‘One Battle After Another’s Chase Infiniti Is Named After a Nicole Kidman Character

One Battle After Another star Chase Infiniti has a memorable name — and an equally memorable backstory for it.

“When my parents were coming up with my name, they had watched Batman Forever and they were obsessed with Nicole Kidman as Chase Meridian,” the 25-year-old actress, whose full name is Chase Infiniti Payne, said in a recent Today show interview. 

Kidman, 58, played Gotham criminal psychologist Chase Meridian in the Joel Schumacher-directed 1995 Batman sequel, the only installment starring Val Kilmer as the Caped Crusader. 

Infiniti’s parents, she recalled, resolved that their child “has to be named Chase.” But the actress’ middle name came from an even more unexpected source — as she said, they were inspired by both “a character and then a phrase from a film.”

Watching 1995’s Pixar hit Toy Story, said Infiniti, “My parents were like, Oh my gosh, ‘To infinity and beyond.’” The catchphrase made famous by sci-fi toy Buzz Lightyear is what completed the puzzle of her name. 

Now, as the Today show hosts pointed out, Infiniti is a movie actress. “I know, it’s really crazy. I’m like, ‘How did you predict that?’”

Infiniti also recounted the story in a Vanity Fair interview feature in August, and said in a video interview posted on IGN that yes, Batman Forever is probably her favorite of that DC Comics character’s movies. “I didn’t watch it until pretty recently,” she admitted. 

Infiniti plays Willa in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another (in theaters now), a girl whose revolutionary parents (Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor) face off against military foes (including Sean Penn). The movie costars Regina Hall, Benicio del Toro and more. 

Her audition process for the role spanned five or six months, she said on the Today, after first sending in a self-tape while shooting her screen debut, the AppleTV+ miniseries Presumed Innocent with Jake Gyllenhaal. Although it was a whirlwind to meet DiCaprio, 50, and Anderson, 55, a month later, the actor-director duo were “so kind,” she recalled. “I’m so grateful for the entire experience.” 

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Among Infiniti’s upcoming projects is playing Agnes in 2026’s The Testaments, a sequel to Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale adaptation. One Battle After Another is in theaters now.