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Warning: spoilers for Netflix's Time Cut ahead.
Where in the world is Madison Bailey? The newly minted leading actress is calling from Los Angeles after just getting back from New York City, days before she heads out on a national Pogue Tour to promote part 2 of Outer Banks season 4.
But for now, Bailey is settled in a corner of her home, eager to talk about a different project, the time travel teen slasher film Time Cut that arrived on Netflix just in time for Halloween. Bailey stars in the film as Lucy, a forlorn brainiac who lives in the shadow of Summer, the big sister she never met. When Lucy accidentally travels back in time to 2003, she is faced with the dangerous opportunity to save Summer from the serial killer who murdered her.
Bailey “loves” Halloween — she was a fairy last year and R&B singer Mariah the Scientist this year. “I'm a big fan of an easy, sexy, quick costume,” the 25-year-old tells Teen Vogue, lamenting that she had no Halloween plans set in stone due to her wicked schedule. “I'm literally doing so much press [around] the Halloween dates… I'm bouncing around.” Bailey is so busy, the calendar behind her still reads September in pink, flirty handwriting. But there’s also a vision board she made at the top of 2024 with cut-out affirmations, the A24 logo, and the word Vogue — so clearly her commitment is paying off.
Below, Madison Bailey talks to Teen Vogue about her budding music career, playing sister to Antonia Gentry (Ginny & Georgia, Prom Dates), Time Cut’s killer plot twist, and how Outer Banks has evolved in narrative stakes and racial nuance.
Madison Bailey: [Laughing] The long-story-short version was a lot of yeses, a lot of support around me, and perseverance on my end.
MB: I have a lot of older siblings, so not only was I listening to whatever my parents were playing, but I was also listening to what my older siblings were playing. They were always listening to something cool… in the early 2000s, I listened to a lot of Fergie, Christina Aguilera, early Rihanna, early Beyoncé. I grew up a Cheetah Girls fan. They probably shaped me in so many ways that I'm not even conscious of.
MB: Number two. I think there is a right answer. It's the second one. Anybody who says otherwise, I do believe, is wrong. Unless you say the first one — that's valid, but if you say the third one, you're way off-base.
MB: Look, we're on the same page.
MB: Absolutely. I tend to play these very strong, independent, and very decisive teenagers, which I think is also a really solid representation of Gen Z. The teenagers now are very independent in a different way. I probably would've done better in high school if I was in this current age [group], but I was doing a lot.
MB: I've done smaller roles in movies in the past, this is my first time ever leading a film. It was several years ago [now], it was after we had filmed season two of OBX. So I was really just getting a footing and getting that offer was insane. I was mind blown at the amount of trust that the producers and the team had in me. I felt ready and really excited to step up and lead a movie and lead a cast… and it was such a fun movie to film. It was such a great first real experience. I know it was also Toni's first big movie — it was a really big moment for both of us.
MB: Yeah, it absolutely lived up to my expectations. It's a different sense of energy when you are leading the movie. I really appreciated how much creative say that I had, and I really felt like I had a voice on set and that my feelings towards the scenes and where the whole story was going really, really mattered. I'm also a co-producer on the movie, which was a huge opportunity. Didn't even know what that really meant at the time, [but] it just means you get a little more say in certain things. I really enjoyed that.
MB: I think Hannah was so interested in hearing what me and Toni wanted to do as far as grounding the characters in a very specific way. You have this camp world happening. The character work feels pretty personal, we really had a big say in that. For me, I had a little say in casting, a little say in wardrobe, which I was really excited about. I thought that the wardrobe department freaking nailed it for both 2024 and 2003.
MB: I appreciated how the priority wasn't logic. I mean, you're time traveling. [Laughing] You get a lot of slack in there to just make whatever decisions in the movie you want. When I come back and stay in the end… it probably logistically is not making sense. I don't know anything about time travel. I don't know if anybody really, really does, but I think I just enjoyed that we got to play in that space, because the logic aspect was neither here nor there.
