Madeline Brewer is back with another chilling tale in the form of Anniversary, though she says it’s got a funnier undercurrent to it than some may realize. After breaking out with recurring roles in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and Hemlock Grove, Brewer found widespread acclaim with her turn as Janine in The Handmaid’s Tale, securing an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her season 4 performance.
Anniversary marks Brewer’s second film of the year after the acclaimed horror-thriller I Live Here Now, with the new film being set in an alternate history version of the United States in which a rising movement known as “The Change” is taking over the country, while also causing paranoia among those who stand opposed. Brewer stars in the film as Anna, one of the siblings of Dylan O’Brien’s Josh, whose family finds themselves targeted by a surprise foe.
Brewer and O’Brien are part of a star-studded roster put together by acclaimed Good Boy filmmaker Jan Komasa, with the rest of the roster including Oscar nominee Diane Lane, Emmy winner Kyle Chandler, Emmy nominee Mckenna Grace, Phoebe Dynevor and Zoey Deutch. Anniversary is already garnering strong reviews from critics, who are particularly discussing the film’s central political commentary.
In honor of the movie’s release, ScreenRant interviewed Madeline Brewer to discuss Anniversary. The star revealed how her character offers a comedic reprieve from the more chilling depths of its story, particularly the profound comedian whom she was largely inspired by to play Anna, while also discussing what her character’s role in the family actually is.
Brewer Looked To George Carlin As “The Blueprint” For Her Anniversary Character
Though Brewer has explored a range of genres in the decade since her acting start, with everything from Netflix’s horror film Cam to the romantic dramedy The Ultimate Playlist of Noise, she is certainly better known for her dramatic work. Anniversary certainly seems, on paper, to be right in her wheelhouse, with its dystopian politics and rebellious characters.
However, as Brewer shares, Anniversary has something of a comedic undercurrent to some of its storytelling, particularly when it comes to her character, Anna. Describing her as being a “kind of comedian” who is “bold” and “knows that she’s smart“, with that intellect being important for her approach to humor in lieu of “just being a–holes in comedy“:
“The blueprint for her is George Carlin, and not without his provocative or controversial ideas, but she stands behind them 100%,” Brewer explained. “She’s smart, and she’s got this razor-sharp wit that she can use to hurt people, but she decides to channel that into what I feel like is exasperation. She feels into the void. ‘What aren’t we seeing here?’“
Brewer went on to denote that part of this form of comedy means that “it would [not] be true to Anna to be in the middle, to play safe, or to not take risks“. That, therefore, leads to some of the trouble her character gets into in the film around “The Change” happening in the country, which the Emmy nominee says is important for “the audience who will come and see her“.
“Whether it means she’s forced to leave the country or whether it affects her money or her position of power and wealth or of celebrity, she doesn’t care because something very bad is happening right in front of her,” Brewer explained. “And I think she recognizes that she has this intellect and this ability and this viewership, this audience who will come and see her. And I think she struggles with it for a minute and then decides, you know what, I’m going for it.“
Anna Is The “Black Sheep” Of Her Family
With Anniversary putting together an all-star cast, the majority of whom play family members, Brewer finds herself viewing O’Brien, Grace and Deutch as her siblings in the film, all of whom have different personalities and positions within the group. When it comes to her character, Brewer says that though Anna is “the eldest child” of the four, she is “like the black sheep of the family“, much of which stems from “resisting that stereotypical nuclear family system“.
Brewer goes on to confirm that her character is “gay-ish“, not really accepting a label, but instead embracing that “she likes what she likes“. “This family is a pretty straight-laced family in a lot of ways,” the star explained. “You can see it in the characters, but she’s the one that went a little off the beaten path.”
Interestingly, though, Brewer also indicates that her Anniversary parents, Lane’s Ellen and Chandler’s Paul, and her siblings “love and embrace, and are proud of her” for the path she’s taken in life. Rather than shunning her character for having “left home and decided on something different and something unexpected” by becoming a comedian, Anna is instead supported by those she loves:
She’s kind of always doing a bit as many comedians are. And you can see though that these children have been raised to really give a s–t, to really care deeply for each other and for the world and for the world that we’re building and creating. And yeah, I’m very proud of her.
Anniversary is now in theaters.
- Release Date
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October 29, 2025
- Director
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Jan Komasa
- Writers
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Lori Rosene-Gambino, Jan Komasa
- Producers
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Kate Churchill, Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz