Lachlan Watson Says Not Knowing The 'Chucky' Franchise Helped Them Elevate Glen & Glenda

One of the breakout stars of “Chucky” in Season 2 is Lachlan Watson, doing double duty as the beloved characters first introduced in “Seed of Chucky,” Glen and Glenda. Although they’re absolutely killing it (pun intended) on the show, the actor admitted to USA Insider they were unfamiliar with the larger franchise before getting cast, which they believe was actually helpful. 

Watson, 21, wasn’t born yet when the first “Child’s Play” movie hit theaters. Growing up, their mother told them they’d be too scared of the movies and therefore wouldn’t let them partake in Chucky’s murder and mayhem. 

“So, I just put it in the ‘Do Not Watch’ section of my brain,” they explained. 

RELATED: Explaining The Origins Of Glen & Glenda's Shared Doll Body In 'Chucky'

Their interest in the franchise didn’t come about until they were on a panel with creator Don Mancini in 2020 and heard him talking about an issue near and dear to their heart: nonbinary representation. 

“I just had this completely unbiased wonder of, like, ‘Whoa, who is this really intelligent guy speaking about these nonbinary characters?’ that I now know were Glen and Glenda,” Watson explained. “I had no clue he had this incredible legacy. I just thought that he was a well-spoken, kind guy who really seemed to care about queer representation. Now here I am.” 

They added: “So, I feel kind of bad about it, but I'm also grateful because it gave me a glimpse at the franchise and the characters and Don himself as just the incredible people that they are.” 

That’s all well and good, but when Watson was cast as Glen and Glenda, it was time to get some research done. Unfortunately, they revealed the lead time between landing the part and filming was very short.

“I barely had enough time to pack my stuff,” they explained. “So, being able to really dive into deep research and catch myself up on the ‘Chucky’ lore was pretty much going to be an impossible task. I was pretty much on a plane out to Toronto pretty soon after I found out that I was cast.”

So they did what any good actor or underprepared student would do: Crammed like crazy. On the plane, Watson said they watched “Seed of Chucky,” cherry-picking just the parts with Glen and Glenda to re-watch again and again. 

However, they quickly realized being up to speed on Glen and Glenda from the 2004 film was only half the battle. The real challenge was crafting who they’ve become since.

“My lack of ‘Chucky’ knowledge kind of helped, if I'm going to be honest, to not really have the time to dive into the lore of Chucky and Glen and Glenda as the characters that they were because it's been a long time since we've seen Glen and Glenda,” Watson said. “It's been almost 20 years to be exact, and they've lived a lot of life since then, and I feel like being thrown head first into this crazy environment and having to basically start from scratch with who these characters really are lent itself to Glen and Glenda's story on this season.” 

They added: “They needed to be their own separate entity. They kind of needed to feel like they've grown up and that they aren't necessarily those kids or dolls, that we last saw. So, it turns out I just stumbled into a really convenient acting process.” 

Indeed, “Chucky” Season 2 has offered quite a lot of insight into what Glen and Glenda have been up to since their last appearance in the franchise. They’ve grown up, they’re dating and, above all, they’re struggling with memories from their past that they don’t quite understand.

You can see more of Watson as Glen and Glenda on “Chucky” Season 2 every Wednesday at 9/8c on USA Network and SYFY. You can also catch up on past episodes on Peacock right now.