‘The Final Wish’ Horror Movie Star Melissa Bolona Speaks Out About Dark And Spooky Roles

American actress and model Melissa Bolona never imagined that she would one day be on the big screen. The New Jersey native comes from a non-acting family. Her father is Peruvian and her mother American.

She had always dreamed of acting for a living, but never imaged it could really come true, she confessed to People. Eventually, she appeared in 22 movies between 2014 and 2018. She also has a handful of TV appearances under her belt.

Bolona has gravitated toward action movies, such as The Hurricane Heist, but is starting to make her name as the Queen of Scream, starring in scary movies including The Final Wish, which will be out January 24.

“I have no family in the industry. I never thought of it as a viable option. School was always a priority in my family,” the 29-year-old said.

While studying business in Paris, Bolona finally decided to give acting a shot. She first graduated from Pace University with a degree in international marketing, then took a year off to see if she really could make a name for herself as an actress.

“Most students my age were taking a year off to travel, and I just thought, I’m going to take a year off to try and be a an actress,” she said. “There are so many highs and lows. Every victory you celebrate. I keep myself grounded because you can’t get your hopes up. If something sticks, you have to handle it with gratitude and keep moving forward.”

Meet Melissa Bolona, the New Scream Queen: I Love 'Dark' Roles https://t.co/NCY5ZQVhZs

— People (@people) January 25, 2019

She tried her luck at a few auditions and ended up landing roles in scary flicks like The Neighbor and The Super. Her next role will be as the star of Lin Shaye’s horror movie, The Final Wish, which will be released January 24.

“It’s fun when the role is dark. I just shot a movie called Murder at the Mansion, and it was unsuspectingly very, very dark. I loved doing that. Of course doing Year of Spectacular Men with Lea Thompson and her daughters was great because I was part of the awesome family while we shot, and everyone was so passionate about it,” she said.

In The Final Wish, Michael Welch plays a man named Aaron who returns to his hometown following the death of his father to help out his devastated mother. He decides to confront his past demons. While he’s sorting through his father’s belongings, Aaron finds a mysterious item that ends up being more than he bargained for.