MB: I did. I think we had both seen each other's shows before we started filming. I know when it was brought up to me for casting and approvals, I was so excited that Toni was top of the list and was interested in the role. It's always great when Plan A just works out. Meeting her, I was like, “Oh, my gosh. Wait, you're so tiny.”
MB: Hey, speaking of logic not being the priority! There were a lot of jokes. I was just like, "This is what would happen. This is like 2024 food, not 2003 food." I don't know what's in there, but I'm big now. Yeah, we're going to assume something happened in IVF. I don't know.
MB: That is where we differ. I appreciate this new wave of psychological thrillers. When Get Out first came out, I was like, "Okay, wait. There is a genre of horror that I can enjoy and really like." I grew up with older siblings. I saw The Grudge when I was, like, five and it scarred me. I was like, "I hate scary movies. I can't do it." I'm genuinely such a scaredy cat, and you would think after becoming an actor that watching certain movies gets easier, but it really doesn't for me. I really get scared. I won't sleep. But I love a thriller. I love suspense. I definitely think Time Cut is more in the thriller space than straight horror. Because once it gets all demonic, then… I'm gonna be up at night.
MB: I probably would hesitate. Yeah. It would be a hard sell for me.
MB: Exactly. I feel like I'm a very spiritual person, and sometimes I feel very susceptible because I'm very open and welcoming to energy — but not like that.
MB: Asking where we shopped in Winnipeg, Canada is crazy.
MB: Because what was there to do? [Laughing] I think we were just in the 2003 spirit. We were like, "We should go to the mall and get pretzels," and we went to the mall too many times. Urban Outfitters, honestly. That's one thing about me. I can shop anywhere. It's a good trait and a toxic trait. We [also] went bowling, [played] Mario Kart, did a wine and paint night.
MB: Yeah, we just hung out! It was COVID, so we were just hanging out at mostly the apartments, [we'd] order some food and chill.
MB: Well, I have her location, she has my location. We check in on each other when we're close on the map. We're both super busy [but] we text here and there. We got to catch up when we were in Paris for Fashion Week and grabbed dinner.
MB: That I'm not a woman in STEM. Just kidding! She made me think about my family a lot and my relationship with my sisters. My family is a huge part of who I am, and picturing and playing this character whose parents see through her most of the time, it was really sad. It made me very appreciative of my family and my relationship and my bonds with my sisters. I have three sisters who I would do anything for. If I could time travel to save them, I absolutely would.
MB: I would. Me and Toni talked about this and I was like, "There's not many places I would go to in the past," for a long list of reasons, but I would absolutely bounce to the future.
MB: I don't know. Probably a realistic level that I would actually be alive for? Maybe 30 years. 40 years when I'm like... Oh gosh, that would make me 65. Oh, sh*t. I would do it, though.
MB: Absolutely. I think she should exist where she feels like she belongs, and she never belonged in 2024. She would've gone back and felt a very different loneliness. I don't think she would've done well mentally if she had stayed [in 2024] and I don't think there was much there for her. Back in 2003 she has her sister, if anyone else. Some people are like, "That's not that much," but if you have a sister, you know that that's everything.
MB: Gotta make it really clear where we're at on the timeline. The way it's the Tesla charger! We actually shot the end of [the movie] a year or so later, two years later maybe. Reshoots in England. The moment of the actual knife [on] the charger, it's very exact. It definitely took a couple takes, I definitely got stabbed a couple of times with this plastic knife. [Laughing] It was a lot of trial and error for that one, but the stunt rehearsal was really fun. I always loved doing a stunt choreography and getting to just go all out physically. It's always fun.
MB: Yes, I did. I remember when I first read the script, I was just reading, reading, reading — it's always a good sign when you can't put a script down. I was like, "I just need to know who the slasher is!" Reading it was Quinn, I was like, "You freak. That's crazy. Because she didn't want to be with you?!" It was hilarious to me. There's something to be said about a man who cannot take no for the answer.
