The Chase Infiniti Era Starts Now

Most actors spend their lives chasing a breakthrough film role—Chase Infiniti landed hers on the first try. In Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, the 25-year-old makes her feature debut as Willa Ferguson, the daughter of two former revolutionaries, played by Teyana Taylor and Leonardo DiCaprio. Rounding out the cast are Hollywood heavyweights Sean Penn, Regina Hall, and Benicio Del Toro—a towering lineup for any young performer, let alone someone in only her second on-screen role. Yet Infiniti, who first drew attention in Apple TV’s Presumed Innocent, meets the moment with startling poise. As the film’s emotional anchor, she brings a raw, searching intensity to Anderson’s chaos, leading her to both Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards nominations, with an Oscar nod all but guaranteed. Next up, the Indianapolis native stars in The Testaments, the much-anticipated sequel to Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, proving her breakout is no fluke but the beginning of a career as formidable as her castmates’.

How did One Battle After Another come into your life?

One Battle After Another came into my life very randomly, actually. I got a self-tape in my inbox, sent it in. About a month later, I heard back that Paul Thomas Anderson wanted to meet me, and it happened to also be a chemistry read with Regina Hall and Leonardo DiCaprio. And then after that, I went into about five, six months of auditions, chemistry reads, callbacks, everything under the sun, before Paul told me that I got the part.

What was the first chemistry read with Regina and Leo like?

I was nervous, but I wanted to make sure that I was making myself proud in those moments and being a great scene partner, because I knew that was a very important part of needing to do the work.

Had you seen Leo in Titanic?

At the time, I had not seen Titanic. I have since seen Titanic, but Catch Me If You Can is one of my favorite movies of all time. So I was geeking out about Frank Abagnale Jr. being in front of me.

How did Paul tell you that you got the part?

He told me very nonchalantly. I had a four-day karate intensive, and at the end of it, we were just chitchatting, talking about how the four days went. And then he casually told me, "You got the part, by the way," and continued to talk shop about what the next steps were. I was like, "Really? I did?"

Who was your cinematic or music crush growing up?

I was a massive Justin Bieber fan. I loved Zac Efron and Corbin Bleu in High School Musical. Then One Direction came out, and I was obsessed.

Which one from One Direction?

I could never pick one. I would go through phases where a different member was my favorite about every month. But I liked them all, which is boring to say.

Do you get starstruck?

Oh, for sure. I think if you get to see anybody that you've watched on the screen, it definitely brings some shock value, because you're like, "Wow, I just watched this movie that you were in," or "I just watched this TV show that you were in."

Who have you seen that blew you away?

I've seen Sinners so many times, and I got to meet the cast, including Michael B. Jordan, last night. And I was like, "You guys have made such an incredible film."

Are you a big Halloween person?

So-so. I haven't been able to dress up as often recently because I've been working every Halloween. But when I'm back at home with my friends, we definitely have a good Halloween, but I'm a scaredy-cat.

Scary movies or just anything scary?

Anything scary. I can't do it because I just end up covering my eyes the whole time.

Do you have a secret skill, like being good at parallel parking?

I'm pretty great at parallel parking. I'm not going to lie. That's actually a great one to say—especially living in Chicago and parking downtown. I will make my car fit. I don't care if I have about that much room between the car in front of me and my bumper—I will make sure that I fit. If it's a 38,000-point turn, I'm going to get it.

Style Director: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Codirector: Frank Lebon. Director of photography: André Chemetoff. Hair by Jawara for L’Oréal Professional at Art Partner; makeup by Lauren Parsons for Sisley Paris at Art Partner; manicure by Jolene Brodeur for Dazzle Dry at the Wall Group. Set design by David White at Streeters.