Michelle Randolph Is Having a Moment: Scream 7, Landman — And Whats Next

[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from Scream 7.]

If Michelle Randolph isn’t a name you already know by now, it’s one you will soon.

For the past two seasons, the 28-year-old actress has starred as Ainsley Norris, the daughter of Billy Bob Thornton and Ali Larter’s characters on Landman, Taylor Sheridan’s drama on Paramount+. Her role as the earnest, free-spirited teen figuring out life in Texas quickly caught fans’ attention after the series premiered in November 2024. The season two finale in January marked a series high for streaming rankings, with 1.77 billion viewing minutes on Paramount+ in the week leading up to its Jan. 18 finale. Randolph also appeared as Elizabeth Strafford in both seasons of Sheridan’s 1923 opposite Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford.

Most recently, the California native stepped into a new genre — horror — with another Paramount project, Scream 7. As tradition dictates in the long-running slasher franchise, the film opens with a kill. Randolph’s Madison and her horror movie–obsessed boyfriend Scott (Jimmy Tatro) are murdered by Ghostface while staying at Stu Macher’s (Matthew Lillard) home from the original Scream, now turned into a Ghostface-themed Airbnb for fans of Gale Weathers’ (Courteney Cox) meta Stab film series franchise, inspired by the Woodsboro murders involving Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). Directed by Kevin Williamson, the film also became a hit, grossing $149.5 million on a $45 million budget.

Below, Randolph speaks with The Hollywood Reporter about filming her brutal opening scene in Scream 7, performing her own stunts, spilling tea to franchise icon Drew Barrymore, teasing what’s ahead for Landman season three and whether she’d ever be open to an Ainsley spinoff.

You’re currently in production for Clashing Through the Snow with Christopher Briney. How is that going?

It’s good. It’s freezing cold. We’re shooting in upstate New York, and it’s been during the horrible storm. So I feel like the theme of this movie is the word “snow” and “blizzard.” But it’s been really fun. I’m excited about this, and Chris is great.

Were you Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah? Are you a Summer I Turned Pretty fan?

I hadn’t watched the third season, and so I kept being like, “What is this: Team Conrad, Team Jeremiah?” But I think I’m Team Conrad. No, I’m Team Belly!

You open Scream 7, and Drew Barrymore famously did in the original. What did it mean to step into that legacy?

Huge. The franchise is so beloved, and fans are so passionate about the series and invested. They pick up on all the little Easter eggs that they’ve put in all the different movies. It’s really cool that there were so many references to the original and the other movies in that opening sequence, which felt extra special. Also, the fact that I got to meet Drew Barrymore when I was doing press for Scream is really exciting, because when you have these moments, randomly in your life, where you go, I feel like I’m dreaming, and that was one of them.

Since the film came out, has she reached out to you, or did you feel a torch passing moment?

No, I hadn’t spoken with her [since]. I also couldn’t tell her. I mean, I told her because she’s her (Laughs) when we were filming [The Drew Barrymore Show] but I didn’t say it when we were mic’d. But she didn’t know that I was the opening scene when I first met her.

Were there any ideas that you pitched when crafting your character?

Yeah, we were always looking for places to reference or leave Easter eggs. In a lot of the openings, there’s always a scene in the kitchen with a knife. Someone’s always pulling the knife out or holding the knife. When I was in the kitchen, near the knife stack, even though it was a fake knife, I was like, “I want to play with this somehow.” (Laughs.) So that was something I wanted to do.

Your death scene is especially brutal — what was that day on set actually like?

That was my very last day on set, and we’re doing nights. It was 3 a.m. Fake water in a gasoline jug is being poured on me, and I’m flailing like I’m on fire because it’s CGI. It was one of those weird moments. Scream is so fun, but the deaths are so brutal, especially that. I’ve never been burned alive so I was really relying on our stunt team to help instruct me on how to move.

How much of your own stunts over that sequence did you actually perform?

I want to do all of them. I was doing pre-production for Landman, and so I actually was in cheer camp that I had to go to the next day. I wrapped Scream, and the next day, I was on set at TCU doing cheers for Landman. They did a whole pass of just my stunt double. But I did all of that. I did the run up the stairs, the hair pull, the fight, the struggle, the chandelier drop, all of it. I really like to do my own stunts. I think when you’re having to give a performance during stunts, it’s really imperative that you are doing your own stuff because it matters.

There’s been some debate online about how your opening ties into the larger story. From what you understood about your character, was that directly connected to the main plot or more of a standalone shock?

For me, when I got it, I only had my scenes because it was kind of its own separate piece. It was like our own short film within the Scream 7 world. So I had no idea how it connected to the rest of the story.

What did you think about the Ghostfaces revealed in this film? Did they surprise you?

I just think that whatever Kevin Williamson does is perfect. He is the Scream franchise, so I loved the movie.

