Multihyphenate actress-model-dancer Dani Oliveros adds survival skills to her resume. Known for her roles in The Cleaning Lady and OutBreak, the Latin Filipino actress now embodies a beauty guru in Josh Stolberg’s latest film. Premiering July 11, Oliveros portrays Kirsten in the horror thriller Skill House that follows ten influencers, who are coerced into competing in a series of deadly social media challenges. EnVi chatted with Oliveros over Zoom to talk about her upcoming projects, hobbies, and finding inspiration beyond acting.
Trending For Survival
Writer-director Josh Stolberg (Saw X, The Hungover Games, Avatar: The Last Airbender) brings to life another modern-day horror story packed with sadistic traps and deadly games. The movie follows ten influencers who wake up inside body bags in a grandiose mansion. Attached around all of their necks are devices that reveal the rules of the game. After each round, the creator with the lowest number of views faces a fatal demise. The film also stars 50 Cent, Neal McDonough, Caitlin Carmichael, Leah Pipes, John DeLuca, Paige VanZant, Emily Mei, Bryce Hall, Hannah Stocking, Ivan Leung, and Jacob Skidmore.
Oliveros takes the screen as Kirsten, one of the influencers trapped in the content house. Oliveros described her character as the misunderstood mean girl. “She’s [Kirsten] unintentionally mean, but she’s kind of reserved, and she uses her wits in a way that benefits her. She plays dirty,” Oliveros said.
Oliveros beamed how Stolberg’s Skill House is attractive for all horror fans. She warned that the film’s death scenes are incredibly gory. “Our camera operator passed out during one of the scenes because the gore of it is practical,” she dished.
While Oliveros is not heavily invested in influencer culture, she expressed her enjoyment playing those kinds of characters. She explained, “I don’t really follow that many influencers. I’m obsessed and follow a lot of dog accounts.” In order to prepare for the role and the opportunity to create her own content for her beauty influencer character, Oliveros tapped into her modeling background. She was able to pick up tips and tricks from years of sitting in the hair and makeup chair as a model to find inspiration for content and video transitions.
Fish Out of Water
The Bay is another survivor thriller project on the horizon for Oliveros. The indie film directed by Phil Volken (Extortion) takes place in the open waters of Thailand and follows two friends (Francesca Eastwood and Dani Oliveros) on a boat tour to a shark sanctuary bay led by captain Mandal (Alexander Wraith) and boater Ruhan (Tai’mua). The motor becomes damaged due to a mishap involving a giant female shark, Sheena, and the moral dilemma of the life raft capacity begins.
Oliveros wrapped filming for The Bay in February earlier this year and noted that it was the smallest cast she’s ever been a part of. She said, “It was really just four of us for the majority of the movie, and we were on a boat in the middle of the water in the most beautiful place. A lot of the scenes didn’t have much dialogue, so we kind of were just in the element, which is really cool.” Oliveros added that she bonded with her co-star Eastwood a lot on set, and it translated well to their dynamic on screen of back-and-forth banter.
“I think that role was the closest to my personality,” Oliveros reflected. With a similar adventurous spirit in real life, Oliveros was excited because she hasn’t portrayed many characters that are as outgoing and talkative. She described her character Lani as being “very outgoing, very front-footed… very girl next door.”
A Comedic Turn of Events
Starring alongside Owen Wilson and Matt Rife, Oliveros trades out her survival instincts for festival chaos. Rolling Loud, written and directed by Jeremy Garelick, is an R-rated comedy following a father and his young son as they navigate the pandemonium of celebrations surrounding the hip-hop festival’s 10th year. Oliveros described her character as “the best girl that you could be but with a brain cell and a half and has the biggest daddy issues.”
Oliveros shared how she got the opportunity to attend the Rolling Loud festival in Los Angeles. She was able to chat with the film’s producers and hang out backstage with the co-founders of the festival along with other artists performing. She said, “I basically lived out what my character is in the movie.” As her first comedy film, Oliveros noted that the genre felt a little foreign at first, and said, “Oh, [I] don’t always have to cry on set. That’s so different.”
Mindset Is Everything
“I often play characters that are just so far from me,” Oliveros explained. She claimed that it can be easier to jump into a role that she finds starkly different from her own personality. “If the line is too similar, then what are you playing? Are you even acting at all?” were the questions that helped Oliveros debate and consequently led to her diversification in choosing projects.
Oliveros attributed Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant as her biggest role models due their mindsets. With a background in dance and gymnastics, she continues to approach everything from an athlete’s perspective in terms of repetition.“I love to see the range of what different actors are booking and trying and failing, ” Oliveros said. While expanding her resume, Oliveros still has a wide wish list of genres she wants to be a part of including psychological thrillers and more comedies.
Moving the Goal Post
Dani Oliveros has remained booked and busy with acting, modeling and hobbies on the side. The Bay and Rolling Loud are expected to be released in 2026, and Oliveros shared that she also has two additional projects coming up that have not been announced yet. Looking ahead, Oliveros said that “every single one of the roles are so different [from each other.]” From being nervous about getting type casted as the influencer role in Skill House, Oliveros proved herself wrong and has her name attached to many projects of polarizing genres.
Don’t forget to catch Dani Oliveros in Skill House, premiering in theaters July 11.
Love high action thrillers? Check out our review of “The Old Woman with the Knife” here!
