‘Outer Banks’ Star Madelyn Cline Reveals She Lost Out On This Major Film Role: ‘There Have Been a Lot of Almosts’
The teen drama Outer Banks has seen sweeping success since premiering on Netflix in 2020. Set in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the show focuses on a group of teens searching for a lost treasure. Outer Banks features an ensemble cast of talented young actors. Foremost among them is Madelyn Cline, a mainstay in the series since the first season. And with the recent release of Outer Banks Season 3, many viewers are discovering Cline’s work for the first time. In an interview with Today, she opened up about her history in Hollywood, including the roles she lost before catching her big break.
Madelyn Cline broke out on ‘Outer Banks’
Cline began acting when she was very young, appearing in commercials and photoshoots for various brands and companies. She landed minor recurring roles in TV shows like Stranger Things and The Originals early in her career, but she got her big break in 2018 when she was cast as Sarah Elizabeth Cameron in Outer Banks.
The first season of Outer Banks debuted on Netflix in early 2020. And as COVID-19 swept the nation, teenagers were getting swept up in the show’s addictive drama. Many of the stars suddenly found themselves in the spotlight, and Cline was no exception.
Dubbed pop culture’s latest it-girl, Cline quickly began exploring other career opportunities to capitalize on her newfound fame. In addition to her featured role in all three seasons of Outer Banks, Cline also appears in the recent Netflix film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
What did Madelyn Cline say about losing a role in the movie ‘Bumblebee’?
Even though Cline has been professionally acting since childhood, she hasn’t always gotten lucky. In a recent interview with Today, Cline revealed several roles she didn’t get.
“It was a long time before Outer Banks, but I went out for Bumblebee,” Cline said of the 2018 sci-fi flick starring Hailee Steinfeld. “I was like, Transformers — this is so cool!’ But it didn’t happen. There have been a lot of almosts.”
She also revealed certain types of movies she would like to make, including period pieces. Cline said she has “the bug for action-adventure, obviously because of Outer Banks. And I really, really enjoyed stylized filmmaking like [Knives Out producer Rian Johnson’s]. I’d love to do something more like that.”
‘Outer Banks’ Season 3 is making waves
In the meantime, Cline is busy riding the wave of Outer Banks’ success. Season 3 dropped on Netflix at the end of February, and fans love the latest season’s adventure and drama despite mixed reviews. As of this writing, the series has a 43% critics score and a 69% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Paul Tassi of Forbes writes, “None of this works. It’s a bad season of a show that at least used to be better than this. It feels like Outer Banks has no real plan going forward.”
But Jade Budowski of Decider says, “Outer Banks is as addictive and exciting as ever in its third season, raising the stakes and allowing its starry young cast to shine with each new installment.”
Despite the negative reviews, Netflix renewed Outer Banks for a fourth season. So expect Cline to remain in the spotlight for the foreseeable future.
