Appofeniacs Star Aaron Holliday on Driving AI Sci-Fi Horror Thriller

Posted in: Exclusive, Horror, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Appofeniacs

Appofeniacs Star Aaron Holliday on Driving AI Sci-Fi Horror Thriller

Aaron Holliday (Faces of Death) spoke to us about the Chris Marrs Piliero horror tech thriller, Appofeniacs, embracing leading role & more.

Published Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:16:09 -0500
by Tom Chang
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Article Summary

• Appofeniacs star Aaron Holliday reveals why Duke’s rant-heavy dialogue made Chris Marrs Piliero’s AI horror thriller irresistible.
• Holliday breaks down becoming Appofeniacs’ driving force, balancing gore, chaos, and dense monologues on a fast indie set.
• The Appofeniacs lead shares how Sean Gunn, Jermaine Fowler, Simran Jehani, and Paige Searcy shaped the film’s energy.
• Aaron Holliday weighs in on AI in Hollywood, calling its rapid growth exciting yet unsettling as Appofeniacs hits theaters.

Aaron Holliday is emerging as a charismatic up-and-coming talent in Hollywood, already creating memorable roles, making his mark in horror films like Cocaine Bear (2023) and Faces of Death (2026), and the HBO psychological drama miniseries Sharp Objects. His latest comes from writer-director Chris Marrs Piliero's Appofeniacs in one of his most ambitious roles as Duke is immersed in the world of AI where he treats deepfakes like a contagious part trick. Not because he has something to prove, but simply because he can. Soon blood starts to spill, but Duke isn't the one who has to clean it up. Intersecting storylines catch the fallout of Duke's petty pastime: Poppy (Simran Jehani), heading into the desert for a weekend of cosplay and foreplay; Clinto Binto (Gunn), a legend in the scene with a reputation too expensive to fake; and Lazzy (Paige Searcy), a stranger who picks the wrong line, the wrong coffee shop, and the wrong day to argue. Holliday spoke to Bleeding Cool about embracing the film's leading role, how Piliero allowed him to become the driving force in the film, how he bonded with his castmates, and society's attitudes toward AI.

Appofeniacs star Aaron Holliday on Embracing His Leading Man Status, Co-Stars, and More

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Appofeniacs?'

Holliday: 'Appofeniacs' intrigued me, firstly, because my character has a lot of monologues, like these rants, so these big blocks of words, and that is not super common when it comes to jobs. It happens, but It's less common, and it's so much fun, so reading the script and seeing that the character that was sort of his go-to is to rant kind of reminded me of those shower rants you go on [laughs] when you want to say something, but you don't quite ever say it, when you think about something later on, so that was the main thing when I was reading it what the dialogue said- but also just the fact that I got to have that to go crazy from.

What was it like working with Chris Mars Piliero as a creative?

He's awesome; he's so passionate. He is such a fiery guy, and you can feel his need to create, which is very infectious. I really admire his gumption.

Aside from the script, was there anything else that drew any inspiration that helped your performance as Duke?

As I mentioned before, it's so fun to get to say, not even that I had those same opinions as Duke, as some of his rants, but just the fact you get to say them out loud, and even these sorts of more controversial takes. That was the best; they sort of unleash something in me while doing it

What did you like working with the ensemble with Jermaine, Simran, Sean, and Paige?

They're so fun. I met Simran and Paige and the rest of that crew in post-production, because I didn't have any scenes with them. They shot later, some of them in the desert, which I never went to. I met them in Austin, Texas. I think that one's fantastic. That was really fun. We stayed in a big house together, and Simran and I would go to this- I can't remember what it's called, but it's a big watering hole basically in Austin. We would go there probably like twice a day together, swim in the water, and just chat about life. That was a really fun post-production.

Working with Sean and Jermaine, they're the best. They're great people to banter with, obviously super professional, and very funny. They are comedians, and they're great at comedy, right? There is a lot of comedy in this, so having someone like that to work off was really fun. That energy of riffing and the looks- that was cool. That really helped me. Jermaine's intensity in this, while I was ranting at him, was quite nice to play off of. Also, Sean is just such a goat, so it was cool to get to work with him. I feel like Sean, and I had a lot of time in between takes to hang and chat, and he is such a nice guy, so that made me feel really comfortable, especially when you're moving very quickly on an indie set like that; you don't have a lot of time. Not a lot of rehearsal time, and not a lot of time to bond, so when you come into those spaces with people that are quite seasoned, they are very open, welcoming, and cool. It makes quite a huge difference. I was very thankful for that.

What was the most difficult part about navigating through those chaotic scenes?

The most difficult part was getting the words right [laughs], remembering all the hundreds, maybe thousands of words that I had to spew out. As I said, it being an indie film, you don't have an unlimited amount of takes. Every minute is worth something. It was really the whole alchemy of having action, having gore, having a lot of dialogue, having a very limited amount of time, just trying to be prepared, trying to get it out, and be satisfied with what I'm doing and being in the moment. It's all those things thrown at you.

How do you feel about how comfortable content creators in Hollywood are and how comfortable they are with integrating AI? Do you feel its growth is organic or moving too fast?
It's so tricky. I mean, it's clearly moving very fast. The unknown is scary, right? Always, for anything in life. I feel as though everywhere you turn, there's some sort of update or some sort of question mark. So, it can definitely be scary. It's moving fast, and I'd like to think we can be responsible stewards of anything that's thrown at us in life, but we shall see.

Appofeniacs, which also stars Michael Abbott, Jr., Will Brandt and Harley Bronwyn, is in theaters.

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