Mckenna Grace is no stranger to massive franchises. From battling ghosts in Ghostbusters to her recent stint in the Hunger Games universe, she has built a career out of stepping into beloved worlds. However, for the young actress and aspiring director, joining the cast of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 wasn’t just another job—it was the fulfillment of a decade-long obsession.
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In the sequel to the smash-hit horror adaptation, Grace stars as Lisa, a paranormal investigator tasked with uncovering the secrets of a Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria location. For Grace, who grew up keeping “lore journals” and calling her agents about potential film adaptations years ago, stepping onto the pizzeria set was a surreal, “24/7” fan-girl moment.
As Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 makes its at-home PVOD debut on December 23, we sat down with Mckenna Grace for an exclusive interview to discuss her favorite franchise.
ComicBook: Were you a fan of the franchise before you got involved with the film?
Mckenna Grace: Very much so. It’s been a really crazy year where I’ve been so blessed to be a part of—I mean, across my entire career—franchises that I’ve been such a big fan of beforehand.
And then I feel so awkward in interviews. I’m like, ‘Yeah, this was a dream job. This was my favorite thing’. But I’ve said that about so many things, but also, I was a homeschooled kid where I had like nothing more to do than work and just nerd out over everything. So I spent so much time getting into so many fanbases and being such a nerd. But above all else, Five Nights at Freddy’s was [the top].
Across my career, over 14 years, since Five Nights at Freddy’s was introduced into my life, that has been like my North Star of, ‘okay, I’m going to make it into that franchise someday. There’s no debate. I have to be in those movies if they make them.’ Because they had a book series that came out that I would read and I’d call my agents and say, ‘Are they going to make this book series of Five Nights at Freddy’s into like a movie? Because I want to play the girl, if so.’ And I’ve just been trying to get into this franchise for the longest time. So now, to be sitting here giving interviews about it and for people to come up to me and be like, ‘Oh my god, are you the girl from Five Nights at Freddy’s?’ Is so weird to me.
I was a very very big fan, I used to write out lore journals and I would recreate the music videos with my friend. Whenever I got home from shooting for six months this year, I got home and the first thing I did was I drove around in my car and listened to this band called The Living Tombstone who makes Five Nights at Freddy’s songs.
ComicBook: I can’t even imagine what, as an actor, it must feel like to be taking on a role and stepping onto a set— a set of something that you, in your head, have envisioned for all these years. Did you just have a moment, or multiple moments, where you just stood there and kind of fangirled at what was happening?
Mckenna Grace: 24/7. I genuinely—I always say it—they made the mistake of putting my chair where they’d set me to go and read my lines or go and hang out in between scenes, they put it inside the pizzeria.
I don’t think I sat in that chair like once. Maybe I went and sat there one time on my last day, but there was just so much to look at and the set designers put so much lore and efforts and little Easter eggs into every part of the set. So for me, as just an actor, it was so cool to see such a detailed set piece, but also as a fan. All I did was just run around and just check out every room and I’d go to the Creature Shop every day. Maybe I wouldn’t have lunch with everybody a few times, but if I was not at lunch, I was probably in the creature workshop trying to look at all the animatronics. So every single day, I’d go up to Emma, our director, and say, ‘Thanks for hiring me. I’m really happy to be here, by the way’.
ComicBook: And I mean, and not to mention the fact that you said this is the Jim Henson Company. It doesn’t get much bigger than that when it comes to puppeteering.
Mckenna Grace: Incredible. And I have a Rolf right there from the Muppets. So I’m very much like a puppet type of person. My favorite was The Muppets, and I loved Labyrinth growing up. So I’ve always been a huge fan of practical effects and weird little creatures and puppets, and nobody does that better than Jim Henson’s Wworkshop. Like I said, even for people that are not fans of this game or this franchise, anybody can attest to how talented they are and how incredible these animatronics look. Because even if you have never seen Freddy Fazbear in your life, you can look at that animatronic and be like, ‘Wow, that’s incredible work’.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is available on digital platforms to watch at home on December 23. The film will also be available on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on February 17, 2026.
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Image Courtesy of HBO Max
