In actress Johnny Sequoyah’s new horror film, Primate, the rising star reveals it wasn’t difficult to pretend to be terrified.
“When it comes to the scary stuff, it’s not hard to pretend because it’s scary,” Sequoyah tells Us Weekly in an exclusive interview.
“When you’re filming, it actually does feel like you have a chimp on you,” she revealed. “The body doesn’t know [if] it’s real or not. So, I would come out of a lot of scenes fully shaking, like I was fighting for my life.”
In Primate, directed by Johannes Roberts and in theaters Friday, January 9, Sequoyah stars as Lucy, who’s visiting her childhood home with friends, when her family’s beloved chimpanzee, Ben, goes from an amiable ape to a murderous monkey.
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Sequoyah, who has appeared in Dexter: New Blood, Believe, and American Housewife, told Us that reading the script — and acting alongside an ape (played by an in-costume actor) — was just as frightening.
“The chimp is all practical effects. There were about 50 people who made the chimp suit, so on set there is a whole team that’s just doing saliva on the mouth,” Sequoyah said.
“When I was reading the script, I was literally like, ‘I have never read anything like this in my entire life,’” she added. “I’ve been acting [for] a long time, and I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever had the experience of feeling like I was in suspense reading a script. I was almost scared to turn the page, but I couldn’t help it! It felt like a roller-coaster reading it, and it’s honestly a roller-coaster watching it too.”
Despite the thriller being set in Hawaii, it was actually filmed on a London sound stage. And like true movie magic, even though Sequoyah confesses that initially she had a “hard time imagining” what the scenery would look like, all of that changed – and came to life – on the first day of filming.
“I can’t even explain to you how insane it is to walk onto a stage where they have painted 1,000-foot murals of jungle forest and brought in thousands of palm trees. The level of attention that went into every single detail of the film from every department was truly astonishing,” Sequoyah said of the effects that “felt like old school filmmaking.” “Seeing the practical world that they built, it became easier for me. I could touch my house. I could touch the chimp. Everything was visceral.”
The cast also includes Jessica Alexander, Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Charlie Mann, Kae Alexander, Tienne Simon and Troy Kotsur.
Kotsur, 57, made history in 2022 as the first Deaf male actor to win an Academy Award for his role in the film CODA. Since then, he has also starred in Netflix’s 2025 limited series Black Rabbit.
“I love Troy so much. I was so excited, but also nervous to work with him, because I was already a fan of his,” Sequoyah said. “He is just the most kind, considerate and supportive person. He’s become a mentor for me. He gives incredible advice, and working with him was truly an honor.”
In Primate, Sequoyah uses ASL to communicate with her father (played by Kotsur) and her pet chimpanzee, Ben.
“I got to learn a lot about Deaf culture from him. He’s such an incredible scene partner, and I was so fortunate to be able to learn a new language to play his daughter,” Sequoyah said of Kotsur.
And although fans will see real fear in her eyes on camera, Sequoyah was able to get the monkey off her back (literally) when she walked off set.
“I feel very grateful that this wasn’t a ghost movie, because I think if I was going home, I’d be like, ‘Where’s the ghost!?’” Sequoyah joked. “Luckily, I was not scared of a chimp being in my London flat.”
