'Heretic' Star Chloe East Finds the Nuance
Heretic star Chloe East on how her personal connection to the Mormon Church convinced her to take on a role in the new A24 horror film opposite Hugh Grant and Sophie Thatcher.
Photography: Rob Tennent
Hair: Gregory Russell
Make-up: Georgie Eisdell
Stylist: Kate Young
Dress: Mugler
Earrings: Sophie Buhai
Shoes: Gucci
Chloe East is making a mark in Hollywood. The actor, 23, stars alongside Hugh Grant and Sophie Thatcher as Sister Paxton in the theological A24 horror film Heretic, which hits theaters November 8. For the past few years, East’s career has been on the rise: in 2022, she appeared in Steven Speilberg’s The Fablemans, and in 2025, you can catch her in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey opposite Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell.
Heretic follows two sisters of the Mormon faith on a mission to convert members. On a rainy day, they arrive at Mr Reed’s house. He’s a potential convert, and initially seems very charming—he is played by the romantic comedy legend Hugh Grant, after all. But eventually, the sisters realize they’re trapped in the house, and that Mr. Reed is using them for a twisted theological experiment.
Following the film’s Los Angeles premiere on October 24, East sat down with L’OFFICIEL to discuss the film, her Mugler premiere look, her surprising personal connection the film and her bubbly but nuanced character, Sister Paxton.
L’O: I was so pleasantly surprised that Heretic was so different from what my expectations were based on the trailer.
Chloe East: It really is three people talking the whole time.
L’O: How did the intimate set compare to some other films that you've shot?
CE: Well, a couple of things. We were on a soundstage, and so that meant we could start at the same time. We can end at the same time. We had the same lunch breaks. We were just kind of built in this routine. With the cast being so small, it was kind of like we were all stuck in the same boat. It was really special because you felt so close to the actual process of making the movie, and we shot in chronological order. We all felt very involved, everyone's trying to make this happen. And we were also figuring out so much stuff as we go, because everyone's just paranoid. It's going to be this boring talk fest of religion, and it's going to be a giant snooze fest, which was our biggest fear.
L’O: How did you get involved in the project?
CE: It came to me as any other audition. I was intrigued because it was A24, but usually when I get horror I tell my agents, “Don't even send it to me.” If I have to act like a goblin's coming at me and I'm going to die, I'm just not even going to do it. It's too embarrassing. But when this one came in, I was intrigued with these big monologues and I realized that it was more like a play, and more like a suspense thriller than just… I'm going to die for three months straight. I really wanted to do it because it was A24, because the writing was good, and also because I wanted to be a missionary, and I felt like I was always supposed to play a missionary, and here.
L’O: Why did you feel you were always supposed to play a missionary?
CE: I grew up around a lot of Mormons and a lot of my friends were on Mormon missions while we were shooting it. I think in another life I was supposed to be a missionary, so I felt very protective over it being very truthful. I wanted it to be a movie that my friends could watch when it came out, and they would think that it's a true depiction of being a sister missionary. You don't really see a lot of truthful depictions of Mormons in movies. I love that Hugh [Grant] gives them [the Sisters] coke and Sophie's [Thatcher} like, oh, no, we can have Coca-Cola, but we're not thirsty right now. It shows kind of the nuance in the new age missionaries.
L’O: You and Sophie are playing very grounded women. Their faith is a part of their identity, but it's not their entire identity.
CE: Even when we had our fitting, I was texting looks to my missionary friends. We tried on some looks that were a little too, I was like, I need to wear some Doen. My friends on missions were wearing cute Free People dresses. They didn't look lame. They actually looked cool doing this thing. My friends' friends on missions right now who have really good fashion. So it's finding the balance of what a real missionary is and incorporating my cool friends who also went on missions.
L’O: At what stage did you find out that the legendary Hugh Grant was going to be Mr. Reed?
CE: It was after I got it, my agent said, “Oh, and by the way, they have an offer in on Hugh or Hugh Grant is attached.” I didn't really believe it, to be honest. And then sure enough, I get there and they're like, Hugh has just landed. I'm like, Okay. So he is doing this movie. We're doing this with Hugh. I understood why they made that decision and why it works and why it works for him to keep his accent, and it really is perfect for him.
L’O: Given your familiarity with the Mormon Church, how did you feel about what the film was saying about these themes?
CE: Initially, when I read this two sentence logline in my inbox, I took a deep breath and was like, Damn, I'm not going to be able to do this. I don't want to do some one sided take on why Mormonism sucks. We already have so much of that. They already have the worst rep in the media. I was like, I just can't do that to my friends, and I'm also just uninterested in that. Then after actually reading the script, I was very excited and had more motivation. I feel protective over this because I felt like it was a movie that all my Mormon friends could watch. And even my Atheist friends, anyone from any religion, could watch and have a different experience watching it. It is left so open. It lays it out for you to decide.
L’O: Tell me about the look you wore to the Heretic premiere?
CE: I wore a Mugler dress that fit me perfectly. Of all the looks I tried on, it just felt perfect for Heretic. I've never worn Mugler before.
L’O: Mugler is one of those brands that makes you feel sexy and powerful at the same time.
CE: Totally. Yeah. And I feel like Sister Paxton needs that.
L’O: Who are some of your style icons? Is there anyone that you kind of look to for inspiration for red carpet looks and your personal style?
CE: I really don't, I am not the kind of person who replicates someone's style. I'm the kind of person that wears something, and then next day I'm like, why did I wear that? I'm more movie driven. I remember growing up I loved The Dead Zone because I loved Christopher Walken’s turtleneck sweater in that movie. A lot of my fashion is determined by movies I liked, but I want to be comfortable, I'm definitely comfort over anything. I feel like I'm very fashion bipolar. I have Louis Vuitton slippers, but then I also, I'm literally wearing a Lululemon jacket from eight years ago.
L’O: How do you take care of yourself after a big event or a long day shooting?
CE: Oh my gosh. I try to wake up and drink some coffee, and really not try to get ready. A clean space and washing my face and a coffee is all I need.. I'd rather have a clean space and look terrible than have my life in a mess. My brain is always so cluttered that I need to have a clean space, which is funny, it's a disaster in here...
