One Year Later: Inde Navarrette and Curry Barker Discuss ‘Obsession’ Memes, Flirty Evolution, and TIFF Experience

The origin of “Obsession” reads like legend.

On September 7, 2025, two days after its acclaimed premiere in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival, Focus Features offered to purchase its rights for $14‑$15 million. The film follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a record‑store employee who uses a mystical toy to force Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to fall intensely in love with him. Released the following May, it became a cultural phenomenon, earning over $500 million worldwide against a $750,000 budget and launching 26‑year‑old writer‑director Curry Barker and 25‑year‑old star Inde Navarrette to Hollywood stardom. Barker subsequently signed an eight‑figure agreement with Universal and Blumhouse, which helped develop his third feature, while Navarrette was cast as Rogue in Marvel’s upcoming X‑Men reboot.

More than a year after its world premiere, on Friday Barker and Navarrette returned to TIFF, the venue where their careers took off, for a discussion titled “DIALOGUES The ‘Obsession’ Obsession with Curry Barker & Inde Navarrette” at the John Bassett Theatre as part of the inaugural TIFF: The Market industry hub. The event sold out quickly, with a line forming around the Metro Toronto Convention Centre an hour before the talk.

TIFF Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky, who moderated the session, exclaimed, “What a difference a year makes!” Barker and Navarrette entertained the packed theater with reflections on the whirlwind year that followed.

Barker, who first gained fame through YouTube videos, explained that he chose not to act in “Obsession” in order to focus on storytelling, unlike his usual roles.

Navarrette revealed that she was attracted to the project because it was a stark contrast to her previous work on series such as “13 Reasons Why” and “Superman & Lois.”

“I was sent the script because I wanted to do something completely different than I’d ever done before,” she said. “I felt a fire in my belly and wanted to prove what I could achieve.”

Navarrette submitted a self‑tape for “Obsession” and thought she had performed poorly.

After chemistry reads with Johnston, she felt more confident in portraying Nikki. The first day of shooting included the bedroom scene where Nikki panics while kissing Bear in bed. Navarrette asked Barker to keep her preparation secret from Johnston so that his reaction would be genuine.

“I kindly asked Curry not to show Michael anything,” she admitted, noting, “Even though it may not seem so, I am quite shy, which I think helped because there are many moments where I scared the shit out of him.”

Barker and Navarrette discussed key changes Navarrette made to Nikki, who was originally written as a girl‑next‑door type. Barker was “incredibly game for ideas,” including her suggestion to call Bear “babe” and to act playfully flirty toward him.

“I wanted the audience to understand why Bear would become obsessed, because everything is seen from his perspective — her laughter, her enticement,” she explained. “I wanted to show what would convince Bear to make that wish.”

When Kuplowsky raised the topic of Nikki’s memeification online, Navarrette responded,

“You know, sometimes I feel it’s not really for me,” she said. “I grew up experiencing many things through others, so I just roll with it. It’s not something I analyze; it’s for you, and I love that.”

“It starts to feel like it’s not mine anymore,” Barker said of the film’s online life. “It’s not mine anymore.”

Navarrette said she was inspired growing up by “Léon: The Professional,” which showed that young people could act, and by Charlize Theron’s Oscar‑winning performance as Aileen Wuornos in “Monster,” which motivated her to alter her appearance for future roles. She reflected on how everything changed since that pivotal TIFF premiere.

“Everything changed for me,” she admitted. “I now find myself in rooms I could not have imagined, pitching my own projects and hoping to produce and direct my own work. It’s been incredibly exciting because I love cinema and filmmaking, and being part of Midnight Madness last year sparked that fire. My life has transformed, and I take it day by day.”

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