Madelaine Petsch Breaks Down Boar Scene in ‘Strangers 2’ (Exclusive)

Warning: This article contains some spoilers for The Strangers: Chapter 2, in theaters now.

Madelaine Petsch is up for any challenge.

Around the halfway point of The Strangers: Chapter 2, Petsch’s fearless final-girl Maya is attacked by a large wild boar while on the run from the masked killers. The actress, 31, tells PEOPLE she was just as shocked by the scene as audiences.

“When I saw that in the script, I was like, ‘How the f— am I going to do this?’ But I was also like, ‘Hey, I am already doing it, so let’s go,’ “ she says. 

The greater challenge hit when it was actually time to film the scene. “When we got to set, I was very intimidated by the idea. I had been very anxious and nervous about it. I had to really calm my mind and just quiet all the voices of doubt and just go in there and do the best I could,” she adds. 

To film the scene, which sees Maya being chased, trampled and mauled by the wild animal, the production used a “creature actor.”  

Petsch notes that having a scene partner “was very helpful” while filming the scene. However, to further give herself to her performance, she says she “just had to be alive in the circumstances of what [Maya’s] going through.”

The Strangers: Chapter 2 sees the return of director Renny Harlin from the first installment in the movie relaunch. The horror flick picks up right where the first left off, with Maya in the hospital recovering from the murder spree. When she discovers that the ruthless killers are still targeting her, she is thrown into another fight for her life. 

In addition to her starring role, the Riverdale alum also served as an executive producer, which allowed her to contribute to the script and the editing process. 

“When it comes to being an actor, I just get a feeling where I know it’s mine, and I can’t describe that feeling to you. It is something where I’m like, ‘I know I have to do this.’ When it comes to being a producer, I’m like, ‘Can I be additive to the story? How can I be of service to the story in a deeper way?’ If there’s no need for me, I don’t want to produce,” she says. 

Petsch explains that acting is her first love, and she “would love to just be an actor, but if there’s a need or a place for me to come in and be creatively additive, then I will do that.” 

She recalls joining as an actor and then arriving to set with feedback on the script. After working with the writing team for a few weeks, producer Courtney Solomon suggested she join as a producer. 

“So we called Lionsgate and they were like, ‘Absolutely.’ He surprised me, which was so wonderful, and he was like, ‘It’s earned.’ I think when it feels like it’s appropriate, I’d love to produce, and if it doesn’t need me in that way, I’m happy to just act,” Petsch says.

Since starring in the horror franchise, which will see a third installment released at a later date, the actress has “gained more knowledge about how I want to operate in the world.”

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“I think that women typically do operate with a lot of fear in their day-to-day life. So if anything, I try not to add more of that to my life. But, yeah, I think being in the movies is just informing me in every way that it can when you do something that impacts you so greatly,” she explains. 

Petsch also wears two hats for her upcoming movie Maintenance Required, which she says will show “a different side of me.” 

“It’s a completely different side of me that we’ve never tapped before. I have a really amazing cast in that film,” she teases.

The Strangers: Chapter 2 is in theaters now.