Laura Donnelly Interview: Werewolf by Night

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting a new badass heroine with Laura Donnelly in Werewolf by Night. Donnelly stars in the Disney+ Halloween special as Elsa Bloodstone, a descendant of famed monster hunter Ulysses Bloodstone. At the start of the special, she is summoned along with other monster hunters following her father’s death to compete for his prized and powerful Bloodstone amulet.

Alongside Donnelly, the cast of Werewolf by Night includes Harriet Sansom Harris, Al Hamacher, Eugenie Bondurant, Kirk Thatcher, Leonardo Nam, and Daniel J. Watts.

In anticipation of its debut, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with star Laura Donnelly to discuss Werewolf by Night, her love for both the MCU and Halloween season, fight training for her turn as monster hunter Elsa and more.

Laura Donnelly Talks Werewolf By Night

Screen Rant: I’m very excited to talk about Werewolf by Night. This has been one of my most anticipated MCU projects since it was so-called “announced,” given they kept it a secret for so long.

Laura Donnelly: Yeah, was it ever announced? [Laughs]

Exactly! It lived up to all of my expectations, though. The MCU is obviously something everybody wants to join at some point in their career, but what was it about Werewolf by Night and Elsa that really caught your interest?

Laura Donnelly: Specifically, it was Halloween. [Chuckles] I’ve been a big Halloween fan all my life, it’s the biggest festival in my household, and we go for it big style. And I’ve always been a big MCU fan. I’ve watched the vast majority of them since Iron Man and have always loved it.

Then, once I knew that I was up for the role, I watched everything else. I’ve now watched everything they’ve ever done! Those two combined, and the idea of getting to explore something that is genuinely unique and really fresh within this universe is… what more can you want?

When I first spoke to Michael, he explained that he really wanted it to be a tribute to the old ‘30s and ‘40s horror movies. I grew up on that stuff, so it was just an entirely big yes for me. It all sounded brilliant.

It all comes together brilliantly. One thing I love about Elsa is how capable she is in the action realm. Did you have to do much of your own stunt training for the fight scenes?

Laura Donnelly: Yeah, it’s one of the things that really drew me to the part, because I love doing stunt work. I’ve been doing it now for a few years. I did it on an HBO show, The Nevers, and did almost all of my own stunt work on that. I’ve been training in fighting and martial arts and things for about most of the last four years, so I felt like I had something to bring to that.

But then, of course, there are elements of stunts in this that only a Marvel stunt person could do. It’s so fascinating being able to watch somebody do these crazy moves that I could never hope to, and they make me look brilliant.

That Marvel stunt team can do no wrong.

Laura Donnelly: Oh my goodness, they’re just incredible.

Another of the things I love is the dynamic between you and Harriet throughout the special, You have this great banter of an antagonistic nature. What was it like developing that with her off camera before coming into filming?

Laura Donnelly: It’s so fun, because Harriet is the loveliest woman, and I was a big fan of a lot of her work from before this. I’d seen her in several things. When I realized that she was going to be on board, I was really excited. She’s really funny, and she’s just a really caring, warm presence.

Then we got on set, and she produced something completely opposite to that. It was big and crazy, and she really understood the genre. She really knew what she was being tasked with there. It was just brilliant being able to collaborate with her on that and be able to explore how far we could push things and where to draw it back. She’s got such a sixth sixth sense for that, it was fantastic.

About Werewolf by Night

On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster. Inspired by horror films of the 1930s and 1940s, the chilling special aims to evoke a sense of dread and the macabre, with plenty of suspense and scares along the way as we explore a new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Check out our other Werewolf By Night interviews as well:

• Michael Giacchino
• The Cast At D23
• Brian Gay

Werewolf by Night begins streaming on October 7.