The Institute, airing on MGM+, is the latest adaptation from horror master Stephen King. Season 1 premiered on July 13th and concluded on August 24th. Although the first season covers King’s 2019 novel of the same name, the show has officially been renewed for Season 2.
In anticipation of the Season 2 finale, Horror Geek Life talked with series stars Simone Miller and Fionn Laird, who play Kalisha and Nicky, respectively. Their characters are two of the gifted kids trapped in the twisted world of experiments, horrors, and death known as The Institute.
HGL: How did the two of you get involved in The Institute TV series?
Simone Miller: I know for Fionn, it was quite a quick turnaround for you, but for me, oh my gosh, painful, painful waiting. The process was stretched out for a month and a half. I had three auditions, one taped and two callbacks, via Zoom, with our director and showrunner, Jack Bender. Those were super intimidating, but I was excited about all of it because there are certain projects that come across your table that you can’t wait to just dig in. You kind of see yourself in the role and become a little hyper-fixated on it. It still to this day feels so surreal to see myself as Kalisha.
Fionn Laird: Like Simone said, mine was quick; it all happened within about a week and a half. I found out about it and did a tape for it, did a callback with showrunner Jack Bender, and about three days later, I found out I got it. I even asked him later, “Listen, Jack, did someone drop out? Did someone say they couldn’t do the role?” He was like, “No, that’s just when we got around to it,” and I was like, “Perfect, man, love to hear it.”
I read the book during that week. I’ve always been a huge King fan, and I love the kind of psychic kid sub genre, and it just happened, and it’s been a dream come true.
HGL: It was interesting watching both of your characters throughout the show. Both are gifted and forced to grow up fast, but at the same time, you are both young and volatile as well. As actors, was it challenging to put all those aspects together and make them believable?
Simone Miller: Absolutely. Trying to remember the character was only fourteen was on the top of mind for me. At the end of the day, yes, it can be easy to try and lean into the hero troupe—yeah, I know what I’m doing, I’ve got this, but at the end of the day, you really don’t. As a fourteen-year-old, you’re scared out of your mind. But, at the same time, these kids try to lean into the light whenever they can. We have our fun moments playing ping pong, our little giggles here and there. But yeah, it was always on my mind to try and keep that youthful energy present and at the forefront of how I chose to play Kalisha.
Fionn Laird: I think for me with Nicky, he’s already had a traumatic experience growing up, he’s already been through alot, so why hasn’t this experience broken him? How does he keep going? How does he find the joy? For me, it was how does he remain a kid through all of that? Where can I find that? It definitely helped to have a group of brilliant young actors who were also looking to explore that on set. It was just a great ensemble piece, it was almost like we were all doing the same character study with our own specific moments, it was great.
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HGL: Speaking of challenges, does being attached to a Stephen King adaptation add extra pressure? Or does the excitement and challenge help shape your performance? Or perhaps a combination of both?
Simone Miller: I would definitely say a combination of both. I feel it’s almost impossible not to feel the gravity of personifying such a loved book and author. It was a little daunting, but stepping onto the set and feeling that among all of us, leaning on one another, but still having our little fangirl moments, texting each other, and saying, “This is crazy.” It really does add fuel to the fire of already wanting to really nail the characters and do it justice for the fans of the book.
Being a fan of the book myself, I really wanted to make sure everything went back to the book, what I drew from, and that it was recognizable moments from the text.
Fionn Laird: It’s one thing to be the master of a specific genre, but he’s also been a master of the screen. The past thirty years have seen so many films from King’s books—Pet Sematary, The Shining, Carrie, which is my favorite. All these different adaptations that have been so iconic, and it’s like, we want it to be iconic too. It’s so exciting to be working on this Stephen King project, but I hope we do it justice. I hope we’re up for it. Knowing that he was attached to it, he’s an executive producer on the project.
We found out he was in on the audition process, it’s like ok, I trust Stephen King to know his work and what will work. So yes, it was very daunting, but we had the reassurance of people trusting us to be here. There was faith in myself and what we were doing, so that was really nice.
HGL: Now that Season 1 has wrapped, have you had a chance to look back and think about what this experience has meant to you?
Fionn Laird: I think on a personal level, this has helped me in the way I perceive myself as an actor. You always wonder if you can do this as a career, especially when you are starting out. It’s like everyone is reaching for the same thing; it’s scary and terrifying, a kind of feast or famine. For me, it was like, will this be the one or just another tape I submit? So to have this happen, and on this scale, has truly done wonders for how I view myself as an actor. It’s helped me say, yeah, I can do this as a career and have faith in my ability to deliver and do something great and hard and difficult and come out the other side as a better actor.
Personally and professionally intermingle for me, but professionally, now I have this framework, almost a trampoline, that I can rely on. That, if I have a couple of hard months, I can look back on this and remember the experience. And it’s something I can always be grateful for.
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Simone Miller: Yeah, I can definitely speak to that. This was also the first thriller I’ve ever done. I’ve worked more in the comedy space, which I love, but stepping into this, there was definitely a little bit of doubt. Handling characters like these is a little more intricate, and I really wanted to make sure I was leaning into it in a way where the nuances felt genuine. It just felt very validating because, for so long, I’ve been wanting to do something in the thriller/horror space, and for my first thriller to be Stephen King is crazy. It has added more fuel to an already burning fire that has me so ready to hopefully dive into more characters such as this one.
Also, doing press for this project has allowed us to peek behind the curtain, so to speak, and it’s really humbling to have conversations with all these people you’ve looked up to. Meeting actors, directors, people in the film world, and just having conversations with them, and realizing we are all just people. So, that has been really great as well.
The finale of The Institute airs Sunday, August 24th at 9 pm EST on MGM+.