MB: Absolutely! Especially [because] she's gay. It wasn't you, and you still took it personally. But Griffin [Gluck] is great. He's honestly hilarious, super creative, and fun. I feel like we had a great energy on set altogether, the cast just really clicked and had a good vibe.
MB: A lot of people said it gave them an early 2000s vibe and I was like, "I just wanted it to [be] acoustic, simple." The focus is not even so much vocally, but it's a lyrically-focused record for me. It was the perfect introduction song for what my message is… I personally feel like I've never fully fit in most of the spaces that I'm in, whether it's because I'm adopted, whether it's because I'm queer, whether it's because my mental health, truthfully, makes me constantly feel like I'm in an in-between space.
Having anxiety is a grey area and it doesn't always make sense to other people. I wanted a song that spoke to that and also reached out to other people if [they] are feeling this way. Not that I'm in the position to give all the best advice in the world, I'm still very much learning about myself on a daily basis — but if I could give that message to my younger self, it could have meant the world.
It could have meant me spending way less time trying to figure out what box I fit in and what group I fit in and who's my clique, who are my people. Your people can be anyone and everyone. When you take the pressure off of labeling yourself, you get to attract whatever energy is coming to you. I had my nieces and nephews very much in mind writing the record, and it's something I feel proud to share with them and something I think they should hear. I'm really proud of this one. The response from it has been incredible. I was like, "Let's just put it out.. Let's just not think too much about it." It just felt like the right time.
MB: I hope to continue creating that safe space. I'm still making music, I have other songs that I'm sitting on and waiting to release. I think maybe another single then maybe an album. I hope to do music for as long as I possibly can. Now that I'm doing it, now that I'm taking the first steps and facing all of those fears, there's not any going back for me.
MB: I'm not 100% sure that I have yet, if I'm honest. I've put out the song, I am in my creative bag. I'm in my happy place in the studio. I haven't been pushed to the full extent of my fear and discomfort with music… that seed of doubt. I think I'm not going to know until I'm facing it, but I think I'm in the position now that I'm accepting it and I'm ready to just try. That's all I really can do, but I'm just going to have to push myself when the day comes.
MB: I've said this before, but I feel like if part one is the calm, part two is the storm. So, things are definitely going to amp up. Things get really crazy. There are some insane surprises for part two, and I really can't wait for the fan response from that one. I wish I could say there is this whole moment [for that relationship], but the reality is that things are amping up for JJ and I think it might be more of Kiara trying to really be there for him, whilst being pushed away in a sense, because a lot is happening.
MB: It's a tough question, but I do think there are moments that are being written, you catch it in glimpses. I obviously always think it could be a stronger point. I do understand that it's a treasure hunting show, but the cast is split down the middle. You have three characters of color. I think they did a good job at addressing it a little with Cleo's character this season, in the way that some of the local people speak to her. I believe someone literally tells her to go back to where she came from.
I think those little moments are things that we need to see more of, because I think it paints a clearer picture of the Pogue and Kook divide. A lot of it goes a little without saying. We understand what's happening. When you say Pogue and Kook, depending on which characters you're talking to, it does mean something different for different characters.
MB: I don't know how Madison would react to that. I'd probably call the police. It's illegal! I'd be like, "Don't move. You just stay right there." I can't say I'd handle it physically, but I mean, I'm calling the cops… Kiara's restraint, I talked about this with [the crew] on the day [of shooting]. Script-wise, I was supposed to push Ruthie, but I was holding the turtle. I was like, "Guys, this is a debilitating prop for an actor. I can't shove someone with this dead baby turtle in my hand. It doesn't make any sense." So we workshopped it to where Topper steps up and then JJ pushes, I think, is what ended up in the cut.
MB: Thank you! I'm so excited. It was my favorite event last year, and I'm so freaking happy we're doing it again.
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