Why Rachel Thompson From Fear Street 1994 Looks So Familiar

"Fear Street Part One: 1994," the Netflix movie based on R.L. Stine's "Fear Street" young adult horror books, allows viewers to witness the many deranged events in the incredibly accurately named Shadyside, Ohio, in glorious live action. As its name implies, the movie is the first installment of the "Fear Street" trilogy, with the remaining two films dropping on July 9 and July 16 (per The Hollywood Reporter). 

The cast of "Fear Street: 1994" is largely made up of little-known up-and-comers, as befits a slasher film in which anyone can be a victim. However, every once in a while you'll see an actor who looks strangely familiar. Such is the case with the actress who plays the pretentious Rachel Thompson, to the point where you might find yourself seriously wondering where you've seen her before. Worry not, because here's the answer. Let's take a look at why Rachel Thompson from "Fear Street 1994" looks so familiar.

Charlene Amoia's first acting credit dates back to 2000, and during her over two decades in the business, she has amassed a very respectable résumé of roles. She's appeared in soap operas like "Port Charles," "Days of our Lives," and "The Young and the Restless." You might have seen her in one-episode wonder roles in everything from Fox's medical and musical dramas "House" and "Glee" to ABC's police procedural "Castle" and Showtime's serial killer drama "Dexter."

One of Amoia's most recognizable recurring TV roles is no doubt Wendy, the waitress at MacLaren's Pub in the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." While not quite as prominent as, say, Gunther (James Michael Tyler) in "Friends," she still has plenty of storylines, including her involvement with Ted's (Josh Radnor) father, Alfred (Michael Gross), her brief relationship with Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), and the latter's long-running conviction that she's secretly plotting his death. 

In 2020, Charlene Amoia joined the DC Extended Universe in 2020's "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)." Her role isn't a particularly large one, but it's extremely memorable and significant: She portrays Maria Bertinelli, the mother of Helena "Huntress" Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Huntress, a daughter of a powerful mob boss, survives an attack from a rival mobster (Robert Catrini) who kills her entire family, and the trauma motivates her to become a deadly vigilante. As such, Amoia's role is essentially one big, brutal, dramatic death scene, and while she does receive a pretty great close-up, it's a very bloody one.

Though a role in a DCEU movie might cause some performers to second-guess every little thing they do due to the large and passionate fan base, Amoia told CBR that she had no such problems. On the contrary, she appreciated the wealth of source material the comic book background provided. "I never thought about fans' expectations of the films," she said. "It's probably a good thing because, man, that could be a lot of pressure. I know when I was looking at the DC film because there are comic books where you can read backstories for these characters, which was really rich to have to draw from."

If seeing Charlene Amoia in "Fear Street 1994" made you think you've seen her in horror movies before, you're correct. 2021 has been a big horror year for the actress, and shortly before joining the "Fear Street" crew, she starred in "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It" as Judy Glatzel.  

Judy is the mother of David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard), who's possessed in the first act of the movie. The demon ends up moving inside a young man called Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor), who — in a twist inspired by a real-life case — becomes a murderer, and pleads not guilty because, well, the devil made him do it. Another creepy case for Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga)! 

In an interview with CBR, Amoia admitted to being terrified by the previous "Conjuring" movies, but noted that the film's connection to real events made it an interesting project. "One of the cool things about this project was I was able to talk to — so, the girl that played my daughter — the real-life version of her," she said. "Her name is Debbie, who actually just passed, and her husband, who Ruairi [O'Connor] plays in the movie. I got the real-life account, which is the first time I've had that opportunity in filming something, to actually talk to the people and hear what they have to say before actually developing the character and all that." 

For fans who can't wait to see more horror stuff from Amoia, she's set to appear in another installment of "Fear Street" franchise — namely, "Fear Street Part Three: 1666" – as well as another R.L. Stine adaptation, "Just Beyond" for Disney+.