Maika Monroe

When you look at the roles I've done and the roles coming up, they're all strong. I guess I'm more drawn to that than that kind of submissive role females can be categorised as.

I used to be a professional kiteboarder. People were like, 'Oh, my God, are you scared of sharks? Are you scared of injuries?' You can't be scared. If you're scared, then you can't do it. You can't train to be the best.

I guess becoming an adult and learning how to survive on your own is exciting.

I have my own past and my own personality. I'm going to relate to the material in a completely different way than somebody else might.

There are a lot of times where, filming 'It Follows,' I'm fighting against a guy dressed in a green suit for special effects, and I'm just like, 'No. There's no way this is going to be pulled off.'

My goal is to continue to act and still be a professional kiteboarder.

There's some freedom that you get with indie films that you don't get with the big-budget ones. There's just a different style. I hope I can switch back and forth for the rest of my career, but I've kind of grown up on indies, and there's nothing better than working with these directors so closely and and being such a huge part of the process.

My dad showed me loads of films when I was young, but I never thought I would be in movies. That didn't seem like a real job to me.

I've cracked my head open before; I've had some great injuries. So I have to do it on the side now. I cracked my head open kiting before a competition in New Caledonia. The water was shallow, and I missed a trick and hit my head on a rock.

Cape Town, South Africa, was pretty incredible. That's probably the coolest place I have ever been, and the kiteboarding is insane there. It's so windy, so you can get massive air.

I like challenges. I think that's important.

A lot of times, I'll get roles where it's the dumb blonde or the cheerleader, and I just have no interest - and it can be a great movie, it really can - or the mean girl; those things don't intrigue me much.