Why Viktoria From The Invitation Looks So Familiar
Modern day vampire story "The Invitation" premiered in theaters on August 26, 2022. Nathalie Emmanuel and Thomas Doherty, who lead the film, discussed just how "The Invitation" innovates within the vampire genre in an interview with Looper. In short, Emmanuel outlined how Doherty's character Walter effectively gaslights her character Evie, prompting Evie to fight back in a way that present day viewers could find relatable.
Director Jessica M. Thompson elaborated on the film's feminist ambitions in a separate Looper interview. "I wanted to make a 'me too' film, but I didn't want to make it about any of the horrible, real-life predators that we know. So I thought, why not exemplify that through one of the most diabolical, oldest predators of all time?" Thompson said, explaining why the villain of "The Invitation" is a vampire.
While Evie's relationship to Walter is at the heart of the film, the bridesmaid Viktoria, who resides at Walter's manor, is one of its side characters that help build out its unsettling atmosphere. If Viktoria looks familiar, it's likely from one of the following roles.
Stephanie Corneliussen was Joanna Wellick on Mr. Robot
Viktoria in "The Invitation" is played by actor Stephanie Corneliussen. Corneliussen's first major acting role — her only credits prior were an uncredited cameo and appearances in single episodes of TV shows — was as Joanna Wellick on USA's tech drama "Mr. Robot." Joanna is first introduced to viewers in Season 1 as the wife of Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallström), one of the show's principal characters. Her work throughout that season ultimately had enough of an impact that she was upgraded to a series regular for Season 2 (Via Deadline), and remained a key side character through the start of Season 3.
In an interview published by Interview Magazine, Corneliussen revealed that she landed the role of Joanna without ever having to audition in-person. The producers of "Mr. Robot," rather, hired her solely on the strength of a self-tape, effectively kickstarting the acting career that she maintains to this day.
Corneliussen's next big acting role was Dr. Valentina Vostok in DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Before Stephanie Corneliussen was ever credited as a screen actor, she was an accomplished model, appearing, for example, on the cover of a 2005 issue of Mode magazine and in an ad for bebe (via Fashion Model Directory). She was also notably the horrific nun used in promotional materials for "American Horror Story: Assylum" (via IMDb). Corneliussen's second major TV role, after she was able to showcase her acting chops on "Mr. Robot," was as Dr. Valentina Vostok in two episodes of "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" that aired in 2016.
Valentina is a Season 1 villain, appearing in the show's fourth and fifth episodes as an ally of Vandal Savage (Casper Crump). The "Legends of Tomorrow" team encounters her in 1986, working on a Soviet nuclear program. Over the course of her brief storyline, her obsession with becoming a version of The Nuclear Man Firestorm — known as Soviet Firestorm — leads to her downfall.
Corneliussen portrayed the Mystery Woman in the crime drama Deception
In 2018, Stephanie Corneliussen appeared on the first and only season of the ABC crime drama "Deception." In it, series lead Jack Cutmore-Scott portrays both protagonist Cameron Black and, later, his twin Jonathan Black. Corneliussen, meanwhile, plays a character simply referred to as the Mystery Woman, who turns out to have ties to Jonathan. She shows up in a total of six out of the thirteen episodes of "Deception."
Corneliussen revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that producer Chris Fedak, who produced "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" prior to "Deception," made the decision to cast her based on their past work with one another. "Another scheming villainess. I think I found my niche. I'm holding onto it. I like it," Corneliussen said, describing the similarities between her "Legends of Tomorrow" and "Deception" characters. While "scheming villainess" may also aptly describe Corneliussen's character in "The Invitation," her single role between "Deception" and her subsequent feature film turn is of a different nature entirely.
Corneliussen was also Gabrielle Xavier in Legion
Stephanie Corneliussen debuted on superhero drama "Legion" in Season 3 as Gabrielle Xavier, mother of series protagonist David Haller (Dan Stevens). Her courtship with David's father, Charles Xavier (Harry Lloyd), is revealed to viewers through a sequence that mirrors a romance that plays out much earlier in the show between David and Syd Barrett (Rachel Keller).
"True to the comic style, you see them meet in the hospital, and then they fall in love, and they actually have a really beautiful love story," Corneliussen said in an interview published to the official Marvel website. "It's very easy to fall in love with Harry Lloyd, I'll say that much."
Through some time travel shenanigans, Gabrielle raising David ends up becoming a key plot point over the course of Season 3, as nefarious forces attempt to meddle with David during his young childhood. So, while most of Corneliussen's roles over the course of her acting career are various shades of evil, Gabrielle in "Legion" marks a notable instance in which she plays a character firmly on the good side of the morality spectrum.