Olivia Taylor Dudley has never been afraid of the strange. From cult-favorite fantasy to sharp-edged comedy, her career has moved fluidly across genres but with Touch Me, she steps into something far more destabilizing. Premiering in the midnight sections at both Sundance and SXSW, the film resists easy categorization: part psychosexual horror, part dark comedy, part emotional excavation.

Directed by Addison Heimann, Touch Me uses its surreal, often confrontational world to explore something deeply human: addiction, co-dependency, and the fragile pursuit of connection. At the center is Dudley's performance as Joey, a character navigating vulnerability, desire, and emotional volatility in ways that feel both heightened and uncomfortably real.

For Dudley, the role wasn't just a creative challenge-it was personal. Drawing from her own experiences, she approaches Joey with a grounded intensity, anchoring even the film's most chaotic moments in something honest. The result is a performance that doesn't just exist within the film's world, but cuts through it.

Here, Olivia Taylor Dudley reflects on working within extremes, collaborating with Heimann, and why horror, at its best, is never really about fear.

Gown by ZHEXUAN KATHERINE HU
Brooch by Kat and Clarese at The Confessional Showroom NYC

Olivia, Touch Me arrives in theaters after building buzz at Sundance and SXSW. What does it feel like finally releasing something this specific — and this bold - into the world?

I feel really honored to have such a wild movie premiere at these prestigious festivals. This is my second movie premiering in the midnight section at Sundance and it is honestly my favorite place to premiere a movie! I think it's so cool that these big festivals are really embracing genre, audiences really want it, and especially midnight audiences. There's nothing like the energy at a Sundance midnight premiere, a dream come true.

The film sits somewhere between psychosexual horror, comedy, and something more abstract. What pulled you into that space creatively?

I'm really drawn to the horror genre, always have been. I think it's the perfect vessel to tell stories about real human experiences but wrap it up in a fun and scary package. For example this movie to me is not about horror or sci-fi, it's really about mental health, trauma, addiction, and codependency. And horror comedies take it one step further. They hide the serious stuff in a scary package, but also make you laugh.

It's kind of a perfect recipe for people to process dark themes but still enjoy the ride. What really drew me into this project was that it wasn't afraid to go there. I was able to connect and pull for my own experiences with these themes and work through them. Like Joey I too have obsessive compulsive disorder and have struggled with it my whole life, it meant a lot to me to represent that.

Coat by Kiki Zuo
Millinery by Sideara St. Claire
Top by DANIEL SILVERSTAIN
Shoes by JW PEI

At its core, Touch Me is about co-dependency and the pursuit of happiness, even when it turns destructive. How did you ground those themes within such an exaggerated world?

Unfortunately I feel like a lot of people can relate to addiction and destructive relationships. At the end of the day, we all just wanna feel loved and happy. Easier said than done. I think Addison found a unique and wild perspective on this that I've never seen before. I really hope people walk away from this movie having had a good time, but also reflecting on their own life experiences. I really want people to feel seen, like I did when I read the script.

Your performance moves through vulnerability, desire, and discomfort, often within the same moment. What was the most challenging part of holding all of that at once?

I'm not really sure how to answer that. I think because I do so much prep work all of those things live inside the character inside me. Does that make sense? I try to make my characters as complex as possible and Joey was no exception. The thing that interested me most about her was how complicated she was. I think she's a deeply curious person which was really fun to explore. It also helps when you have an amazing script that pushes you to confront all those emotions at the same time.

The tone constantly shifts: funny, unsettling, intimate. As an actor, how do you stay anchored when the film is intentionally destabilizing?

This is actually one of my favorite playgrounds to play in! I've done a lot of horror and a lot of comedy, and it's really fun to vacillate between the two. At the end of the day I want my character to be grounded, so if I stay grounded I'm open to whatever the scene has to offer. I do a lot of preparation before I work and I feel like that gives me a good anchor when things get wild on set. I definitely had to have this one mapped out emotionally ahead of time so that I didn't get lost. I don't really find it destabilizing. personally I thrive in this kind of work environment. It's exciting and only fuels my character. Also, it was honestly one of the most fun sets I've ever worked on. For as dark as some of these scenes were to film, as soon as we cut it was such a safe and loving environment that made it easy to find yourself again.

