Maddie Ziegler on How She Landed Her Role in ‘The Fallout’

Though Maddie Ziegler started out her career as a dancer, she’s now an actor as well. Over the years, the Dance Moms alum has steadily built up her acting resume. She started honing her craft by guest-starring in shows like Pretty Little Liars and Drop Dead Diva. These days, however, Ziegler seems to have her heart set on acting on the big screen. She recently starred in both West Side Story and The Fallout.

Who does Maddie Ziegler play in ‘The Fallout’ cast?

The Fallout is perhaps Ziegler’s biggest role to date. In the film, she stars opposite Jenna Ortega as Mia Reed. Mia is a dancer who, despite her huge Instagram following, is a loner. Mia struggles with anxiety in the aftermath of a school tragedy and finds comfort in her newfound friendship with Ortega’s character, Vada.

How did the ‘Dance Moms’ alum nab her role in the film?

But just how did Ziegler land such a coveted role in The Fallout? Mia and Ziegler share some similarities, but the role could’ve gone to anyone. While the film’s director, Megan Park, wrote Mia as a dancer, she was open to Mia having a completely different talent. It just so happened that she didn’t have to change the character’s hobbies after Ziegler was cast in the role.

In an interview with NYLON, Ziegler revealed that her journey to joining The Fallout cast was pretty standard. It all started with an audition. “I got the audition and I immediately read the script and fell in love,” the dancer revealed. “I felt like this was just a powerful story and it impacted me so much and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I would love to be a part of something so special and important.'”

The dancer was over the moon when she booked ‘The Fallout’

One Ziegler got excited about the role, she had a conversation with Park that helped her to better understand the tone of the film. The Fallout director referenced films like The Florida Project and Eighth Grade to help Ziegler understand how honest and grounded her performance should be. From there, it was up to the actor to nail her audition.

“I got on the phone with Megan before I came in for my audition and she was so cool and gave me some references before I came in to make me feel comfortable,” Ziegler shared. “I went in and read with her and a few weeks later, I got the call that I got the movie. It was the easiest, ‘yes’ ever. I was like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, no questions, I’m all in.'”

Ziegler hopes to work with Megan Park again in the future

That all in spirit would serve Ziegler well on the project. The former reality TV star absolutely loved her experience working on the film. She has been candid about how much she learned from Park, who is also an actor in addition to being a director and a writer. In fact, the pair gelled so well that they look forward to hopefully collaborating again on future projects.

“She really was the most understanding of us, having been in our position her whole life, so it’s so cool,” Ziegler shared about The Fallout director. “She has that perspective; she was so collaborative and understanding of us as actor. I was so excited to pick her brain and see how she works and she is just the most special person. She’s genuinely one of my biggest inspirations and I can’t believe I got to work with her and we both just want to work together forever because we absolutely love each other.”