Name: Stacy Clausen
Notable past credits: “Leviticus” is the Australian actor’s first major film.
Sundance project: Coming-of-age supernatural horror film “Leviticus,” about two gay teenagers who fall in love in a remote religious-minded Australian town. Conversion therapy kicks off the film’s supernatural horror.
Clausen and costar Joe Bird both opted to watch the final cut of “Leviticus” together in-person at Sundance with the midnight premiere crowd.
Related Articles
“ It was really cool because I got to gauge everyone’s reactions, especially on some of the jump scares,” says Clausen. “ Also, the film was only finished four days ago,” he adds of the decision to wait for the big screen. “We shot this in June-July of 2025. They literally finished it a day before we got on the plane.”
You May Also Like
The film ended up being “much quieter” than Clausen anticipated from filming, but found the editing choices in service of the film’s message. “I thought it was fantastic. Better than I ever could have imagined,” he adds.
“Obviously, there’s queer themes in there, and Adrian [Chiarella], the director, has talked a lot about how the themes of the horror genre fit quite well with the queer experience, and the fear that comes with growing up queer,” says Clausen. “I think this film sheds quite important light on love and queer love and queer relationships, and how love conquers even the darkest of things that are pushing against it. No matter what sex you are, you’re just people at the end of the day. No matter who you are or where you come from, you deserve love.”
A few days after the premiere, the buzzy film was acquired by Neon in a reported seven-figure deal, with plans to release the film theatrically later this year.
The 20-year-old actor has two other films slated for release in 2026. He stars in the football period-film “The Mosquito Bowl” with Bill Skarsgård and Nicholas Galitzine, and shark survival-thriller “Shiver” with Phoebe Dynevor, both filmed in Australia. He also has another horror film on the docket, which he’ll start production on when he gets back to Australia.
“ Australia produces such great horror, and more and more horror is coming out of Australia,” says Clausen. “There’s a lot of things in the horror genre that you don’t get to do with other genres,” he adds. ”You get to explore a lot beyond the human condition, which is really cool and fascinating and lots of fun to do.”