Olivia Scott Welchis a 25-year-old from the Dallas-Fort Worth area who is making a splash in Hollywood. After starting her professional career in 2015 with a two-episode arc onModern Family, she landed a few other television roles on shows likeMarvel’s Agent CarterandUnbelievable. In 2020, she gave a memorable and funny (albeit brief) supporting performance in the miraculous indie filmShithouse.
The television role that kickstarted her career was the lead role of Heather Nill on thePrime Video seriesPanic. The show tells the story of a town in Texas where kids graduating seniors played a game that risk their lives and their futures. Some play for the bragging rights, but most play for the cash prize that could be their only ticket out of town. Welch’s character, Heather, is against the dangerous game from the start but has no choice but to play when she learns that her mother spent the money she saved up to go to Harvard.
Welch’s performance in this show was captivating, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats and rooting her on the whole time. She perfectly balanced the reluctance and desperation needed for the character and slowly softened into a romantic lead as the show progressed. After a fantastic performance inPanic, the show was quickly canceled. Not to the fault of the cast, it was based on a book that wrapped up neatly at the end and the network executives didn’t feel like more needed to be said.
She’s Not Just a Fluke
The sting of a canceled show couldn’t bring the actress down. Especially because, within two months of the first episode ofPaniccoming out,Fear Street Part One: 1994was released on Netflix, followed byFear Street Part Two: 1978andFear Street Part Three: 1666. In this trilogy of movies, Welch snagged another lead role as one of the five teenagers who team up to figure out why unexplained, unmotivated massacres happening in their town and attempt to stop them.
Related:14 Horror Movies That Are Basically Rom-Coms
This franchise was well-received by horror fans feeling refreshed by a horror mystery that breaks the stereotypical mold. Welch plays the ex of another character who mysteriously seems to have a bigger target painted on her back by the killers than the other teenagers. This franchise presented a unique challenge that Welch and her costars handled with ease:the odd timeline ofFear Street. Each movie took place in a different decade and in the third movie, Welch plays two different characters. These movies were so popular that a fourth installment is rumored to be on the way and Welch cannot be discounted in the franchise’s success.
Why Her First Two Big Projects Foretell a Great Future
While theFear Streetmovies came out afterPanic, they were actually filmed in reverse order.This is impressive because Welch filmed three movies consecutively before filming her first series regular role. She gained more experience in the time working on these two projects than many young actors do in several years. That is because she filmed all threeFear Streetmovies separately, which were then released within a month of each other, and thenPaniccame out.
Related:Fear Street Cast and Character Guide
In interviews, she has said thistaught her a valuable lessonin pacing herself as an actress. These projects have matured her quickly as a performer and show that she has what it takes to work hard in the industry. Since wrapping onPanicandFear Street,Welch has become a main cast member on AMC’sLucky Hankwhich shows that her success has not been a fluke, and she’s not slowing down anytime soon.
What’s Next for Olivia Scott Welch
Olivia Scott Welch’s new show,Lucky Hank,was just released in March 2023, so if that is renewed, she will have more consistent work coming her way. That’s a likely scenario, considering itstars the great Bob Odenkirk. There was a rumor in 2022 that she would play Detective Lilly in a 1950s detective-style horror film,The Blue Rose. While there isn’t a lot of information available on this production, it appears to be in post-production, so we could see more work from the actress before we know it.
She is also headlining the upcoming film,The Sacrifice Game. Directed by Jenn Wexler (The Ranger), the film is a ‘defend the castle’ type of survival thriller.
You can find Olivia Scott Welch’s projects across different streaming sites. Netflix is the home for theFear Streettrilogy, Prime Video housesPanic, and AMC or AMC+ is where you can watchLucky Hank.
