One Young Five Nights At Freddy's Star Loved The Murder-Bots Very, Very Much
When the trailer for "Five Nights at Freddy's" first dropped, fans were shocked to see not just security guard Mike Schmidt, but also a little girl, his sister, Abby. It was doubly peculiar to see a scene of the small girl catching a cab with Golden Freddy, and not looking at all like someone terrified of a haunted animatronic killing machine. In fact, Abby looks delighted to be hanging out with the oversized robo-bear, which mirrored the young actor's real-life experience on set.
In an interview with SFX Magazine, director Emma Tammi talked about how the animatronics became the beloved bestie of one of the young stars of the film. "We have one 10-year-old actress, Piper Rubio, and she was so in love with these animatronics that she would hug them every day when she got to set and hug them every day when she left set," Tammi laughed. Those gigantic murder-bots became friends on set for Rubio. "She absolutely created a bond with them that is beyond anything I could have expected or wished for and was so deeply authentic," said Tammi.
Rubio's connection to the animatronics was a lucky happenstance, as she was the fast favorite for the role. According to the production notes provided to the press from Universal and Blumhouse, Rubio's audition was the first one game creator Scott Cawthon saw for the film. "I kept going down the list trying to consider other auditions, but I kept going back to Piper's," he said. But for Tammi, it always comes back to seeing Rubio with those animatronics. "Her jaw just dropped," Tammi said. "She turned to me and said, 'I thought they were just going to be men in green suits.' She was over the moon that she was actually going to be meeting Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy." That's because the animatronics were made by the legendary Jim Henson's Creature Shop, so they're about as real as real can be.
The experience of a lifetime
In her own words, Piper Rubio loved every second of working on "Five Nights at Freddy's," and called the film "the best experience, the most fun I've ever had." She also praised Tammi, who took extra care to make sure she never felt too scared on set. "Emma would bring this little rainbow owl plushie for me; his name was Owen," Rubio said. The little plush brought her comfort, but the more time she spent on set, the less she found she needed him. "Later I asked Emma if she could stop bringing Owen," Rubio said. "I wanted to stay in-character." Despite her young age, Rubio shined alongside a cast of big names, including Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard.
"Piper is just an absolute joy to work with and be around," Josh Hutcherson said. "She has a lot of creative ownership over her work." That's a pretty big compliment coming from such a decorated actor like Hutcherson, especially when evaluating the work of a pre-teen. But the connection Rubio had with the animatronics reflects the same relationship many fans of the franchise have, where even something supposedly so scary can start to feel like a friend. That kinship between Rubio and the "FNaF" gang is important because it represents the true power of "Five Nights at Freddy's" in universe — that innocence can be corrupted, and that something meant to bring joy can be manipulated into something terrifying.
"Five Nights at Freddy's" hits theaters and begins streaming on Peacock on October 27, 2023.