Sofia Carson Was 'Paralyzed By Fear' When She Was First Approached About Netflix's Purple Hearts
Following her time on Disney’s Descendants, Sofia Carson has become quite a mainstay on Netflix. After doing her first film (the dramedy Feel the Beat), with the streamer in 2020, the actress is back with the romantic drama Purple Hearts.
Based on a novel by Tess Wakefield, the film tells the story of a struggling singer/songwriter who agrees to marry a troubled Marine so she can collect military benefits. The movie has since become one of the most watched on Netflix (although it’s also received a lot of negative reviews) and for Carson, the project has also been very different from anything she has ever done.
Sofia Carson Admits To Being ‘Paralyzed By Fear’ Over The Film
Purple Hearts came to Carson five years ago. Back then she was working on Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists and struck up a friendship with director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum. The two immediately agreed they should collaborate again.
Two weeks later, Carson received a script. “It said Purple Hearts, and it was a rough draft of our movie,” the actress recalled. “She said that she wanted to consider doing this as more than just director and actor, but as partners and to bring this to life together.”
And while some may have expected Carson to be thrilled at the prospect, she recalled being “paralyzed by fear” at first. “Getting into this project, I was terrified, and I had never felt that scared before,” the actress explained.
“I was paralyzed by fear. I literally parked outside the studio just sobbing and shaking.”
It wasn’t because of the part. Carson has also been a musician her entire career so playing a singer would feel natural. But the idea of being a filmmaker was new to her then.
“I had never been involved with a project from start to finish,” she explained. “So I learned an enormous amount about the entire process.”
Casting Her Leading Man Helped Sofia Cement The Storyline
Once she signed on, Carson dedicated herself to the project. The actress was involved in every aspect of the film, including the casting of her leading man, Nicholas Galitzine, which started online. “When we started the actual casting process and I met with Nick, I knew instantly just because of our chemistry,” Carson recalled.
“I knew that, for me, what was most important to the heart of our story was the chemistry between these two people who literally could not stand how badly they wanted each other, and it needed to feel like fire, like this lightning in a bottle and Nick and I had really incredible chemistry through a computer screen.”
And while Rosenbaum didn’t necessarily agree with Carson at first, the director eventually came around. “For me, Nick didn’t pop at first,” Rosenbaum admitted.
But after she spoke with Galitzine where he agreed to be “more of a d***” to Carson’s character, Rosenbaum became convinced that he was the one. “I started to see how they could push each other’s buttons.”
Aside from casting, Carson also took charge of the film’s soundtrack. “From the very beginning, I told them that I wanted to be involved with the soundtrack, and they were like, ‘Absolutely!’” the actress recalled.
Sofia Carson Wrote Original Songs For The Film
With her fellow producers in agreement, Carson got to work writing new songs for the movie. “Even when it came to the soundtrack, they trusted me to write the soundtrack and to pick my partner for the writing process, and the first person I reached out to was Justin Tranter,” she said. “We wrote the soundtrack in a week.”
Since the film was released, the songs Carson performed in the film have also become quite popular. “It’s surreal now to see the numbers and the stats of the soundtrack — we just found out it’s top 10 on Spotify,” she revealed.
“The song Come Back Home has had the most resonance so far and really just captures the essence of our film.”
Will There Be A Purple Hearts 2?
With the film making its way to Netflix’s Top 10, a sequel is certainly on fans’ minds. That said, there are no official talks yet although Rosenbaum has already said that she’s open to it.
“I mean, I could watch the two of them and their chemistry all day. And they’re just great people to work with, so I definitely won’t rule it out,” the director remarked.
“We wouldn’t do anything unless we really, really loved it, because we want to stay true to the integrity. We haven’t landed on anything specific yet. It’s always a possibility.”
As for Carson, the actress is also not ruling out the idea of a sequel either, or even other related projects. “Now fans have kind of been demanding a sequel and there’s so many fan theories and fan stories and potential spinoffs, so of course it’s lovely to think of a life for Cassie and Luke beyond this film,” she said.
“I adore being Cassie and I’d be curious to see where it goes. Who knows. You never know!”
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