When you look at whatVictoria Pedrettimanaged to accomplish in just three years, hopes for what she’ll achieve in the years to come are through the roof. Pedretti burst onto the scene in a big way with the release ofThe Haunting of Hill Houseback in 2018. After that, she joined another red hot Netflix series, playing Love on Season 2 ofYou. On top of that, she starred oppositeDylan O’Brienin an episode ofAmazing Storiesand now she’s back on Netflix with yet another stellar show, the sequel season toHill House,The Haunting of Bly Manor.
This time around, Pedretti plays Dani Clayton, a young woman who leaves home to spend some time in the UK where she’s hired to be the au pair for two young children who recently lost their parents. Those kids live on the Bly estate, a place with quite the history and the potential to change the lives of everyone on the property.
WithThe Haunting of Bly Manornow available on Netflix, Pedretti joined us for an episode ofCollider Ladies Nightto discuss her journey to the show, beginning with what convinced her that she had to be an actor.
“I can’t really pin down the moment exactly, but I remember being in high school, not getting into the musical, being like, ‘Okay, well I guess I’ll do theater then.’ Boring, you know? There’s no song and dance! Where’s all the fun? Anyway, ended up loving it and having the opportunity to do things where people came up to me afterwards and they were like, ‘That affected me.’ And I was like, ‘Shit, really?’ And that’s a really great feeling, you know? Being able to make that kind of impact, so it’s kind of addictive at that point.”
While Pedretti did have the all-too-familiar experience of going out for auditions and not booking roles, that period of time was mighty short for her. Plus, even those auditions didn’t pan out, they still made her feel like something was working well:
“About three months after I graduated college, I had moved to New York and I was just auditioning all the time. And I was getting close already, pretty early on to roles that I ultimately didn’t get but I was like, ‘Damn, this is feeling good. Something’s working. People are responding.’ Again, I’m getting feedback. People are responding to it. Then, I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s just keep it going.’”
Sure enough, Pedretti kept going and the big break soon arrived.
“I had a Zoom-type call with Mike Flanagan. I was living in a walled-off section of a living room, and I took my meeting in that little room. And after that, I think he was trying to figure out how to get me cast.”
For anyone who’s seenThe Haunting of Hill House, this is stating the obvious, but Pedretti is downright phenomenal in it, and she certainly continued to prove that inBly Manor. To hear more about where all of this began for Pedretti and what her experience in the industry has been like thus far, check out our full Collider Ladies Night conversation at the top of this article in video form or using the podcast embed below.
