Chloe Bailey chats about her new film, The Exorcism, and her Atlanta roots

Chloe Bailey’s achievements are seemingly endless. Her career path was written in the stars when, at the age of 5, she starred as the younger version of Beyoncé in the 2003 musical comedy film The Fighting Temptations. Since then, the Mableton native has written, performed, and produced two critically acclaimed albums with her sister, Halle Bailey, released her own solo record, and starred in television shows Growin-ish and Swarm, as well as movies Jane and Praise This.

Bailey’s latest big-screen adventure sees her team-up with Oscar-winner Russell Crowe in The Exorcism, which arrives in theaters on June 21. The supernatural horror film follows a troubled actor who begins to unravel while he’s making his own entry to the terrifying genre—especially since the film’s director treats the struggling actor in a humiliating manner, in the name of authenticity.

Bailey was perfectly positioned to portray the character of Blake Holloway. An aspiring actress with a musical background, in the film within a film, Blake’s character is a young girl possessed by the demon Molech.

Ahead of the release of The Exorcism, Atlanta caught up with the endlessly talented multi-hyphenate to discuss the film, how her metro Atlanta roots impacted her creative voice, her biggest inspirations, and why she had to learn how to be imperfect.

Are you a horror fan?
I definitely appreciate the art. Do I watch? No. I’m a scaredy cat. I always sleep with some sort of light on. I believe in, you know, I stay prayed up. I love God. So I never want to vibrate on that frequency or open up myself to that. But the vibes were great. I did stay in an apartment that was the building of an old funeral home, which I found out maybe a week before I left.

What attracted you to The Exorcism?
I loved the script. I auditioned for it. They liked me for Blake, and here I am.

How long was that process?
Between the time I auditioned and got the part, I’d say a week.

What stood out to you about the character of Blake?
I loved her. It was a film within a film, and I really resonated with Blake Holloway and how she was finding herself and her identity and who she is as a person. I really resonated with that. I remember thinking, I think I can pull this off.

What goals did you set yourself with this film?
I was just excited to push myself. I’m a huge scaredy cat. I was like, If I can do this, I can conquer anything. So I definitely pushed myself for it. I hope audiences feel frightened when they watch it.

Photograph courtesy of Miramax

What was it like to work with Russell Crowe?
I love Russell. He is such a phenomenal actor and he treated me so kindly on set. I love how he loses himself in the character and in that moment. Even after they say cut he still stays there.

How often do you return to Atlanta?
I was just in Atlanta, on and off, for like two months filming the show called Fight Night. I was there the year before filming Praise This. So, you know, I still find my way back home.

What’s your favorite restaurant to go to when you’re home?
One of my favorite restaurants growing up as a kid is called Siam Square [in Smyrna]. It’s still there. I went there last year. It was just so nostalgic.

How has being from Atlanta impacted your creative voice?
That’s where I grew up. That’s where I got my roots. That’s where Chloe was born. And the formative years of my evolution really began. I lived in Atlanta before I found my voice. When I think about it, I’m grateful for those times because it made me who I am today.

What do you have coming up next?
I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve. I have an album coming soon called Trouble In Paradise. I really love this album. It’s a big ball of fun. It sounds like what a summer fling would sound like. I have just been living life and working really, really hard

What do you want to achieve with your career?
I just want to be a better version of who I am today, tomorrow, and so forth. I want to push myself outside of my comfort zone. God has blessed me with a couple of gifts and I just want to be able to showcase them in the world. For a positive reason. Even if it’s just for an hour or two. So that a person can get lost in the world of the film and not worry about their daily struggles and depression. Or, if they press play on a song of mine, I hope people can heal through them or even just dance. I just hope that I have some sort of positive impact in the world.

Is there someone who has inspired your career?
I’m truly proud of my sister. I think she’s doing both acting and singing so beautifully. Who else? There’s so many. When it comes to acting my inspirations are Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett. I have been falling in love with their work all over again. With the acting projects that I take on, I want to be seen as that role and that character. I don’t want people to see Chloe Bailey, the singer. As I’m getting older, I’m truly taking the craft more and more seriously. I can’t wait for people to see how I’ve grown in that way.

How hard is it to balance your acting and singing pursuits?
It’s not tough at all. When I was younger, my dream was to be a Broadway star. That encompasses singing, acting, dancing. My mind has always been trained to just do it all. I think why I am loving the craft of acting even more is that it sucks to be perfect. You are portraying a human being. None of us are perfect. We don’t know what we’re going to say next. So being able to lose yourself in that character is really sick and really cool. Then when it comes to music, you have to be pitch perfect. You have to hit this riff right, hit the dance moves really sharp, and perform and put on a show. So it’s definitely scratching both sides of my brain. It’s really dope. I think that’s why I love both.

Did you have to learn to be imperfect with your acting?
Yes. It was so freeing to be able to unlock that side of my brain. It was like, Wait, you don’t have to be perfect? I have been doing this all my life. Since I was a little girl. You were not supposed to be seen as having a bad day or being a bit down or anything like that. So it’s nice to be able to do that now within the characters and the roles that I play.

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