[Interview] Ashley Moore for IKWYDLS - Nightmarish Conjurings

In the latest series, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, one year after the fatal car accident that haunted their graduation night, a group of teenagers finds themselves bound together by a dark secret and stalked by a brutal killer. As they try to piece together who’s after them, they reveal the dark side of their seemingly perfect town—and themselves. Everyone is hiding something, and uncovering the wrong secret could be deadly.

Ahead of the release of the I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER series on Prime Video, Shannon spoke with actor Ashley Moore, where they chatted about what drew her to the role of Riley in IKWYDLS, how she worked with Ezekiel Goodman to build up the relationship between their characters, and what she hopes people take away from her character.

How excited were you when you found out you were going to be part of this?

Ashley Moore: Oh, I was so excited. This is my first series, the first really big project I’ve ever done. So, even when I got the audition, I remember I was so excited. I was just like, I have to get this. I loved Riley right off the bat and I was just like, this is mine. I’m gonna get this. When I got it…it was a process, you know, because you have to go to the callback and the producer/director session, and then once I found out I had the role, I was just like, I didn’t even know what to say. I was like, “What?!” It was really exciting and I’m very grateful.

Piggybacking off what you said about the character Riley, what was it about the character that really stuck with you and made you want to play her?

Ashley Moore: I loved how raw she was and I just loved her background. She grew up in a single-parent home and was a drug dealer. I mean, I was excited to even just play that and test that out. But also, just how she’s had to fight for everything she has compared to the rest of the kids.

Yeah. Your character is very multi-layered and very complex, which makes her absolutely fascinating to watch. What was it like in terms of getting to know the rest of the cast? Because you guys do have this interesting relationship between all of you in the show. Did you guys get to spend time prior or was it during COVID?

Ashley Moore: Yeah, it was during COVID. We got the call. We got the role and we get to Hawaii. But, before getting there, I remember reaching out to Zeke [Goodman], because I knew it was his first project as well, and I’m reading the first six episodes knowing that we were best friends. I really wanted to play with that and build our relationship on set and off set. But every character and working with Brianne [Tju] and Madison [Iseman] was amazing. and I learned so much from everyone. It was a great experience.

I’ve been asking everybody this, but if you were playing yourself in a slasher, what role would you be?

Ashley Moore: I would be the one to survive. I’d be the one to lead. I would be the last one standing. I wouldn’t be the killer, but I would be the last one standing.

Good! Ezekiel was like, “I would die first”. And I was like, I probably would too. I’m glad somebody said that they would survive. That makes me happy. Wrapping things up, what are you most excited for people to learn about your character? Or what are you hoping they take away from your character?

Ashley Moore: I’m just excited for people to see that Riley is more than just this tough, hard girl. She is, like you had said, very layered and, throughout the season, you’ll be able to see her kind of break out of her shell and see what vulnerable parts of her [exist], with her even being in love with her best friend and having to deal with that, and those emotions. It’s nice to see. I think people will fall in love with Riley.

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER premiered on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, October 15, with new episodes airing each Friday following, leading up to the season finale on November 12. To learn more, check out our review!

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Shannon McGrew

Founder/Co-Owner at Nightmarish Conjurings

Shannon is the Founder of Nightmarish Conjurings and a lover of all things horror and haunt related. When she's not obsessively collecting all things "Trick 'R Treat" related, or trying to convince everyone that "Hereditary" is one of the greatest horror films ever made, you can find her designing interiors for commercial restaurants. An avid haunt fan, Shannon spends the entire year visiting haunts and immersive experiences throughout the Southern California area and hopes to one day design her own haunted attraction.

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