Katy O’Brian has tackled lesbian neo-noir and gone full-throttle action, sharing the screen with Tom Cruise in “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” earlier this year. She also appears in two of the year’s most anticipated films: “Christy,” the true story of lesbian boxer Christy Martin (with Sydney Sweeney in the title role), and “The Running Man,” opposite Glen Powell.
It’s no stretch to say that the 36-year-old Indiana native is redefining what it means to be a queer leading force in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, she’s also helping to redefine how queerness is portrayed in film. In 2024, O’Brian was celebrated for her breakthrough role in “Love Lies Bleeding,” which legendary filmmaker John Waters called “the best movie of the year.” Alongside Kristen Stewart, O’Brian — as ’80s-era bodybuilder Jackie — proved that women can be just as tough as men, without men. Even the sex scenes between the two felt raw and progressive, charged with desire rather than filtered through the male gaze.
Before going through a traditional audition, O’Brian caught A24’s attention with a simple tweet. In response to the studio’s call for a lead actor, the experienced bodybuilder posted a photo of herself with the words “I’m free.” That tough streak runs through her latest film, “Queens of the Dead,” in which O’Brian faces off against zombies in a glitter-soaked, camp-horror thriller that assembles a who’s who of queer Hollywood. Directed and co-written by Tina Romero — daughter of the legendary “Night of the Living Dead” director George A. Romero — the film follows drag queens and club kids fighting to survive a zombie outbreak during a warehouse drag show in Brooklyn.
Speaking about the film recently, O’Brian reflected on its sharp commentary on LGBTQ+ community dynamics and horror’s enduring role as a haven for queer expression and survival. She also spoke about sharing the screen with LGBTQ+ icons like Nina West, Dominique Jackson and Margaret Cho — and how every role, from intimate indie dramas to big-budget blockbusters, is part of her mission to tell bold, boundary-pushing stories that matter.
This is Tina Romero’s debut feature. Knowing that she’s the daughter of George A. Romero, what was it like stepping into “Queens of the Dead” with that kind of legacy looming?
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Tina has such a vibrant, fun and easy personality. I’m sure she had a lot of pressure on her. But it didn’t feel like I had to do anything other than deliver what was in the script. I think everybody came and showed up and just really was there and ready to have such a good time. It was a really cool honor to work with her, especially having done two other zombie projects. And then you’re there kind of feeling like you’re with the O.G. It was definitely an honor and really awesome. But the pressure, the weight of it, I feel like she might’ve felt, but she never made us feel.
Did you grow up watching Romero’s films, like “Night of the Living Dead”? And how does “Queens of the Dead” flip the script on that kind of horror?
I did when I was young. I loved horror when I was a kid. I still love horror, but I watched everything. I did summer camps that were monster drawing classes. I remember babysitting my little cousins, and so we watched “Night of the Living Dead.” It was probably a mistake. [Laughs.] I feel like over the years I’ve probably seen all of them, but I also, over the years, forget a lot of the minute details; just certain things stand out. So I know that she’s got a lot of little Easter eggs in this. But, obviously, Tina’s a DJ, so music is such a big part of the film, along with queer culture. Her dad was a social commentator in his films, but I think this is very focused within the queer community and not just the overall society. Our zombies are glitter zombies, but it was still very important to her that they were slow. And I think she was bummed that we didn’t have the budget for red eyes for all of them.
Horror has always had a unique relationship with queerness, going back to Frankenstein. What do you think that this movie is saying about queer survival today?
I think it was a community message. And part of that was how divided we can be in a lot of ways. And they use the two separate parties as one of those ways. But then we’re all arguing about little petty things too. We have messages about drug culture; one character is very QAnon and has all of these opinions about what a queer person is like and doesn’t even interact with them. But when you have to survive, none of that matters. Community connections matter, helping each other matters, teamwork matters. Those things matter in society more than all these little differences that don’t in the end.
Politically, as a wedge is being driven between those within the LGBTQ+ community, this movie seems to emphasize what you’re saying about our own community.
It’s kind of a shame. And this is historically what people do. It’s like, when you feel like maybe part of your group is threatened, but there’s someone else that could be threatened even more, you just throw them under the bus. And I feel like that’s what a lot of people are doing with the trans community, which is terrible. But everyone is a different gender in this movie. It’s so inclusive and so fun and it literally doesn’t matter. We all bind together and we all serve the story in a way so that everyone is a bit of a hero.
Nina West, Dominique Jackson, Margaret Cho — what happens when you get such an iconic cast of LGBTQ+ talent together?
