IF star Cailey Fleming discusses working with John Kraskinski, interacting with IFs on set, seeing them for the first time, and more.
From writer and director John Krasinski, IF is about a girl, Bea (Cailey Fleming) who discovers that she has quite the superpower. She can see everyone’s imaginary friends. She decides to use this power for good, and embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.
We spoke with IF star Cailey Fleming about the important and inspiring messages that are delivered to audiences throughout the film. She details what it was like interacting with the IFs on set, as well as her reaction to seeing how they came together in the film.
Cailey Fleming Talks IF Movie
What about IF made you want to be a part of it?
Cailey Fleming: Most of the stuff I’ve done up to IF was very dark and a lot of it was scary. I am a very scardy person, I cannot watch scary stuff. I can’t handle it. I love everything that I’ve done, and I’ve met so many people, and had so many great connections, but I wanted to try something new.
I have a lot of family and a lot of little cousins and things but they’ve never been able to watch me in anything. So I was really excited about it, because they’re gonna love it. They’re already so excited. I just feel really grateful that I’m here and that John [Krasinski] chose me. I still can’t believe it. I’m feel like I’m dreaming. I think the story is just very special. John wrote it. It’s a unique story. It’s original.
What was it like working with John as an actor, but also a director?
Cailey Fleming: I was really interested to see how that would work. I’ve never seen anyone direct themselves before. So it was really cool to watch him. He’s so amazing. Obviously, everyone knows how talented he is. It was really cool to watch him. He had so many great ideas. Him and Ryan [Reynolds] both. Sometimes they would throw out things or give me notes and I would just try to soak it all in and learn as much from them as I could. But John’s one of the best. He’s so sweet.
Obviously real IFs are not on set. So what were you acting against? Were they tennis balls?
Cailey Fleming: I was really nervous about that, you mentioned tennis balls. I thought that’s what we were going to do. Because I didn’t know what to expect. But John didn’t want that for us. He wanted it to be as real as possible and he made it as simple and easy as possible.
So we had actors for Blue, Blossom, and Lewis. They knew their dialogue, they completely became their characters, and they were amazing. Then we had puppets and stuffed animals. For Cosmo, we had a puppet. For Ali, we had a stuffed animal. And John would grab them and move them around and talk like them. It was really funny. Sometimes we had cardboard cutouts or pictures of them. But anytime we had a question, he would explain all the IFs to us so that we knew how to interact with them.
I bet that really helped with your process.
Cailey Fleming: Definitely. It would have been a lot more difficult and stressful if John was not our director, I think. He was amazing.
What was your reaction when you first saw how the IFs look in the trailer?
Cailey Fleming: I remember watching the trailer for the first time. We were actually doing reshoots and John pulled me to the side in between setups and he asked me if I wanted to see it. Of course I want to see it! So he showed it to me. There’s a picture — it was me, my mom, John, and Alison, our producer, and we were all watching it at the same time. They all have the biggest smiles on their faces, and I’m just like this and my mouth is like touching the floor. I was just completely in shock. I cried, of course.
IF comes to theaters on May 17th and you do not want to miss it.
NEXT: John Krasinski Reveals IF Inspiration & Talks Incredible Cast
About IF
From writer and director John Krasinski, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.
IF stars Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr. and Steve Carell alongside many more as the wonderfully unique characters that reflect the incredible power of a child’s imagination.
IF comes to theaters on May 17th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.