canadian actress [1] who has appeared predominantly in horror films. Essoe had her first lead role in the 2014 American horror film Starry Eyes , [2] and she had a starring role in the 2017 American horror film Midnighters . [3] She has collaborated several times with director Mike Flanagan, playing Wendy Torrance in the 2019 horror film Doctor Sleep [4] and playing supporting roles in the series The Haunting of Bly Manor in 2020 and Midnight Mass in 2021.

Contents

Career

Essoe's parents were Canadian and American immigrants living in Saudi Arabia when Essoe was born. [5] When she was 12 years old, she and her family moved to Toronto. Essoe's mother was a stage actor, and Essoe watched rehearsals and productions. While she acted in high school, including playing the lead in Medea , she initially aspired to be a teacher. After a couple of years modeling, she took an acting workshop in Toronto, which led her to an acting school in Vancouver, and later, a school in Los Angeles. [6] Prior to starring in Starry Eyes, she appeared in the TV series Reaper and various short films. [7]

Filmography

Film and television roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
2008 Reaper Young BrideEpisode: "The Leak"
2009 Crash AlyssaEpisode: "No Matter What You Do"
2010 Passion Play Audrey
2011EcstasyHelena
Boy ToySofiaDirect-to-video film
2012Dancing with ShadowsAmber
2013 House of Lies Model #1Episode: "Damonschildren.org"
2014 Starry Eyes Sarah
2015 Tales of Halloween LynnSegment: "Grim Grinning Ghost"
Don't Wake MommySusanTelevision film; also known as Dark Intentions
2016 The Neighbor Rosie
FashionistaApril
2017 Midnighters Lindsey
PolarisNurse Irisalso known as The Blessed Ones
The Super Ms. Daigle
SistersLisa Young
2018The MaestroCyd Charisse
Red IslandAmy
2019The DroneRachel
HomewreckerMichelleAlso writer and producer
StatesGrace Genet
Doctor Sleep Wendy Torrance
2020 Death of Me Samantha
The Haunting of Bly Manor Charlotte Wingrave
2021 Midnight Mass Mildred Gunning
2022 The Midnight Club Poppy CornEpisode: "Road to Nowhere"
2023Trim SeasonJulia [8]
The Pope's Exorcist Julia Vasquez
The Fall of the House of Usher Court WitnessEpisode: "The Masque of Red Death"
2023 The Last Stop in Yuma County Sarah
2024The Carnal SoulNurseShort film [9]
Fall RiskDr. BennerShort film [10]
TBAPersephone: Pictures at the End of the WorldHarper

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katharine Isabelle</span> Canadian actress

Katharine Isobel Murray, known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing a small role in the television series MacGyver. She gained fame for the role of Ginger Fitzgerald in the films Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Langenkamp</span> American actress, director, disk jockey and producer (born 1964)

Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp is an American actress, director, writer, producer, and disc jockey. Langenkamp played Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven's slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which earned her recognition as a scream queen and in popular culture. She reprised the role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and played a fictionalized version of herself in the meta film Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). In 1995, she was inducted into the Fangoria Chainsaw Hall of Fame.

<i>The Shining</i> (film) 1980 film by Stanley Kubrick

The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson. It is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. The film presents the descent into insanity of a recovering alcoholic and aspiring novelist (Nicholson) who takes a job as winter caretaker for a haunted mountain resort hotel with his wife (Duvall) and clairvoyant son (Lloyd).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Lloyd</span> American former child actor (born 1972)

Daniel Edward Sidney Lloyd is an American former child actor best known for playing Danny Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film The Shining. After appearing in the 1982 television film Will: G. Gordon Liddy, Lloyd retired from acting. He became a professor at the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandra Breckenridge</span> American actress (born 1982)

Alexandra Breckenridge is an American actress. She began her career with supporting roles in the teen comedy films Big Fat Liar (2002) and She's the Man (2006). She later played reporter Willa McPherson in the FX series Dirt and had a supporting role in the short-lived series The Ex List. She starred as a young Moira O'Hara in the first season of FX's American Horror Story, and played Kaylee in the third season. She played Jessie Anderson in the AMC series The Walking Dead and Sophie in the NBC series This Is Us. She is also the voice of various characters in the animated comedy series Family Guy. Since 2019, she has starred as Melinda "Mel" Monroe in the Netflix series Virgin River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Kapp Horner</span> American actor and writer

Alex Kapp is an American television actress and writer, best known for her role as Lindsay on the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–10).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Braga</span> Brazilian actress and producer (born 1983)

Alice Braga Moraes is a Brazilian actress and producer. She has appeared in several Brazilian films, starring as Angélica in the acclaimed City of God (2002), Karinna in Lower City (2005), and Dolores in Only God Knows (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lin Shaye</span> American actress (born 1943)

Lin Shaye is an American actress. In a career spanning over fifty years, Shaye has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is regarded as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror productions, which include the films Alone in the Dark (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Critters (1986) and its sequel Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Amityville: A New Generation (1993), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994), Dead End (2003), 2001 Maniacs (2005) and its sequel 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams (2010), Ouija (2014) and its prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Tales of Halloween (2015), Abattoir (2016), The Final Wish (2018), Room for Rent (2019), The Grudge (2020), Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), and the Insidious film series (2010–2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandra Daddario</span> American actress (born 1986)

