Art
in the
Bluegrass
Emma Bellomy
Acts Out Do you like to be scared?
Emma Bellomy admits she definitely doesn’t. Lucky for her, in the newlyreleased movie The Strangers: Prey at Night, it’s Bellomy who is terrifying audiences. Playing one of three masked psychopaths out to kill a family of four, the Lexington native gets to do the scaring. Shot in Maysville, Kentucky last summer, The Strangers: Prey at Night is the long-awaited sequel to the popular 2008 horror flick starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. This is not only the major motion picture acting debut for Bellomy, but also one of many films that have been enticed to The Commonwealth for production thanks to the 2015 bill that offered attractive tax incentives for films shot in Kentucky. story by Jen Roytz
photo by Cristy Elaine Photography
A graduate of Henry Clay High School and currently studying film and broadcast journalism at the University of South Carolina, Bellomy was an avid fan of shows like America’s Next Top Model. As a teenager, she worked with Images Model & Talent agency, booking jobs for local businesses and boutiques, including Tops in Lexington magazine. “Being involved with speech and debate in high school, I’d done a lot of monologues and improv and I really enjoyed having to be dynamic in that way,” said Bellomy. “I would watch the models on [ANtM] and think that they must have the coolest job in the world. I’m a pretty tall girl, but soon realized I was not tall enough to do runway work. Plus, I’m not exactly known for my hand-eye coordination–I’m pretty clumsy. I really enjoyed acting though, so I started focusing more of my efforts into that.” It was her agent at Images, Janie Olmstead, that found the opportunity for Bellomy to audition for The Strangers: Prey at Night, and it was Olmstead who called several days later with the life-changing news.
photo by Cristy Elaine Photography