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‘Nocturne’ stars Sydney Sweeney and Madison Iseman made ‘huge sacrifices’ to succeed in the arts (exclusive)

Watch: Nocturne stars Sydney Sweeney and Madison Iseman reveal the sacrifices they made for acting

Horror movie Nocturne landed on Amazon Prime Video this week, as part of the streaming platform’s exclusive Welcome To The Blumhouse collection of scary flicks, made by under-represented filmmakers.

Nocturne is a highlight of the collection, following a teenage girl as she makes a Faustian bargain to gain entry to a prestigious institution for classical musicians, exploring themes of self-sacrifice in the creative industries.

It stars two of the most exciting up and coming actresses in Hollywood, Sydney Sweeney (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) and Madison Iseman (Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level) as sisters at the centre of the story, and they drew on their own memories of personal sacrifice to play their roles.

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“We both picked up and moved to make all of this happen,” Iseman tells Yahoo Movies. “I’m from South Carolina and Sydney’s from Washington. That was a huge sacrifice in itself, picking up from where you were, leaving everything and just coming out here to make your dreams happen.”

Madison Iseman and Sydney Sweeney in a still from Nocturne. (Amazon Prime Video/Blumhouse)
Madison Iseman and Sydney Sweeney in a still from Nocturne. (Amazon Prime Video/Blumhouse)

“We did it at such a young age it’s hard to wrap your minds around exactly what we were doing. I look back at the sacrifices my parents made, and everyone around me, that was a big deal.”

“I have to agree,” Sweeney confirms. “My mom’s mom’s mom all grew up in the same town, with all of my cousins, and no-one’s left before. Picking up and leaving my family and my parents, that was a really big sacrifice. I’m so appreciative of it all, but it definitely changed dynamics, and how you grow up.”

Watch: The terrifying trailer for Nocturne

The pair also gained character insight through working with first time movie maker Zu Quirke, thanks to her background in classical music.

“She’s very passionate about representing it correctly, and that really helped us bring that across,” Sweeney says.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: Sydney Sweeney attends the 28th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party Sponsored By IMDb, Neuro Drinks And Walmart on February 09, 2020 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic)
Sydney Sweeney attends the 28th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party, February 09, 2020. (Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic)

“I was in orchestra in high school, I played violin,” Iseman says.

“So I had a little information on the classical world, but any sort of question of how to pronounce certain words, she helped out a lot, especially with some of the names of the famous classical pianists, they’re very hard to say correctly.”

Welcome To The Blumhouse: Nocturne (Amazon Prime Video)
Welcome To The Blumhouse: Nocturne (Amazon Prime Video)

Nocturne is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.