Alexandra Anna Daddario is an American actress. She had her breakthrough portraying Annabeth Chase in the Percy Jackson film series (2010–2013). She has since starred in Hall Pass (2011), Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), San Andreas (2015), Baywatch (2017), and We Summon the Darkness (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaniehtiio Horn</span> Canadian actress (b. 1986)

Kaniehtiio Alexandra Jessie Horn, sometimes credited as Tiio Horn, is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for her role in the television film Moccasin Flats: Redemption and she has appeared in the films The Trotsky, Leslie, My Name Is Evil, and The Wild Hunt, as well as the streaming television horror series Hemlock Grove and the sitcoms 18 to Life, Letterkenny and Reservation Dogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Levy</span> American actress (born 1989)

Jane Colburn Levy is an American actress. After attending the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, she debuted as the original Mandy Milkovich on the Showtime comedy-drama Shameless (2011). Levy left Shameless following its first season to portray the lead of the ABC sitcom Suburgatory from 2011 to 2014. Transitioning to film, Levy collaborated with director Fede Álvarez as the lead of the horror films Evil Dead (2013) and Don't Breathe (2016). She returned to television with series regular roles on the Hulu comedy-drama There's... Johnny! (2017) and horror fantasy Castle Rock (2018), in addition to headlining the Netflix thriller miniseries What/If (2019). From 2020 to 2021, Levy portrayed the title character of the NBC musical comedy-drama Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy.

<i>Starry Eyes</i> 2014 American horror film

Starry Eyes is a 2014 American horror film written and directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. The film had its world premiere on March 8, 2014 at South by Southwest and features Alexandra Essoe as a hopeful young starlet who finds that fame's price is not always easily paid. Funding for the movie was partially raised through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Flanagan (filmmaker)</span> American filmmaker (born 1978)

Mike Flanagan is an American filmmaker, best known for his horror work. Flanagan wrote, directed, produced, and edited the horror films Absentia (2011), Oculus (2013), Hush, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game (2017), and Doctor Sleep (2019). He created, wrote, produced, and served as showrunner on the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), The Midnight Club (2022), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), also directing and editing some if not all episodes of each.

<i>Be My Cat: A Film for Anne</i> 2015 Romanian horror film by Adrian Țofei

Be My Cat: A Film for Anne is a 2015 Romanian found footage psychological horror film directed, produced, written, and starring Adrian Țofei, about an aspiring filmmaker who goes to extreme levels to convince actress Anne Hathaway to star in his film. It is the first entry in Țofei's planned indie trilogy which includes We Put the World to Sleep and Pure. It is also Țofei's first film and Romania's first found footage horror movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Siegel</span> American actress and writer (born 1982)

Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel, is an American actress and writer. Dubbed a scream queen for her extensive work in the horror genre, Siegel is known for her collaborations with her husband, Mike Flanagan. She has starred in the films Oculus (2013), Hush which she co-wrote, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game (2017), and The Life of Chuck (2024), and the television series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabrielle Haugh</span> American model and actress

Gabrielle Genevieve Haugh is an American model and actress who portrayed the role of Jade Michaels on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives.

<i>Doctor Sleep</i> (2019 film) 2019 film by Mike Flanagan

Doctor Sleep is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Mike Flanagan. It is an adaptation of the 2013 novel of the same name by Stephen King and serves as a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining. The film stars Ewan McGregor as Dan Torrance, a man with psychic abilities and a drinking problem, who struggles with childhood trauma caused by the horrors at the Overlook Hotel. Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, and Cliff Curtis have supporting roles as new characters: Abra Stone and Billy Freeman team up with Dan to take down Rose the Hat and her gang of followers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Hallorann</span> Fictional character

Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel The Shining. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is also telepathic, and learns that the evil spirits of the hotel have taken control of Danny's father, Jack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Torrance</span> Fictional character

Winnifred "Wendy" Torrance is a fictional character and protagonist of the 1977 horror novel The Shining by the American writer Stephen King. She also appears in the prologue of Doctor Sleep, a 2013 sequel to The Shining.

<i>The Shining</i> (franchise) American horror franchise

The Shining is an American supernatural horror media franchise that originated from the 1977 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The novel was later adapted into a 1980 film and a 1997 television miniseries. King later wrote a 2013 sequel novel, Doctor Sleep, which was adapted to film in 2019.

References

  1. "A Woman You Should Meet: Alexandra Essoe". Sharp Magazine. November 7, 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  2. Hallam, Scott (February 3, 2015). "Exclusive: Starry Eyes' Alex Essoe Talks Hollywood, Transformation, and Inspirational Fingernails". Dread Central . Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  3. Wilson, Staci Layne (February 28, 2018). "Exclusive Interview with Actress Alex Essoe on Midnighters". Dread Central . Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  4. Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 1, 2018). "'Doctor Sleep' Gets Carl Lumbly For Dick Halloran, Alex Essoe For Wendy Torrance". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  5. Tinkham, Chris (November 14, 2014). "Alex Essoe: Dreams and Nightmares". Under the Radar Magazine. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  6. Chang, Kee (November 11, 2014). "Alex Essoe Pays The Price Of Fame". Anthem Magazine. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  7. Redding, Kevin (November 14, 2014). "'Starry Eyes'' Alex Essoe on the Complexities of Horror Acting". Backstage . Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  8. Couch, Aaron (2021-11-04). "Horror Thriller 'Trim Season' Sets Cast". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 2023-03-12.
  9. "Alexandra Essoe". Theatre-News.com. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
  10. Fall Risk . Retrieved 2024-06-29 via letterboxd.com.