‘M3GAN’ Star Allison Williams Says it was ‘Strange’ to Film With the Doll

In the new horror movie M3GAN, Allison Williams plays Gemma, the roboticist responsible for creating the titular villain. In a recent interview, the actor revealed how “strange” it felt to work opposite the creepy doll. And she detailed the steps she took to make it feel as if M3GAN was a real person. 

The ‘M3GAN’ doll was created with a combination of animatronics, CGI, and live performance 

M3GAN comes from producer Jason Blum and writers James Wan and Akela Cooper. It follows Gemma as she develops a life-like AI doll that is meant to be a companion and protector for its user. When her orphaned niece Cady (Violet McGraw) comes to live with her, Gemma pairs her with M3GAN, hoping the doll will act as a friend and companion.

But M3GAN takes her programming literally. And so the killer doll begins hurting the people she believes are a threat to Cady. 

To create M3GAN, director Gerard Johnstone utilized a combination of methods. Morot Animitronics made him a state-of-the-art doll with animated facial movements and micro-expressions.

But because the doll is limited in its physicality, Johnstone cast young actor Aimee Donald to play M3GAN and had a prosthetic mask made for her. And when most of the filming was complete, the filmmaker turned to CGI to bring it all together. 

“The last component though is obviously she has to wear a mask that doesn’t speak or move,” Johnstone told Complex. “So that’s why we needed CG. So we had these guys in New Zealand doing that — and they just did an extraordinary job making it pretty seamless. And that’s the great thing, you don’t know what you’re looking at.”

Allison Williams reveals how ‘strange’ it felt to work with the ‘M3GAN’ doll

In the film, Williams has dozens of scenes opposite M3GAN. The actor had never worked with an animatronic puppet before. So she admitted the experience felt strange. 

“I’m happy to say, by far, it was the most unique co-star experience I’ve ever had, very different [than] working with anyone else,” Williams told Etalk. “Throughout the experience, it was really strange.” 

To overcome some of the awkwardness, Williams spent a lot of time thinking about M3GAN, looking at her sketches, and discussing the character’s motivations. “The amount of time that we spent talking about who she was, and what she wanted, and what motivated her as a character, allowed me to feel that sense of familiarity when we were working together,” the actor explained.

Allison Williams says her ‘M3GAN’ experience made her a better actor

Williams may have found working opposite a puppet strange and challenging. But the Get Out star suggested that it’s also made her a better actor. 

“The experience of making and working with M3GAN was unlike anything I’ll probably ever experience again,” Williams said in a recent interview with Daily Dead.  “I learned a ton.”

“It was super challenging for everyone involved [laughs], as M3GAN was a temperamental gal, but it was an experience that will make me a better actor and a better producer,” she continued. “I learned so much about collaboration and artistry and engineering, and all of it. It was this collision of every department descending on this one character’s portrayal.”

M3GAN is currently playing in theaters across the country.