Inde Navarrette isn’t ready for this. In front of her sits a half-pound of corned beef on rye bread, absolutely swimming in sauerkraut and mustard — a specialty of Midtown Manhattan’s Carnegie Diner. “I love having brothers and a boyfriend because whenever I think I’m not going to finish that, I have a vacuum,” she says, staring down a plate that also contains a rather hefty serving of fries and slaw. “So now I’m just looking at this half pound of corned beef…”
Also overwhelming: the sudden attention that comes with starring in Obsession, this year’s breakout film. Strangers are now stopping her on the street. Casting directors and fashion houses are hitting her up. Her Instagram followers spiked to 2.2 million and counting. “I don’t care how much I’m not sleeping, because I don’t know if I’ll get this opportunity again,” she says. “It reminds me of being in a SoulCycle class and all of the girls are like, ‘Sleep when you’re dead.’ Barry’s Bootcamp and Orangetheory really [prepared me for this].”
It’s 11 a.m. on a Monday in June when the 25-year-old and I meet for brunch, and Navarrette has already checked off one major movie star milestone this morning: naming her Top 4 favorite films for Letterboxd. (“You play out the scenarios in your head, and then all of a sudden, you’re there, and you go, ‘I don’t remember anything,’” she says. “I don’t consider myself a cinephile — one of my favorite movies is She’s the Man.”) Later that evening she’ll knock out another one: attending Chanel’s annual Tribeca Festival dinner, alongside Robert De Niro, Sofia Coppola, Sarah Pidgeon, and Ayo Edebiri. Tomorrow, she’ll make her first morning show appearance.
Obsession — Navarrette’s first starring film role, following stints on shows like 13 Reasons Why and Superman & Lois — became the stuff of box office lore within weeks of opening. With a budget less than $1 million, the Curry Baker-directed horror film has since earned nearly $300 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable films of 2026. The movie follows Bear (Michael Johnston), who makes a wish that his friend and co-worker would fall in love with him, only to discover some dire consequences. As Nikki, his object of affection and the film’s central antagonist (or protagonist, depending on how you look at it), Navarrette gives one of the most memorable breakout performances in years; many have compared it to Natalie Portman’s turn in Léon: The Professional, which Navarrette has cited as an inspiration. There’s even been awards buzz already, not dissimilar to Amy Madigan’s 2025 performance in Weapons, which ultimately landed her the Oscar.
If any of that has turned Navarrette’s head upside down, it isn’t showing. For the first 30 minutes of our hour together, we don’t talk shop at all. Instead, we talk about her plan to move to New York (she’s currently sourcing all types of intel on which neighborhood is right for her); her martini preference (vodka, very dirty; Misi in Williamsburg recently made her “the dirtiest little martini you’ve ever had”); and the city’s recent Knicks mania. It’s only then that her recent circumstances poke through: “I did Kimmel the other day” — not a name-drop, just a fact — “and they were talking about how you could buy a house in San Antonio for the price of a ticket.”
She’s touched that anyone is paying attention to her at all. “I actually had the cutest experience yesterday in Aritzia. This girl came up to me so excited, speaking Spanish, but my family has always spoken Spanish very slowly,” recalls the actor, who was born to a Mexican father and Australian mother. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is the most embarrassing moment in my life. I can’t do anything.’ But she immediately was like, ‘I’m your biggest fan and love you so much. Can I please take a photo?’ Moments like that I really like. I love being recognized by the girls. I haven’t really had a bad experience with dudes, but it’s a different energy.”
Mostly, though, she tries to tune out the idea of being perceived publicly. “I already have that as a girl,” she says of unsolicited attention. “You’re out, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I noticed that this is happening.’ I just clock it. I don’t want it to affect the way that I go about things, but I’m a very private person.”
On social media, she is a bit more loose. “It took me a while to find my style online, which is why sometimes when people post old sh*t of mine, I go, ‘Oh my God.’” (Like Timothée Chalamet and Connor Storrie before her, old videos of Navarrette’s streamer channel have been resurfaced by enthusiastic fans.) “I really like engaging with people. It’s the most fun thing ever, but I think there are certain boundaries that need to be in place because there are just some things that I shouldn’t know,” she says. “You know what I mean? Some opinions just aren’t my business.”
Her focus, instead, is what comes next. In the two months since Obsession’s release, she’s “100%” seen a change in the types of auditions she’s getting. “But I also find that there’s a difference in the way that I’m approaching them,” she continues. “Between Obsession and the film after that, I didn’t work. I was walking dogs. I was streaming. I was doing a lot of these things to make money. I didn’t have a lot of confidence because you just keep hearing no, and that can be debilitating. I now have a lot more confidence in the decisions that I’m making, and that’s made the audition process a lot more fun.” She has a few dream projects in mind: maybe an action film like Atomic Blonde, except the assassin is “teeny tiny,” or the live-action adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing. Her list of dream directors is even longer: Ryan Coogler, Greta Gerwig, Michael Mann, and Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier, the latter two of whom she’s met with recently.
Would she do a Marvel film? “I would.” Another horror film? “I would love to.” Obsession 2? “I think the beautiful thing about it is that there is no sequel. I think it’d be cool if Curry did the anthology series that he was talking about, where each is a different wish. Then I could watch and not get scared by myself.”
A waiter passes by to see how we’re doing; Navarrette glances down at the approximately one-third pound of beef on her plate and asks for a box. “I’m really stoked about a film I’m doing in September because I really like working with first-time directors,” she says. “And what I really love is this idea of suspense/thriller/horror and what falls under the umbrella of the worst feelings that you could ever feel. How do those stories get told? Horror does that really beautifully with shame and trauma.” She pauses, shepherding her sandwich into Styrofoam. “I really want to prove that Obsession wasn’t just lightning in a bottle. This is something that I really love and want to continue doing, but of course that’s going to take time. I want people to take that time to trust that I have that capability. I also want to fall on my face publicly and have something that people don’t like [but] maybe I do.” She laughs. “So, I’m looking forward to that.”