Were you already a horror fan before booking Scream 7, or did this role change the way you look at the genre?

I get scared pretty easily. I have pretty vivid nightmares. I used to watch horror when I was younger.
My friends and I would get together on Friday night, and we would watch exclusively horror movies and all take turns choosing. I don’t know why I was so much tougher when I was younger. We would watch Final Destination, Insidious, Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project. And then when I was in college, because I majored in film and I took a horror film elective. I don’t know why. I didn’t really think much of it when you’re just trying to fill what you have to in school. Well, I had to watch a bunch of horror films and then write essays about them, which was not fun. (Laughs.) I used to make my friends or my sister watch the movies with me during the day and sit next to me as I wrote these essays, because it just really started to get to me. The first one that I had to write a paper about was The Exorcist. Not a movie you want to sit and analyze for hours.

Since all of your scenes were with Jimmy Tatro, did you get a chance to spend time with Neve Campbell and the rest of the cast, or were your shoot days pretty separate?

Completely separate. I’m really bummed I didn’t get to. That was the hardest thing about doing press before it came out is I couldn’t say that. (Laughs.) But everyone’s like, “What do you think of everyone?” I’m like, “Never met them!” Now, I’ve met a few of the cast.

A lot of fans were upset your character died so early because they wanted more of her. How did it feel seeing that reaction?

That’s so nice. I don’t really read a lot of things online. So thank you confidence boost for today. I wish she could come back to life. Is there gonna be a Scream 8? It’s like Jenna Ortega’s character when she just all of a sudden was alive. I wasn’t expecting that when I watched her opening [in 2022’s Scream.]

Well, we saw Stu (Matthew Lillard) sort of come back, so there’s always a way.

There’s always a way! Maybe it’ll be a flashback or I’m a ghost.

You and Isabel May both appear in 1923, part of Taylor Sheridan’s universe, and now you’re both in Scream 7. Even though you don’t share scenes, what’s it like having that overlap? Did you know each other was auditioning?

No, I had no idea. Isabel was in 1883 and I loved 1883. I watched it because it’s the prequel to 1923 and then her character narrates the entirety of the series, but I hadn’t met her. I only met her after filming 1923 and Scream 7 but it was cool. It just goes to show how small the industry is.

Getting into Landman, Ainsley is off at college now. How do you think that will change things with her and the rest of the characters next season?

Well, we know who Ainsley is when she is around her family and comfortable. So I’m looking forward to seeing and discovering who she is when she goes to college and she’s around her peers and out of her comfort zone. I think we saw speckles of that in season two toward the end. What’s cool about growing with a character is, especially on a TV show, you get to meet them at different points in their life. I’m learning who Ainsley is as she’s learning who she is. That makes me excited to get back.

When do you head back to film season three, and have you seen any scripts yet?

I haven’t seen any scripts. I don’t have exact dates — yet.

Yet, but it looks like it’s going to be soon?

Hopefully. I love a Texas summer.

What do you want to see going forward for the show?

I have so many ideas. I think we all do, but I really trust Taylor [Sheridan’s] vision for the story. This will be going into my fifth season of television with him, and I have learned to trust him and have no expectations for what I think should happen.

There’s been online chatter about people wanting Ainsley to get her own spinoff. Is that something you’d ever be open to?

Definitely, that sounds fun. I love playing her.

I read that you moved to Huntington Beach when you were a teenager and earned a film degree from Arizona State, so was acting always your dream or did that evolve over time?

No, I never saw it as something that I could actually call a job. I grew up in Northern California. When I moved to Huntington Beach, I was surrounded by a lot of different types of people and unconventional jobs. I modeled for a few years to pay for college, and found myself into acting. Once I caught the bug, it’s all I wanted to do, and that’s when I switched my major to film.

Before Landman, was there a role you really wanted but didn’t book — and did that rejection teach you anything you’ve since applied to your career?

I wanted every role I auditioned for. I just wanted to work. (Laughs.) Now looking back, I’m so happy I didn’t get anything that I thought I wanted at the time. I just think it finds you when you’re ready. I wouldn’t change anything, but it was incredibly frustrating when you’re auditioning for so many years and you’re getting close on something that you have to convince yourself whatever you audition for, you’re meant to do. To keep yourself emotionally protected from that disappointment is really, really hard when you care a lot.

Is there a dream role or genre you’d love to tackle next?

I feel so lucky that I have been in different genres. Landman is different than 1923, which is different than Scream 7, which has been different than what I’m working on now. So I think anything that’s challenging. I would love to do a thriller. That’s what I’m looking for right now.

What does the perfect day off look like for you?

Hanging out with my cats. Sleeping in. Not getting off my couch. And just hanging out with my friends and my family. This job, you’re on the move always. I feel as if I live on airplanes sometimes. The days that I’m not working, I just really value being around the people I love. It can get really lonely.