Lorenza Izzo

From Santiago to the Amazon rainforest

Lorenza Izzo didn't land in Los Angeles with a step-by-step plan for conquest. In 2012, the Chilean actress was filming Aftershock in her home country when her path crossed with that of director Eli Roth. That earthquake production changed her professional and personal trajectory immediately.

The daughter of model Rosita Parsons, Izzo was familiar with public attention from a young age. Her real interest, however, was acting (she studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York). Her permanent move to the United States in 2013 was not a leap into the unknown, but a decision to step away from the South American fashion circuit.

Genre cinema embraced her as one of its most visible faces for a full five years.

In 2013, she starred in The Green Inferno, a cannibal horror film shot under extreme conditions in the jungle. Grueling physical shoots became a constant in her early years. So when Knock Knock arrived in 2015, where she shared the screen with Keanu Reeves, audiences already knew her for visceral suspense.

And her bet on horror paid off for a while.

Breaking the Muse Mold

Many actors get stuck in the gore niche forever. But Izzo used her visibility to seek out projects with a different narrative weight. In 2018, she took part in The House with a Clock in Its Walls, an Amblin production that allowed her to explore a more fantastical, family-friendly register.

And then the call from Quentin Tarantino came.

In 2019, she played Francesca Capucci in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It wasn't a long-running role, but working under Tarantino's direction shifted how the industry saw her. Her ability to speak several languages and her knack for light comedy began to matter more than her past in low-budget films.

Television also offered her opportunities for dramatic growth. In 2020, she joined the cast of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels as Santa Muerte. It was an ambitious project that explored Mexican folklore in California during the 30s. Shortly after, in 2021, her appearance on Hacks as Ruby allowed her to show a contemporary and much sharper side.

Her career now moves between mainstream movies and streaming productions.

In 2022, she shot Confess, Fletch alongside Jon Hamm, bringing back the tone of the screwball comedy. Two years later, in 2024, she took part in the adaptation of the video game Borderlands, playing Veronica. The Lionsgate production had a budget of $110 million and was filmed entirely on location in Hungary.