At 23 years old, Isabela Merced can boast of having shared credits with actors such as Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Andy García or Mark Wahlberg. Also with important female names such as Eva Longoria, Gloria Estefan or Sydney Sweeney, to name a few. At 10 years old she had already made her Broadway debut in a production of Avoid singing in Spanish with Ricky Martin. The girl, born in Cleveland, Ohio —to an American father and a Peruvian mother— grew up visiting a store where she rented movies. From the age of six she developed an interest in the filmography of American cinema legends such as Shirley Temple or Judy Garland, as The Wizard of Oz.
Just like Dorothy, with her red slippers and through the golden brick road, the actress has already traveled a route with more than 10 years of experience, which have placed her in important and lucrative franchise films such as that of the warring robotic factions in Transformers: The Last Knight (2017); or adapt the famous animated television explorer into a live-action teenage version Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019). Her most recent foray into cinema takes her to a genre she had not yet tried: the horror and science fiction of the new film in the saga that became popular in the eighties and that lands in theaters this Thursday in its seventh installment entitled Alien: Romulus.
“In space, no one will hear you scream.” That iconic line has resonated in the hearts and souls of generations of moviegoers, and for the past four decades, the franchise, created by Dan O’Bannon, has been a benchmark in the science fiction and horror genre. Alien: Romulus returns to its roots and is set approximately 20 years after the first film that was released in 1979, directed by Ridley Scott, and some 37 years before the events of its sequel. Aliensdirected by James Cameron and released in 1986.
The new installment of the saga, directed by Uruguayan Fede Álvarez, is set approximately in the year 2140. According to the synopsis, while collecting remains of a dismantled space station, in the hope of finding the necessary technology to leave their doomed planet behind, Rain (Cailee Spaeny), Andy (David Jonsson) and Kay (Isabela Merced), along with other young people, will face terror when they inadvertently awaken the most terrifying organism in the universe.
Merced, in a conversation via video call, describes the experience of filming her first horror film as a “difficult challenge,” but “fun.” “It was special for me to explore different levels of fear and what it can feel like when you are faced with different combinations of emotions that you can explore in a film of this type,” she says.
Alvarez, who has made a name for himself in the horror genre through other original films from his factory such as Don’t Breathe (2016) and adaptations of classics such as with his remake of Evil Dead (2013), tested the actress’s ability to maintain intensity and momentum between takes. The saga of Alien has always been characterized by the tense, unexpected and claustrophobic nature of its settings, so Merced made himself available to his director. “Fede knows all the details of his film. Each shot has an important meaning. He also understands this genre, it is his specialty. He is a fan of Alienso what was achieved was a love letter to the other films,” he adds.
“To keep the adrenaline going I did cardio between takes to get my heart rate up. Sometimes Fede would surprise me with jokes or sounds from his iPad, on which he had buttons with screams or sounds of the xenomorph (the antagonist of the film series). In one of the scenes seen in the trailer, you see that the xeno He jumps towards where Kay is hiding. After about 11 takes, Fede came up with the idea, without telling me, of pouring a bucket of cold water on me, frozen water. I started to shake, and it ended up in the final cut,” he recalls, laughing.
Important franchises in your career
Merced says she has always liked the horror genre. She declares herself a fan of the genre. gore and the first films of the saga Saw, about a sociopath, better known as the serial killer Jigsaw, who seeks revenge through blood games and torture. He defines the horror movie experience as fun. “I love it. I love feeling that pressure. It gives me energy. I think it’s a nice experience in the cinema. Feeling those emotions with a group of people you don’t know. This being my first horror movie, it was an honor and supercool“That was precisely what I wanted to explore as an actress,” she says.
Since she began her career at the age of 13 as Isabela Moner in the Nickelodeon youth series 100 Things to Do Before High Schooluntil she changed to her current professional name, in homage to her grandmother Yolanda Merced Salazar Pittman —as a tribute to her strength and sacrifice as a migrant so that her children and future offspring can live the American dream—, her filmography, step by step, has allowed her to build a career alongside important and veteran names such as Benicio del Toro or Josh Brolin, with whom she shared credits in Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018).
It has also allowed her to enjoy a current moment in her career in which she has been able to venture into superhero cinema in the skin of her character Anya Corazón in the world of Spider-Man with the spin-off Madame Web (2024); or soon as Kendra Saunders, the heroine Hawkgirl, in the next Man of Steel film, Superman: Legacy, to be released in 2025.
“It hasn’t been easy. I’ve been working for many years now. At 23, I feel like I have a lot of experience, but I love that it’s been a very slow build and that I still maintain my privacy. I’ve also been able to explore so many different genres and continue to grow as a person and an artist at the same time. I feel very proud of my projects from the beginning of my career because they were a nice experience. I learned a lot and I think I still haven’t lost that excitement in the projects I’m currently filming,” says the actress.
Another project in the pipeline for Merced, soon to be released and not minor, is her future co-starring role alongside Chilean Pedro Pascal and British Bella Ramsey in the second part of the post-apocalyptic series The Last of Usan adaptation of the video game of the same name that received 24 nominations at the last edition of the Emmy Awards. Although it did not win any statuettes at the last ceremony, it was one of the television productions with the highest audience and critical acclaim in 2023.
In this sequel to the first season, she will play Dina, the romantic interest of Ellie, Ramsay’s character. Merced, who admits that she finished the second part of the video game —which the sequel to the series is based on— in a weekend before her audition for the role, takes it easy to be part of franchises that are important to different types of fans.
“For me, more than anything, it’s fun. I’m superfan I’m into science fiction, superheroes, and I personally consider myself a nerd who gets obsessed with something new every month. That’s why I think it’s worth working like this, all year long, on two projects at the same time, like Superman and The Last of Us. It’s worth it. Sometimes it’s difficult but also challenging and different. I need that kind of stimulation, because otherwise I feel bored,” concludes the actress, who will continue to be talked about throughout 2025.
