Elena Sanchez Talks Bone Face, Captain America: Brave New World, and The Neglected
Interview
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Interview ✦
Elena Sanchez's passion for the performing arts ignited very early on, proving her versatile skills in productions of Return to Neverland and The Nutcracker. This early passion led her to pursue further education at prestigious institutions like Cornell University, the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, offering her even more tools to tackle the unpredictable challenges of the entertainment industry.
As she began to apply her knowledge to a career, Sanchez eventually made her feature film debut in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire before going on to share the screen with several Hollywood heavyweights like Tom Cruise and Sam Rockwell. Her television credits have proven to be equally impressive, with notable appearances in series like The Walking Dead (during its final season) and the fan-favorite procedural series NCIS: New Orleans.
Beyond acting, Sanchez has also built a formidable reputation as a stunt performer. Her expertise has been showcased in numerous blockbuster films, culminating in a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble for her work on one of the most successful films of all time—Avengers: Endgame.
In 2025, Sanchez is continuing to expand her filmography, kicking off the year with a thrilling murder mystery titled Bone Face alongside Jeremy London—and this month, she’s getting another opportunity to provide her exceptional stunt skills in the highly anticipated Captain America: Brave New World. Now, she’s breaking down her experiences on both genre-focused productions.
Photography: Ben Cope
Bone Face is an immersive and thrilling horror mystery. Can you tell us a bit about your character and what drew you to this project?
Elena Sanchez: In Bone Face I play a deputy alongside a sheriff, played by Jeremy London, and when a serial killer murders a bunch of campers, we track him to a local diner where, using our investigative skills, we must discover which person in the diner is the actual killer. It’s kind of like Friday the 13th meets Clue. Ever since seeing Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, I’ve wanted to do a murder mystery, so when I got the call to do this one, it was a dream come true!
What was one of the highlights of working alongside Jeremy London and David Kallaway on Bone Face?
Elena Sanchez: The highlight of working with Jeremy and David is that I have worked with them both before, and they are both good friends of mine, so every day was a blast. Getting to work with your friends is so much fun, and also makes for a great working environment. You can trust each other and are comfortable to try new things, which will always help elevate the project.
You've transitioned from stuntwork to acting and even producing. How has that versatile career experience impacted your approach to choosing projects?
Elena Sanchez: When I was transitioning from stuntwork to acting, I was booking mostly stunt-acting roles, because people trusted me in those roles. Now that I have a bigger body of work, I am able to target a wider variety of roles. The last movie I did, there were zero stunts for my character! The director ended up adding one though once he found out about my background, hah. When it comes to producing, I have been targeting projects that I could also play a role in. It’s nice to be involved in a project from the creative side, help put the pieces together, and then get to act in it as well.
You've also had a successful career as a stunt performer, including your upcoming work on Captain America: Brave New World. What were some of the unique challenges that come attached to working on a large-scale Marvel Studios production?
Elena Sanchez: That’s a really interesting question that I’ve never been asked before… If I had to think of something—and I wouldn’t necessarily even call it a challenge—but the hardest thing about working on a Marvel project is that everything is super top secret, so you never see a script and rarely see a call sheet—which is what tells you when to show up, what is being filmed that day, lunch times, etc. For someone who likes to be super prepared and organized like me, it can be a little anxiety-inducing to show up without having any idea of what is happening that day.
Photography: Ben Cope
What can you tell us about your role in the upcoming movie, The Neglected?
Elena Sanchez: I’m really excited about this one! The Neglected is a detective thriller. I play a detective opposite Josh Duhamel, who finds out on his last day of work that a serial killer has buried his son alive. He then races against the clock to solve three murders and find his son’s location before he runs out of air…
What was it like working with Dylan Sprouse, Josh Duhamel, and Til Schweiger for this project?
Elena Sanchez: They were all super fun to work with! We were filming a pretty intense movie in terms of subject matter, but in between scenes it was all smiles. I first met Josh, and we had a week of scenes to shoot before Dylan joined us. And when I heard that Til Schweiger was joining us later on, the German in me got very excited. It was cool to have someone to speak German to on set, that doesn’t happen very often.
Looking ahead, what are your hopes for the future of your career? Are there any specific genres or projects that you're particularly interested in exploring (or returning to)?
Elena Sanchez: I’m always looking forward to doing more action & thriller roles, but also want to try something lighter, like a romantic comedy or a Christmas movie! I also want to continue producing more films—speaking of which—I have not produced an action film yet, so maybe that should be next!
