Melissa Barrera relieved that In The Heights flopped
Melissa Barrera was relieved that 'In The Heights' disappointed at the box office as it meant that she didn't have unrealistic expectations placed on her by Hollywood.
Melissa Barrera is "grateful" that 'In The Heights' disappointed at the box office.
The 32-year-old actress featured in the movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical but was slightly relieved that it bombed at the box office as it meant she didn't have the pressure of living up to high expectations in Hollywood.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Melissa said: "Imagine if ('In The Heights') had been a success and everything had been incredible and it made a billion dollars at the box office – and then my next movie flopped.
"That would have been, I think, harder... I'm so grateful that my life has been exactly as it has been."
Melissa reprises her role as Sam Carpenter in the new slasher flick 'Scream VI' and she praised directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett for giving her the opportunity to play a three-dimensional character in the horror series.
She explained: "In the fifth (movie), they were thrown into the ring, and it's chaos.
"I'm very happy that we get to know Sam a little bit more in the sixth movie. I was like, 'She's such an interesting character because she has so many demons that can be – if the writers and directors want – explored and lead to a very interesting challenge for me.'
"In the sixth one, (they) take her in that direction. I feel very happy about that."
Melissa recently revealed that she worked closely with film chiefs to make sure that her character's psyche was explored in the script.
She told Collider: "So the script changed a lot from the first script that I got to the movie that we made. It was, I want to say, completely different.
"And we had a few sit downs, (directors) Matt (Bettinelli-Olpin) and Tyler (Gillett) and I, and then with (screenwriters) Jamie (Vanderbilt) and Guy (Busick) because I really, really wanted to make sure that we explored Sam's psyche more and we got to know her deeply because that was a reason that I wanted to play Sam in the first place.
"The reason that I was attracted to her in 'Scream 5' was like, 'Oh my God, there's so much potential here. Where is she going to go?' And I wanted to make sure in the sixth movie, we saw more layers to her."