Dress by Pipenco Lorena
Earrings by Alexis Bittar
Heels by Caglglz

The film pushes into intimate and, at times, confrontational territory. Did working on it shift the way you think about emotional boundaries or connection?

The film did make me reflect a lot on past toxic relationships in my life, whether it be a romantic partner or a friend. I put a lot of myself into Joey, but at the end of the day it was nice to look in the mirror and know I'm emotionally more mature than she is. Although it was still cathartic to play her. Also, we took the intimacy in the film very seriously. One of the first things Addison and I talked about was how we were going to represent those scenes. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't gratuitous, but still felt sexy, surreal, and real at the same time. I'm really proud of how those scenes turned out. They feel like art to me.

You're also a producer on the project. Did that change the way you approached risk - either creatively or personally? What did that collaboration with Addison Heimann look like in practice?

I actually came on as an executive producer later in the process. I was filming another movie right before this so I wasn't involved in pre-production. But Addison was so lovely and really valued my opinions, and I helped to finish the film and was in the edit every day and all through post. I love producing movies I work on. It's my favorite part honestly. There's something about helping the filmmaker achieve their vision in more ways than just acting. I love being a filmmaker just as much as I love being an actor, and I feel really lucky that we got to collaborate on this one.

**Left:**
Coat by alice + olivia by StaceyBendet
Earrings by Alexis Bittar
Heels by COLETER
**Right:**
Dress by Renacio Reyes
Earrings by Alexis Bittar

You've moved between genres pretty fluidly from fantasy to comedy and now something much darker and more surreal. What kind of roles are you instinctively drawn to at this point?

I don't really gravitate towards one genre more than another, I'm drawn to who the character is. I feel really lucky that I've gotten to work in all genres in my career. Honestly fantasy and sci-fi might be the most fun! When I first started out horror was just the most accessible and easiest to get cast in. I'm truly such a horror movie fan myself so it always feels like a dream come true to do horror movies. I feel really lucky I've gotten to do so much comedy too. I've gotten to work with so many amazing and hilarious people. No matter what genre I'm working in, my approach is always the same, to make my character as real and grounded as possible. The best comedy is when somebody isn't trying to be funny, just funny things are happening to them and around them. And the best horror is when you truly believe the terrifying thing is actually happening to you. It all comes down to staying true to the characters emotional reality. On my show The Magicians, my character Alice was in some pretty wild situations to say the least.

Luckily I have a very vivid imagination and I'm able to pretend it's all real.

You split your time between Los Angeles and projects that take you elsewhere. Do different cities change the way you tap into a character or a story?

Oh that's an interesting question. I think the location plays a part in the character development for sure.

There's always a new and different energy when you get to a new city. Being in a new and strange place definitely makes you feel like someone else, which can help when you're tasked with playing a different person. Just being put in an unfamiliar environment with new people makes you have to build a whole new world within a world. We shot TOUCH ME in LA, and I've often wondered if that's why Joey feels so much like me, well not the alien lover part.

Corset by Erik Barshai
Jacket by Menyelek
Ruffled Brooch by Monzlapur
Earrings by Alexis Bittar
Gloves by Kat and Clarese at The Confessional Showroom NYC
Heels by THESHY

CREW CREDITS:
Talent: Olivia Taylor Dudley
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz
PhotoBook Assistant to Creative Director: Mia Aponte
Photographer: Virginia Kluiters
Wardrobe Stylist: Anica Buckson
Wardrobe 1st Assistant: Freddy Mèzidor
Wardrobe 2nd Assistant: Ester Ludovisi
Set Design: Virginia Kluiters and Scott Fetterman
Hairstylist: Sinaïa Campora
Makeup Artist: Nikole Vega
Photo Assistant + Lighting Designer: Derick Marquez
Retouching: Veranika Nadtachayeva
Location: Velorum Studio
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine

Olivia Taylor Dudley on Touch Me, Emotional Extremes, and Finding Truth Inside Chaos