Josh Segarra is becoming a go-to scene-stealer
Perhaps you know Josh Segarra from his scene-stealing role as Lance on HBO Max’s “The Other Two,” or remember him as a crooked district attorney of Star City in the CW’s “Arrow,” or you caught him on Broadway when he originated the role of Emilio Estefan in “On Your Feet!” However you know him, Segarra is becoming more and more recognizable and this month adds two new projects to that list.
First, Segarra appears in “Scream VI” as Danny, the boyfriend of Melissa Barrera’s character. Segarra says when he auditioned he had two wishes if he got the part: he would either be the new Ghostface killer or he would die a spectacular death on screen. His callback audition scene seemed to grant one of those dreams.
“They sent me a whole monologue confessing that I’m the killer. So I’m sitting there and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m the killer.’ I tell my wife, ‘I’m the killer.’ I tell my team, ‘Yo, I’m the killer.’”
After he was cast, he found out everybody auditions with the killer’s monologue.
“That’s part of their callback process. So everybody thinks that they’re the killer and everybody is telling all their friends that they’re the killer in the new ‘Scream’ movie. And then everyone gets the script and realizes not everyone is the killer.”
The “Scream” franchise, has always cast buzzy stars including Drew Barrymore, Sarah Michelle-Gellar, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Joshua Jackson for cameo roles, and also enlists up-and-coming talent for its main roles.
For the current “Scream” filmmakers — Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directing and Chad Villella executive producing — the casting process is “simple” because it comes down to “casting people who are cool.”
“We were fans of him on ‘The Other Two’ and as soon as Josh auditioned, we were like, ‘Oh, Josh has to be that character,’ Bettinelli-Olpin said.
“You couldn’t not see it,” Gillett added.
The movie’s recent premiere had a special meaning for Segarra. It was held at the New York movie theater where he and his wife, Brace, had their first date.
“That’s when I learned that she likes the worst candies in the world: Hot Tamales, Junior Mints and Whoppers. I wanted Reese’s Cups, M&M’s and Sour Patch Kids,” he said.
Next up is the series “The Big Door Prize ” debuting March 29 on Apple TV+. Based on a novel by M.O. Walsh, it follows the residents of a town where a machine appears that can predict a user’s true destiny.
If he had the chance, Segarra says he would try out a machine like the one in “The Big Door Prize.” He’s happy with his career as it is but says if it told him he was meant to be a professional wrestler, he’d “flip it.”
“My first introduction to theater was pro wrestling,” Segarra said. “They were my ... superheroes. I used to escape into it without realizing that’s what I was doing. I’m pretty sure that’s how I became an actor.”