Melissa Barrera Reveals Her Dream Directors and Why She’s Learning French

There’s something about kids that can be downright unsettling, especially in the dead of night. Anyone who’s ever woken up at 2:30 a.m. to find a toddler silently staring at them by the bed, whispering “Daddyyyyy,” knows that kind of fear. Filmmakers have tapped into this primal terror, which is why movies like Abigail—starring Melissa Barrera—hit so hard. The 2024 film blends dark humor with horror, centering on a vampire child with a chilling appetite, and Barrera’s performance stands out in the genre.

Over the past few years, Barrera has carved out a niche in horror, moving from the cult favorite Vida to major roles in Scream VI and the indie comedy Your Monster. Her work in Your Monster—where she plays a young actress grappling with a devastating cancer diagnosis and finding comfort in a literal monster hiding in her closet—earned her critical praise and an award nomination. The film marked Caroline Lindy’s feature debut, and Barrera loved collaborating with a first-time director.

Building a Director Wish List

Despite her success with up-and-coming filmmakers, Barrera has her sights set on working with some of the industry’s most respected names. She recently shared,

“I actually have a wishlist on my phone of directors that I’d love to work with, that I actually just shared with my manager. I have a lot of European directors on there.”

She went on to mention,

“Off the top of my head, I have Céline Sciamma on there, who did Portrait of a Lady on Fire, one of my favorite films.”

Another standout on her list is Belgian director Lukas Dhont, known for the 2022 coming-of-age drama Close. Barrera explained,

“That movie killed me. They (Sciamma and Dhont) both speak French, and I’m learning French right now because I want to work with them so badly that I’m like, ‘I need to speak French so I can be in their movies.’”

International Inspirations

Barrera’s ambitions don’t stop in Europe. She’s also eager to collaborate with Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, whose 2010 thriller Incendies ranks among her favorites. She added Mexican director Fernando Frias to her dream team, praising his work on the 2019 musical drama I’m No Longer Here:

“He’s very talented and cool, and I hope that we can find something that we can do together.”

Boots Riley, the American director behind the acclaimed black comedy Sorry to Bother You, also made the cut. Barrera revealed,

“I was actually supposed to be in his last movie, and it didn’t work out scheduling-wise, but I am sure that I’m going to work with him at some point. I will beg him to put me in another one of his movies.”

Looking Ahead

With two new projects on the horizon —a Renny Harlin thriller with John Travolta called Black Tides and The Collaboration alongside Paul Bettany as Andy Warhol—Barrera’s career shows no signs of slowing down. Her drive to work with visionary directors from around the world only adds to her growing reputation as one of the most dynamic talents in film today.

Here’s a quick look at the five directors Barrera is most eager to collaborate with:

• Boots Riley (USA)
• Lukas Dhont (Belgium)
• Fernando Frias (Mexico)
• Céline Sciamma (France)
• Denis Villeneuve (Canada)