Katy O’Brian: A Play on Empathy
Actress Katy O’Brian finds her edge at the intersection of power and vulnerability.
FALL 2025
WORDS Rach Albright
PHOTOGRAPHY Lenne Chai
Katy O’Brian is not your typical bodybuilder. And she’s far from your typical actress. “I wrote down what I really wanted to do with my life, and one was act. And the other was I just wanted to get really strong.” She signed up for a local screen acting class, got a gym membership, and quickly proved that her drive was unstoppable.
Originally emerging from the indie film scene, she’s since joined nearly every major franchise—from Mission: Impossible to Marvel—and has racked up multiple blockbuster releases in the past few years alone.
But don’t let the muscles fool you: She commands the screen with strength, but it’s her empathy and nuanced understanding of character that make Katy O’Brian truly unforgettable.
“What’s the point of this person in this story? What’s the point of this person in the world?” She asks. “It’s an interesting exercise and it is also a great acting exercise in terms of just a play on empathy and understanding from multiple different perspectives.”
For Katy, it’s always been about the craft; she still believes the industry should be more about talent than follower count, and about authentic representation over tokenism.
She was typecast early on: for her stronger body, shorter hair, and tighter jawline than your typical Hollywood actress. While this initially helped get her foot in the door, she’s ready for something new.
“I sit at home, I play with my dog. I’m trying to have kids. I am a boring woman. I’d like to be able to play even just that sometimes.. at the end of the day, I am a human being.”
Her favorite roles have been the kind that allow her to show vulnerability, silliness; the complicated nature of being a person.
SHIRT Atelier Cillian, RINGS Davan
She continues, “it's just a matter of, I guess, showing people that you can do that or getting the opportunities to show people that you can do that.”
Though there’s a clear respect and appreciation for what goes into the big-budget films she’s been a part of, it’s unmistakable that indie is where her heart lies.
“Selfishly, as an artist I want to do what I want to do and not necessarily what people might assume I'm going to do.”
Where she stands in Hollywood is still something of a question mark for Katy. Though the industry—and the world—has made some strides in representation, it remains a complicated time to be open and queer on screen. “Am I going to be able to lead a blockbuster ever?” she questions.
“Maybe not.”
For now, the indie world has been her safe haven; it’s where she says she feels well nurtured and has been able to help nurture other creatives; it’s where she finds truth in art and storytelling.
“I think you get to tell deeper or more authentic stories often when you're doing an indie film.”
Of Love Lies Bleeding, she says it completely blew her mind.
“It was just so cool and so unique—terrifying and raw. I couldn't believe that project was funded.” She gushes about the writing and director, adding, “Rose Glass is the furthest thing from bodybuilding—just this soft-spoken British woman with a completely devious mind.. She's just got a really cool brain.”
The movie holds a special place for many reasons.
“People thought I had queer roles before, but it was just me existing on screen. This was actually my first queer character.”
She continues to praise other queer voices in Hollywood—Jane Schoenbrun, Julio Torres, and Rose Glass to name a few—as well as working with an almost exclusively queer casting in Queens of the Dead, saying “there was not a single thing that felt inauthentic about it.”
Though a longtime fan of Xena: Warrior Princess (and with an incredible story about Lucy Lawless making breakfast for her and her wife) Katy isn’t exactly sold on the remake craze. She wants fresh, authentic stories. She wants to do something she’s never done before.
“I think as queer voices get more opportunities to actually write and create and direct, make and produce their own projects, you'll see a little more of that genuine authenticity.”
At the end of the day, Katy O’Brian is much like the characters she loves to play: complex, vulnerable, and real. Her story is far from finished—she’s chasing truth over trends, she’s creating work that reflects her heart and her curiosity—and she’s determined to keep pushing the industry toward stories that feel as authentic as she does.
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STORY CREDITS
FEATURING Katy O’Brian, TALENT CASTING Muzam Agha, STYLIST Luca Kingston, Amanda Lim STYLIST ASSISTANT Viktoria Petrovski, HAIR Richard Grant, HAIR ASSISTANT Ruthie Quevedo, MAKEUP Robert Bryan,
DIGITECH Dante Velasquez Jr., PHOTO ASSISTANTS Nico Vargas, Cristina Martinez, PRODUCER Kristin Steusloff, PHOTO EDITOR Brittney Najar, STUDIO Hype Studios, SPECIAL THANKS Hyperion Creative Partners
HERO IMAGE CREDITS
SHIRT Atelier Cillian, RINGS Davan
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