I hope everyone else had the same experience, but I just had so much fun just getting to know each other. I feel like there wasn’t a single person I didn’t want to flirt with in a very platonic way — but everyone is just so lovely and beautiful. We just had such a good time. And everybody really came through with their characters. And I’m not a stage actor, but I think almost all of them are. So it was a bunch of theater kids getting together, singing all the time and joking around. And yeah, there was a lot of downtime when we were sitting around and chatting. We had a bunch of extras around; we were all just gathered and talking. We didn’t really have a trailer to go back to or anything, so we just hung out and had the time pass while we were all hopefully falling in love.
It honestly sounds like the ideal way to spend time on a set with a bunch of queer people.
It was great. We had a tiny crew. And the way that they pulled through was unbelievable. I’m still in awe to this day. One person on sound, one person on boom, one camera operator.
You recently did “Mission: Impossible.” How do you compare those experiences?
Obviously, “Mission: Impossible” just felt like there was no limit, no time constraints. With this, we could do maybe one or two takes, and we just had to move on. So you just had to be very intentional, and Tina had to be very intentional with any notes. It’s just like, you got to move on. With “Mission: Impossible,” we could just do my parts for 12 hours. And do it over and over and over again, and really grind away at the performance. I learned to scuba dive — just for two seconds underwater onscreen. The sets were incomprehensible. Just showing up and seeing what they had put together to fake a submarine, but make it as practical as possible. It was incredible. And I don’t want to say that people weren’t there for the love of it. A lot of people that had worked on “Mission: Impossible” had worked on it for five-plus years and were still bringing joy to work every day. So it was still a wonderful experience, just with maybe more convenient circumstances.
From niche queer horror to major blockbuster franchises, it’s been exciting to see you thrive in such a range of spaces within Hollywood. As someone who has established yourself as a strong queer presence across multiple genres, how do you approach choosing roles at this stage in your career?
It’s just, is this a story that I want to tell right now? And then also depending on the project, if it’s a comedy, I’m not so worried about what the message is necessarily, but I do try to take into consideration whether it’s a harmful message and who’s backing the project and why. I’m very fortunate right now that I can be a little more selective. But it’s also one of those things where, if you’re too selective, you might never work again. It’s a fine balance.
In “Love Lies Bleeding,” you brought incredible emotional and physical depth to Jackie, a character that broke a lot of stereotypes about queer women onscreen. Why were you drawn to that film at that particular time in your career?
If I got a script like “Love Lies Bleeding,” I would do it every single day. [Director and co-writer] Rose Glass, first of all, has just such an interesting mind to even pop something like that out of the air. I connected so much to it because I do bodybuilding, I like lifting weights, I like feeling strong, I like being strong, I like having muscle. I like all of those things. But I’m not just some brute. A lot of people see bodybuilders or people with buff bodies as that. And oftentimes, it’s like armor. So I don’t think that what you look like is almost ever an indicator of who you are. So I really loved that that role led to a lot of opportunities for vulnerability. I immediately understood who that person was, minus the murder and steroids aspect [of the film].
Also, when Kristen and I were discussing it, we loved that it wasn’t like your typical lesbian period drama, where we’re just sharing glances for the first two hours in the movie and then maybe you kiss at the end. And it’s scandalous. Or one of us is engaged to a dude and we’re coming out. Our sexuality had nothing to do with any of the conflict. And we were morally questionable. We both really loved it because it was a massive break away from what we usually see. There’s aggressiveness and violence and vengeance. It’s just a story that’s usually reserved for a guy that we got to do.
Do you think that it opened the doors for “Christy” to happen?
It did. I don’t know that they would’ve known who I was. [Director and co-writer] David Michôd said that he saw “Love Lies Bleeding,” and he’s like, “That’s the only person that will play Lisa Holewyne.” When I got to know Lisa and I got to see her pictures, she and I are very similar. From neck down, our bodies were almost identical. She used to body build, she was in very good shape. We’re like the same height, we’re both mixed. And in talking to her, she was one of the main reasons I wanted to do that project, because in talking to her, she was like, “I want you to play me. I feel represented by you playing me.” It was scary to play someone for real.
What did it mean to you to bring that story to life and what was it like sharing this space with Sydney Sweeney?
It’s such a terrifying story to tell because it’s so personal and so intense. I so respect Black Bear Pictures for doing this: They had Christy Martin there as often as they could. She was constantly there to consult for the film, consult Sydney. And when you’re telling a story about someone where violence has been done to them, having their consent and their approval on that project is so important in an industry that often takes advantage of that.
And with Sydney, I cannot even begin to tell you how hard she worked on this project. It was not easy. We didn’t have a lot of shoot days; again, it’s low budget. And also they’re trying to match Christy’s fights directly. So it’s a lot of choreo, like a 12-hour-plus shoot day. And then on top of that, you got to go to fight training after and learn 14 different fights. And eat a disgusting diet. It’s a lot. So she worked really hard and she was very dedicated to just making sure that she brought Christy’s story to life, but also honored her as well.
