Midori Francis carved a niche for herself playing queer roles in projects including ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’, but her latest role in the supernatural body horror film ‘Saccharine’ took things to an entirely different level. The 32-year-old actress played Hana, a medical student haunted by internalised fatphobia, family trauma, a literal ghost, and a massive crush on her gym instructor, who began taking a weight-loss pill with a sinister secret ingredient, human ash.Speaking with PEOPLE, Francis opened up about the personal struggles she brought to the role, the tight timeline she filmed it under, and what she hoped to do next.
What ‘Saccharine’ was about and why Midori Francis took the role
Written and directed by Natalie Erika James, ‘Saccharine’ took an intimate look at one woman’s struggle with body image, self-worth and shame-driven compulsion, told through a supernatural body horror with a queer lens. Danielle Macdonald played Hana’s ride-or-die best friend, while Showko Showfukutei brought warmth to the role of her neurotic but lovable mother.The film marked the latest entry in the burgeoning beauty horror genre, alongside titles such as ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ and ‘The Substance’. James shared a trigger warning for any potential viewers struggling with an eating disorder, given the film’s subject matter.Francis was candid about what drew her to the project and what gave her pause. “I would never have even approached this if I didn’t have years of therapy and an ongoing journey towards healing,” she told the outlet. “I’ve had my struggles with eating disorders. My family has been touched by addiction, and I think that the more mental battles can bring about a lot of shame.”She added, “I think about the little girl I was, who was maybe always having to put up a facade or protect those things because I was too scared to talk about them or to embrace my darkness. Now, being this actor, it’s incredible that my job happens to provide a pathway and a vehicle to explore those sides of myself. There’s no antidote to shame quite like making a movie like this.”Francis also noted that she could tell through reading the script that writer-director James had a deep understanding of the subject matter. “I could tell through reading the script that whoever wrote it had an empathy and an understanding of the feeling of being trapped inside your own compulsions. I knew it was authentic,” she said.
How Midori Francis filmed ‘Saccharine’ just two days after wrapping ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
The film was shot in Melbourne, Australia, on an ultra-tight timeline, and Francis arrived under extraordinary circumstances. She had wrapped her 38-episode stint on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ just two days before boarding a plane. It was also her first time exercising her scream-queen instincts since 2023’s ‘Unseen’.“So I wrapped, was crying, said goodbye to all my friends. I was like, ‘Wow, what a big chapter,’ and then two days later, I was on a plane from L.A. to Melbourne,” she said. “I got off the plane probably around 6 a.m., and I was in fittings for Hana’s costumes by about 8 a.m. and then we were hitting the ground running.”Francis was in every frame of the film, leaving little room for downtime. “I could be in Australia. I don’t know. I’ve only seen a sound stage,” she joked about her first week on set.
Building chemistry with the cast
Despite the tight schedule, Francis found ways to connect with her co-stars. Her bond with director Natalie Erika James had been forming for months via video calls before filming even began. With Macdonald, the connection was instant. “From the first table read when I was sitting next to her, I think I was being mischievous and making jokes, and she was all for it,” she said. “We had a rehearsal where we practised snorting fake ketamine, as you do as an actor. There was some bonding for sure.”
The prosthetics, the playlist and a lost notebook
Because ‘Saccharine’ was shot out of order over eight weeks, Francis required prosthetics and body suits at both ends of Hana’s physical transformation, covering the beginning and end stages of her weight loss journey. “It took a lot of time. Shout out to our amazing prosthetics team. I was there in the middle of the night, essentially,” she said.To get into character during those long makeup sessions, Francis listened to a specially curated playlist that James had put together, which she also contributed songs to. Among her additions were ‘Genesis’ by Grimes, ‘Body Terror Song’ by AJJ and Mitski’s ‘Nobody’.She also relied heavily on her marble notebook throughout the shoot, a habit she had maintained since working on ‘Dash and Lily’. The notebook went missing mid-shoot, sending her into a panic. “This is my lifeline. I write down everything, every stage, every scene, where she’s at. And then also it had a lot of random poetry in it that I was like, ‘I don’t want anyone to see this,'” she said. Fortunately, it was found and shipped back to her. “I hugged it,” she added.
What Midori Francis learned about herself through playing Hana
For Francis, playing Hana became an unexpectedly personal journey. “I just had so much empathy for Hana at the top of the film. And I think by having that empathy for Hana, there were potentially parts of myself that I also gave empathy toward,” she said. “My love for her insecurities and my love for her quiet nerdiness, her awkwardness, gave me a little bit of love for those parts of myself.”She also reflected on the broader cultural timing of the film, which arrived amid widespread conversation around weight-loss drugs. “I do think we’re at an interesting moment in time where it seems like maybe, as a result of some forward momentum in progress, we are now seeing a bit of sliding backwards, which is sad,” she said.On the subject of on-set scares, Francis revealed she kept a file of frightening images on her phone to get into character quickly. She also described one particularly unsettling moment involving an actress playing a cadaver being lowered on cords toward her face while she was required to remain completely still. “It was scary. It was scary,” she said.
Midori Francis on queer roles, horror and what comes next
Francis reflected on how she came to be known for queer roles. “Right after ‘Dash and Lily’, I did an interview and they were like, ‘What roles do you want to play next?’ And I just threw it out there. I was like, ‘Well, I’ve never really played a super queer role. That’d be fun.’ And then I think ‘Sex Lives’ came after that, and then they really never stopped coming.”She noted that what she appreciated most about ‘Saccharine’ was that Hana’s queerness was simply part of who she was, rather than the central focus of the story. “The queerness is not the point. She’s just Hana, and that’s just a facet of it,” she said.When asked about her next moves, Francis hinted at a potential new direction. “I’ve never played a villain. Maybe this is about to be my villain era,” she said. She also expressed enthusiasm for continuing in the horror genre. “Horror is in such a fascinating place. There has never been such an appetite outside of the niche audience. It feels like a mass desire for this genre.”As for a potential return to ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’, Francis said she had not heard any updates but remained open to it. “I know that show meant a lot to a lot of people and I’m sure that there’ll be an audience for it.”‘Saccharine’ is currently in theatres and will later be available for streaming.
