Phoenix native Haley Lu Richardson is known for taking chances with her films.
The actress starred in the coming-of-age film “The Edge of Seventeen” and quickly followed that with M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split.” But she particularly relishes the bravery it took her director Rachel Lee Goldenberg to go forth with her new film, HBO Max’s “Unpregnant.”
In it, Richardson plays 17-year-old Veronica, whose decision to get an abortion leads her on a 1,000-mile road trip to New Mexico with her former best friend, Bailey (Barbie Ferreira).
Melding the topics of abortion, teen pregnancy, friendship and self-realization was “extremely ambitious,” she says.
“I honestly didn’t know it was going to work until I saw the cut together movie and took a breath,” Richardson says about the film, which debuts September 10. “We accomplished what we set out to do.”
The former Horizon High School student calls the film important because it’s bound to generate conversation. She admits the role was a tad bit scary.
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