Victoria Pedretti on 'The Haunting of Hill House' sequel 'Bly Manor'
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You’ll see many familiar faces, in different roles, in “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” out Friday on Netflix.
The followup to 2018’s buzzy “The Haunting of Hill House” it’s based on Henry James’ 1898 horror novella “The Turn of the Screw” and, like “Hill House,” is part of an anthology series a la “Fargo,” “American Crime Story,” etc.
“It felt like there were things that were the same, but it mostly felt like making an entirely different [show], to be in a different country and to be playing a different character and working with a lot of new people,” series star Victoria Pedretti, 25, tells The Post.
Pedretti played troubled Crain sibling Nell in “The Haunting of Hill House,” which was based on the 1959 Shirley Jackson novel. In “Bly Manor,” she’s cast as Dani Clayton, an American woman who, in 1987, who gets a job as a nanny for Flora (Amelie Smith) and Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) — two orphaned children living in a secluded English mansion with a mysterious and dark past.
“I wasn’t familiar with [‘The Turn of the Screw’] so I had to read it, but I thought it had a lot of potential,” says Pedretti. “And when it went beyond the fact that it was an adaptation … the storylines of the ghosts and the full history of the house really blew me away. And getting to know this character and where she comes from — and how that plays into how she receives everything throughout her journey — was all very exciting.”
Henry Thomas, who played Hugh, the young version of Nell’s father in “Hill House,” returns as Dani’s new employer, Henry Wingrave, the childrens’ uncle who lives in London. Also back is Oliver Jackson Cohen (Luke in “Hill House”) who plays Peter Quint, Henry’s former valet with ties to Bly Manor’s past.
New cast members include Rahul Kohli (“iZombie”), who plays the manor’s cook, Owen, and T’Nia Miller (“Years and Years”) as the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose.
“We [shot] in Vancouver,” says Pedretti. “The inside of the house was a set, but when we were shooting exteriors, we were in front of a large blue screen.There was one significant difference between this season and last season; I believe this house may be a bit bigger, because it was built on two sets, a first-floor set and a second-floor set.”
“Hill House” marked the Pennsylvania-born Pedretti’s breakout role. Since then, she’s appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” and joined another popular Netflix show, soapy stalker drama “You,” where she stars as Love Quinn opposite Penn Badgley.
“When you’re early in your career, you don’t pick the jobs that you get. They’re granted to you,” she says. “So, in that sense, I’ve been incredibly lucky.”
While Season 3 of “You” does not yet have a premiere date, it’s underway.
“I actually just got the scripts,” she says. “I’m excited to read them.”
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