Fans of Peyton List, 15, are used to seeing her as bubbly fashionista Emma on Disney Channel’s Jessie — but there’s no laugh track attached to her latest project, the Lifetime original movie A Sister’s Nightmare, premiering Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. HollywoodLife.com spoke with Peyton about taking on such a dramatic role, including what it was like learning how to drown!
>> Viewers are used to seeing you on Jessie, which is much lighter than this movie. Did you enjoy getting to take on a more dramatic role?
Before I started Jessie, I was on a more dramatic route. So it was sort of weird for me, doing Wimpy Kid and then Jessie. I had a lot of fun doing A Sister’s Nightmare.
>> Come to think of it, I did see you in another Lifetime movie back in 2010.
Yeah, Secrets In The Walls! That was a lot of fun. And it’s funny, because my dad keeps mixing up the movies. He’ll be like, ‘Secrets In The Walls is coming out,’ and I’ll be like, ‘No, Dad.’
>> I hate when my dad mixes up my Lifetime movies. It’s the worst. … Can you give us a little background on your character?
I play Emily. She’s afraid of drowning, so she has lots of nightmares in the movie about drowning. It was so weird for me, because I had to learn how to be able to sink and look like I was drowning. It was intense, but it was kind of cool. I liked it. And now I can sink in my own pool, and everybody’s always like, ‘Peyton, are you OK?’
>> This movie doubles as a mini Gossip Girl reunion with Kelly Rutherford and Matthew Settle. Were you a Gossip Girl fan? I feel like that might have been a little before your time.
Yeah, I was pretty young, but I was a secret watcher. My parents let me watch it, but if I went out in public and told people I watched it, they were like, ‘What? You’re way too young for that!’ I actually watched it from the beginning, and I loved it. So I was so excited to be working with them.
>> How is Kelly Rutherford as an on-screen mom?
She’s awesome. She’s so nice, and she’s a mother, too, so she’s just so good. We hung out and talked a lot, she’s really cool.
>> Since this movie is so different from what your fans are used to, what are you excited for them to see?
My dramatic scenes, for sure. I have a lot of crying scenes because my character has night terrors. Nobody’s ever really seen me screaming and crying, so I’m excited for them to see that.
— Andy Swift
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