Isabela Merced cements her career in Hollywood: ‘Alien’, ‘Superman’ and ‘The Last of Us’

At 23 years old, Isabela Merced can boast of having appeared in movies alongside actors such as Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Andy García and Mark Wahlberg. As well as actresses such as Eva Longoria, Gloria Estefan and Sydney Sweeney, to name a few. By age 10, she had made her debut on Broadway in a production of Evita singing in Spanish alongside Ricky Martin. As a child, Merced — who was born in Cleveland, Ohio to an American father and Peruvian mother — was a regular at the video rental shop. From the age of six, she developed an interest in the films of U.S. movie legends like Shirley Temple and Judy Garland, such as The Wizard of Oz.

Just like Dorothy, with her ruby slippers and adventure down the yellow brick road, the actress has traveled a long way in the past 10 years, starring in important and lucrative franchises such as Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), and bringing to life the famous animated series Dora the Explorer in the movie Dora and The Lost City of Gold (2019). In her latest movie, Merced has taken on a completely new genre — sci-fi horror — starring in Alien: Romulus, the seventh movie in the popular 1980s saga.

“In space, no one can hear you scream.” That iconic line has resonated in the hearts and souls of generations of moviegoers, and for the past four decades, the franchise, created by Dan O’Bannon, has set the benchmark of the sci-fi and horror genre. Alien: Romulus returns to the root of the saga: it is set approximately 20 years after the first film by Ridley Scott, which was released in 1979, and 37 years before the events of its sequel, Aliens, directed by James Cameron and released in 1986.

Romulus — which is directed by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Álvarez — is set approximately in the year 2140. According to the synopsis, while collecting the remains of a dismantled space station, in the hope of finding the necessary technology to leave their doomed planet behind, Rain (Cailee Spaeny), Andy (David Jonsson) and Kay (Isabela Merced), along with other young people, are faced with terror when they inadvertently awaken the most terrifying organism in the universe.

Merced — in a conversation via video call — describes the experience of filming her first horror film as a “difficult challenge,” but “fun.” “It was special for me to explore different levels of fear and what it can feel like when you are faced with different combinations of emotions that you can explore in a film of this type,” she says.

Álvarez — who has made a name for himself in the horror genre with original movies such as Don’t Breathe (2016) and his remake of Evil Dead (2013) — wanted Merced to maintain the intensity and momentum in between takes. The Alien saga has always been characterized by its tense, unexpected and claustrophobic settings, so Merced rose to the challenge. “Fede knows all the details of his film. Each shot has an important meaning. He also understands this genre, it’s his specialty. He’s a fan of Alien, so what he achieved was a love letter to the other films,” she says.

“To keep the adrenaline going, I did cardio between takes to get my heart rate up. Sometimes Fede would surprise me with jokes or sounds from his iPad, which had buttons with screams or sounds from the xenomorph [the antagonist of the film series]. In one of the scenes seen in the trailer, you see the xenomorph jump towards where Kay is hiding. After about 11 takes, Fede came up with the idea, without telling me anything, of pouring a bucket of freezing cold water on me. I started to shake, and it ended up in the final cut,” she recalls, laughing.

Important movie franchises

Merced says she’s always been into horror. She describes herself a fan of the gore genre and the early Saw films, which follow a sociopath, better known as the serial killer Jigsaw, who seeks revenge through bloody games and torture. For Merced, watching a horror movie is a fun experience. “I love it. I love feeling that pressure. It gives me energy. I think it’s a nice experience in the movies. Feeling those emotions with a group of people you don’t know. As my first horror movie, it was an honor and super cool. It was precisely what I wanted to explore as an actress,” she says.

Since beginning her career as Isabela Moner in the Nickelodeon children’s series 100 Things to Do Before High School, the actress has built up an impressive filmography, starring alongside film veterans and big names such as Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin, in movies such as Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018). She now professionally goes by the name Isabela Merced, in homage to her grandmother Yolanda Merced Salazar Pittman and her strength and sacrifice as a migrant.

Merced has also landed roles in major superhero sagas, playing Anya Corazón in the Spider-Man spinoff Madame Web (2024); and Kendra Saunders, the heroine Hawkgirl, in Superman: Legacy, which is set to be released in 2025.

“It hasn’t been easy. I’ve been working for many years now. At 23, I feel like I have a lot of experience, but I love that it’s been a very slow build and that I still maintain my privacy. I’ve also been able to explore so many different genres and continue to grow as a person and an artist at the same time. I feel very proud of my projects from the beginning of my career because they were a nice experience. I learned a lot and I think I still haven’t lost that excitement in the projects I’m currently filming,” says the actress.

Another project in Merced’s pipeline is the second season of the post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us, where she stars alongside Chilean star Pedro Pascal and British actress Bella Ramsey. The show — an adaptation of the video game of the same name — received 24 nominations at last year’s the Emmy Awards, and although it did not take home any of the prizes, it was one of the series with the highest ratings and most critical acclaim in 2023.

In the second season of The Last of Us, Merced plays Dina, the romantic interest of Ramsay’s character Ellie. Merced admits that she finished the second part of the video game — which the season two is based on — in the weekend before her audition for the role. The actress has no qualms about being part of franchises that are so important to fans.

“For me, more than anything, it’s fun. I’m a superfan of science fiction, of superheroes, and I personally consider myself a nerd who obsesses over something new every month. That’s why I think it’s worth working like that, all year long, on two projects at the same time, like Superman and The Last of Us. It’s worth it. Sometimes it’s difficult but also challenging and different. I need that kind of stimulation, because otherwise I feel bored,” says the actress, who will no doubt continue to make waves throughout 2025.

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