Actress Elizabeth Lail has hit the jackpot. Her first job was playing the live-action version of Anna from Frozen on ABC’s Once Upon a Time. Now with Freeform’s Dead of Summer from OUAT creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, and Ian Goldberg, she’s traveling to the 1980s for an old-fashioned horror show.

Lail and I chatted about scary first days, stuffed animals, and living life like it’s the 80s.

Did you go to camp as a kid?

I went to camp for one summer. I don’t know why I didn’t go back, because I remember really enjoying it. But I was a very shy kid. It took me a little while to warm up.

A big thing for Amy [her character] is first days. What’s the scariest “first day” you’ve ever had?

Probably my scariest first day, scariest and most exciting, was my first day of my first job on Once Upon a Time. That was scary in a very thrilling kind of a way. I had never been on a set before. I had no idea where to go. I felt like I was in the way all the time. I didn’t know what to do with myself.

What’s it like reconnecting with Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis and Elizabeth Mitchell?

It’s a dream. I adore Adam and Eddie and I really look up to Elizabeth Mitchell. When this role came to me, I was thrilled to see their names.

Were you a horror fan going into this?

Actually, no. I never quite understood why you would want to scare yourself. I watched them if it was Halloween or part of the theme. But not at all. I just get really scared.

That probably makes your job easier.

It does. I’m naturally jumpy.

Did you practice your scream for the role? Do you lose your voice?

It came pretty easily, the whole screaming and running in terror. I was surprised with myself. I didn’t lose my voice thankfully. I warmed up and cooled down.

Your first time on set was playing Anna from Frozen and now you’re the lead in Dead of Summer. It’s been a whirlwind couple of years.

Absolutely. It’s been a dream. I’m always asking myself, what is my life? Who knew this was going to happen? Which is the wonderful thing about being an actor. There are all these surprises.

Did you always want to be an actress?

I looked back at my childhood and realized I’ve always been acting. It was something I was doing with my sister and alone with my stuffed animals. When I turned 14 I did my first play and I just kept doing it. I decided when I was 14 that I was just going to be an actor. With no fear. When you’re 14, you’re like, yeah, I’m going to be an actor.

It’s worked out pretty well.

I’ve been so lucky.

What stuffed animals did you have?

I had this incredible stuffed animal called Midnight, who is a cat. I got stitches one night, and Midnight was the stuffed animal that got me through that ordeal. So that’s my #1 stuffed animal when I was a kid. But I didn’t want to play favorites. These are my introvert stories. This is what introvert kids do in their rooms.

I was the same way. Do you bring Midnight to set?

You know, I don’t. I brought him to college, and then sometime during college I must have aged, and took him back home and just let it go.

What’s your favorite thing about working on a show set in the 80s?

What I like about the 80s is there’s no smartphones. There’s no texting in the show and I love that.

Do you try not to use your phone on set?

Oh yeah. I don’t really. I read on set. There was one day where I tried to get around with a real map in my car instead of my GPS. Because I was like, let’s pretend like we’re in the 80s and use a map!

Did you get lost or did it work out?

It worked out.

People were much more capable back then.

We’d be surprised with what we can do without our smartphones. I’ve been trying not to Google things when I can’t remember, because it’ll come back to you if you just breathe and wait. So far that has come true. I have detached from my cell more and more because of the show. It’s awesome. It feels so good.

What are you reading these days?

The Rules of Civility. It is set in 1930s Manhattan. But I’ve been looking at some of the books on set and want to go back and start reading some 80s high school books like Valley High.

If you could act in any TV show, past or present, what would it be?

Friends.

Great choice.

I’m in love with Friends.

Is there a character you’d want to play or just want to be thrown into the mix?

I’d just want to be thrown into the mix. I could say hello and goodbye and I would be happy.

Do you want a Friends reunion?

I’m all about it. Let’s reunite the Friends.

Then you could be in the reunion.

Yes. I like the way you think. That would be my real scariest day. Sitcoms are a whole other beast.

Do you have any desire to get into comedy?

I’ve always thought I wasn’t very funny. I was always more a kitchen sink drama actor. So I don’t know. I’m willing to surprise myself. Hoping to surprise myself. We’ll see.

What’s your favorite cereal?

I’ve just discovered Muesli. I know that’s not technically a cereal but you eat it like cereal.

That definitely qualifies.

I love muesli.

You’ll love Dead of Summer when it premieres June 28 at 9 PM on Freeform.

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