Deutch and Robinson costar in the new Netflix rom-com 'Voicemails for Isabelle'
Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
NEED TO KNOW
- Voicemails for Isabelle costars Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson have known each other since their high school days
- Deutch tells PEOPLE what Robinson was really like back then
- Their chemistry in the movie helped propel the film to No. 1 on Netflix after its mid-June release
Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson were well-acquainted long before they made Voicemails for Isabelle.
Back in their high school days, “we had similar circles of friends,” explains Deutch, 31, who grew up in Los Angeles.
The actress recalls how Robinson, also 31, intrigued her back then. “I just remember him always being so compelling and sensitive and quiet, but really deep. And I think that is very apparent when you watch his work. And I wanted to work with him since we were teenagers, really.”
The feeling was mutual. The Love, Simon actor — who stayed in touch with Deutch — previously told PEOPLE there were projects they wanted to do together that never panned out: “So it's been many years [of] wanting to work together, so it's been just an absolute joy to have the opportunity to do it, and I'm really grateful."
Credit: Diyah Pera/Netflix
In the hit Netflix rom-com, pastry chef Jill (Deutch) leaves voicemails for her late sister Isabelle as a way to process her grief.
The intimate messages are received by real estate developer Wes (Robinson) when Isabelle's phone number gets reassigned. As he listens to the personal details of Jill's life, he begins to fall for her from afar — until he orchestrates a meet-cute that Jill thinks is random.
The movie has struck a chord with viewers, rocketing to No. 1 on Netflix after its mid-June release.
“It's so wonderful and gratifying that this movie is having the impact on people that it is having,” says Deutch, who had long-hoped to star in the film.
Shortly after she made the 2018 rom-com Set It Up with Glen Powell, “I called my agent and I said, ‘Is there any way I can get a meeting with the producers, the people involved with this movie? I just think it's so special. It's so deep and beautiful, and I really want to be a part of this. Whatever process they have, whenever they start auditioning, I just really want to be a part of this,'” Deutch recalls.
“I have a notes document on my computer of all the things that I've read that I love that haven't been made or are sort of in limbo or need certain things in order to get put together,” she continues. “And this, Voicemails, was always number one on my list.”
“I joke — but it's not a joke — I'm so grateful to my agent that she never got annoyed of me asking, ‘Hey, what's going on with Voicemails? Hey, what's going on with Voicemails?' And she always believed in me as much as I did,” adds Deutch.
Credit: Kelly Sullivan/Getty
Voicemails for Isabelle is one of three summer movies featuring Deutch. She's also in the animated Minions & Monsters and the upcoming comedy Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.
“The last couple weeks have just been particularly busy because I finished a movie and then the next day went into Voicemails and Gail Daughtry press and Minions press. So it's been a little stacked,” she admits.
Not that she's griping by any means. “I'm super grateful. I have nothing to complain about,” she says. “Yeah, I'm good!”
Voicemails for Isabelle is now streaming on Netflix, Minions & Monsters is now playing in theaters, and Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass hits theaters on July 10.
Read the full article here