Meet Arabella Olivia Clark: The 10-Year-Old Horror Star Who Prefers Spiders to Nightmares

Arabella Olivia Clark is proud to scare you.

The 10-year-old actress joined Variety over Zoom from her Los Angeles hotel room the morning after the splashy premiere of Other Mommy, wearing a casual jacket with her character’s name, Bela, printed cleanly across the front. In the film, Clark stars as the young daughter of Ursula, played by Jessica Chastain, and Russ, played by Jay Duplass. Her character is a young girl relentlessly terrorized by a sinister, malevolent figure that looks identical to her mother—a nightmarish entity known as the titular Other Mommy.

Released on Friday and directed by Rob Savage, the horror feature made a massive splash at the box office, debuting at No. 1 with an impressive $12.6 million domestically on its opening day alone. For Clark, this marks her very first leading role in a major feature film, signaling that her burgeoning career in Hollywood is truly just getting started.

Prior to headlining Other Mommy, Clark gained early industry experience playing a younger version of Amanda Seyfried’s character in the 2025 thriller The Housemaid. While she clearly specializes in terrifying audiences on the silver screen, Clark is remarkably unruffled by things that typically send children—and adults—running for the hills.

"I love spiders. I love snakes. I like all the creepy stuff," she replies with absolute enthusiasm when asked what scares her the most. "I love the dark, so I don’t really know what I would be afraid of."

Her mother, Rachel Clark, sitting just off-camera in their L.A. hotel room, corroborates her daughter’s fearlessness, noting that nothing overtly terrifying has ever held her back or deterred her from a challenge. "She’s always willing to try everything," her mother says. "Even if she can’t do something, she’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ll try that.’"

From Page to Screen: A Natural-Born Thrill-Seeker

Clark’s open-mindedness and adventurous spirit extend well beyond her acting career. When she is not busy on a film set, Clark takes regular sailing and swimming lessons—the latter of which proved immensely useful during the physically demanding water sequences in Other Mommy. She also spends a significant portion of her free time reading.

Demonstrating a literary appetite that matches her cinematic tastes, Clark read the film’s primary source material—Josh Malerman’s 2024 horror novel Incidents Around the House—in just three days before even landing the role. By the time she reached her second audition, she was thoroughly prepared, though the chilling narrative still managed to get under her skin. "I got chills!" she shares.

A few chills, however, have never stopped her. At just 10 years old, she is a certified thrill-seeker, even when it comes to her leisure reading. Her favorite book is Bunnicula, a classic story about a vampire rabbit embarking on a series of paranormal adventures. During the interview, she proudly holds up one of Jeff Kinney’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories books to the camera. Combined with her starring roles in Other Mommy and The Housemaid, she has officially earned her stripes as a true horror aficionado.

Despite her early success in the genre, Clark is not quite ready to box herself into a single category. Looking toward the future, she aspires to venture into science fiction, expressing a particular interest in a potential sequel to E.T. Such a project would fulfill her ultimate dream of working with acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Perhaps, she theorizes, the film could even feature an appearance from another dream collaborator: Rocky, the beloved alien from Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary.

"Maybe Rocky and E.T. could be friends, because they’re both aliens, right?" Clark ponders with a smile.

Whether she is acting opposite a terrifying doppelgänger, diving deep into a massive water tank, or dreaming up supernova space adventures, Clark approaches every opportunity with unbridled eagerness. In a candid interview following her film’s premiere, Clark opens up about the realities of filming Other Mommy, learning valuable lessons from Jessica Chastain, and navigating her career alongside a mentor-like relationship with former child star Mckenna Grace.

"Other Mommy" scared me so bad! Were you scared while making it?

Well, Rob Savage was always making sure I felt safe on set, and Jessica and Jay were always showing me different things and telling me different stories and making funny faces.

What was it like getting to work with Jessica Chastain? I know you mentioned you had a lot of fun together behind the scenes.

Working with Jessica Chastain was a great experience. I spent time with her and her kids, and she’s a great mom. We were always going to the park and hiking and all that stuff. One time — well, a bunch of times — I was in her trailer, and she was also studying for Harvard. And I can’t believe it! She’s a mom, and also studying for Harvard and also filming a movie at the same time. I learned a lot from her.

What was one of your favorite memories that you have from being on set for "Other Mommy"?

One of my favorite memories is when Jessica did her witch cackle. She’s like, "OK everybody, it’s going to be loud." And she did it, and I was so surprised. She could be a witch in a movie.

That part scared me! How did it not freak you out?

Well, once the camera’s rolling, it’s one thing. But when it’s not rolling, they’re all telling funny jokes or telling funny stories or showing me different pictures. Or taking pictures with me.

You were also in "The Housemaid," which had me scared too. Do you love doing scary stuff?

I really do. Paul Feig was amazing. I played a young role of Amanda Seyfried, and I’m always gonna look up to her.

What is your favorite movie that Amanda’s done? I think my favorite is probably "Mamma Mia."

That’s my favorite! And "Mean Girls."

There’s a part in the movie where you play Other Bela, an evil version of your character. Which version was more fun to play?

Other Bela!

You should play a bad guy in your next horror movie.

Okay! I also want to do sci-fi. Like sharks and stuff. I like experiencing the stuff that’s not actually real. I want to go to space and then have aliens and octopuses and sharks in the movie. Like a whole sci-fi movie combined!

What’s your favorite sci-fi movie?

I love "The Meg." And "Project Hail Mary," the new one that just came out. I love Rocky! I want my own Rocky. I love science and doing all different projects and space. I would love to be in space. And I love reading spooky stories in the dark with a flashlight at night.

You’re only 10, and I still get scared at 23. You’re braver than I am!

Thank you! I love doing all the stunts. I got to do different flips and spins, and I love doing acrobatics. And I love the water scenes too, because I got to swim a lot, and that’s one of my hobbies. Swimming and sailing.

How did you film that scene in the water?

Arabella: It was a big, big pool. It was massive. It was a big tank that was, like, 20 feet down?

Rachel: It was 20 feet down. Watching her film in the water was one of the scariest moments as a mom, because the tank was pitch black. There were balls. She had that Sherpa hoodie on, pulling her down, and they had the pyrotechnic people where there was an explosion in the water. And they had to yank her underwater. The timing and everything was so well orchestrated. But of course, as a mom, it was very anxiety-producing.

Arabella: It was fun. I love swimming, and I love being in deep pools. I can dive down all the way to 10 feet!

Do you know who Mckenna Grace is?

Yes!

Well, you remind me so much of her. I was just talking about how I think you’re going to have the same career as her!

Rachel: Do you want to know something? Mckenna Grace is so sweet. She reached out to Arabella and offered to mentor her and be there for her to talk about things like growing up in the industry.

Arabella: We only talked online. But I’m hoping to meet her in person!