Seychelles Mizel planned to become a criminal justice major.
A former cheerleader at Will C. High School, Mizel’s coaches and teachers saw her potential as a performer long before she did.
“I feel like I had amazing teachers and coaches who saw that future actor in me before I did,” said Mizel. “Every game, every rally, I was always on the sidelines performing.”
Mizel said she knew performing was always in her future, although she didn’t know what at the time.
“It was one of those things that I had to figure out for myself,” said Mizel.
After graduating from Will C. Wood High School, she attended Santa Barbara City College, where she earned her associate’s degree in film history. From there, she earned her bachelor’s degree in theatre.
Mizel auditioned and landed “smaller parts” in various television shows, including the Netflix show “Forever” and the television mini-series “Kiss Me One Last Time.”
Her role as “Nina” in the upcoming biopic “Lunatic: Samuel Little” is her first major role.
“This is definitely the biggest project I’ve booked. It was my first time having that many scenes and that long of a script,” said Mizel.
The film is a true-life drama feature and crime thriller. It is about convicted serial killer Samuel Little.
Between 1970 and 2005, Little was convicted of 8 murders and confessed to killing 93 women across 19 states.
Mizel describes her character as the comedic relief and Little’s “happy-go-lucky” sidekick.
“I play the teenage sidekick who is riding around with him during his crime spree in the ’70s.
I feel like I’m the happy-go-lucky comedic relief character of a very dark story about a very dark person,” said Mizel.
Although her character is portrayed as a sex worker, there are no graphic scenes or depictions.
“Everything is totally implied, but nothing actually happens,” said Mizel.
Filming took three weeks across various days and in random locations, which included a hotel, a construction site, and a film studio.
“My favorite show is ‘American Horror Story,’ so we got to film at the same locations. That felt very cool,” said Mizel.
The most challenging aspect of Mizel’s role was performing physically demanding, choreographed scenes, including being thrown to the ground and into a car.
From having learned the scene sequence, she knew ahead of time where actors would be grabbing her, and how and where to land.
However, executing it on camera for the first time was a different story.
“I was used to the training of combat and choreography, but my first time having to execute that in front of a camera, it was kinda scary,” Mizel said.
After every take, the camera operators, actors, and director would check in to see how she was feeling afterward.
“It was a male-dominated set. But everyone made sure I felt comfortable and that I felt safe. That was a really great first experience for me,” said Mizel. “I really appreciated that and I felt taken care of.”
Although Mizel is settled in Los Angeles, she said that she still experiences culture shock “from time to time.”
“Vacaville is very open. When you walk your dog on the street, you say hi to the person who crosses your path, or you say hi to the person in line at the grocery store. That’s not super normalized in L.A,” said Mizel.
She credits her upbringing in Vacaville and her time at Will C. Wood High School for giving her the space to be whoever she wanted to be.
“Sometimes in L.A., it can be a little difficult to get that freedom. I’m just grateful that I grew up in a town, at my school, where it was so celebrated,” said Mizel.
“Lunatic: Samuel Little” will be out in select theaters in Los Angeles and on streaming platforms on Tubi, Apple TV, Roku, and Pluto by the end of the year.
Mizel will also appear in an upcoming Netflix documentary, “Teenage Wasteland,” releasing in September.
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