When Chloe Coleman first appeared opposite Dave Bautista in My Spy, she was ten years old and shooting her first major movie. Now she’s 15, doing her own stunts, scuba-certified, and jumping off buildings. “I’ve never had to age up a character before,” she says, “and it was really bittersweet. I wanted to keep Sophie’s sarcasm from the first movie but also show that she’s grown up. She’s in high school now. She’s changed.”
The new sequel, My Spy: The Eternal City, finds Sophie and JJ reunited in Europe—cue secret missions, complex feelings, and a whole lot of stunt choreography. For Coleman, it was a dream come true. “Pete [Segal, the director] gave me so much awesome stuff to do. I went right into martial arts, skydiving simulations, scuba training. I even rode a Vespa for the first time... and I haven’t even driven a car yet!”
Sophie may have leveled up, but so has Chloe. She made mood boards and playlists to get inside her character’s head. “I had stuff like ‘Just a Girl’ by No Doubt, ‘Freedom! ’90,’ and ‘Love Shack’—things that felt colorful and vintage, like Sophie. She’s got this Parisian vibe to her now.” Before every shoot day, she’d listen to the playlist to psych herself up. “If I’m not feeling confident, it doesn’t come out the same. That music really helped.”
It’s not just about the high kicks and punchlines, though. The emotional arc of Sophie and JJ’s relationship deepens in this round. In the first movie, Coleman explains, Sophie was lonely and JJ became her world. “She didn’t have friends, so she latched onto JJ. Now she’s older. She’s in choir. She has a social life. She wants independence.” Which, as any actual teenager will tell you, is more complicated than it looks.
“JJ’s trying to be a father figure. He’s sacrificed a lot for her. And now she’s pulling back, and that hurts him,” she says. “They have to work through that.” By the time they hit the emotional payoff—the long-awaited pinky promise callback from the first film—Coleman swears it’ll hit you right in the gut. “It’s so special. It’s emotional. And I think people will really relate.”
Of course, the movie also leans into the lighter side. There’s a romantic triangle subplot that Coleman refers to as “Pretty in Pink vibes,” and a particularly awkward “kissing talk” scene with Kristen Schaal. “We had so many takes of that scene,” she laughs. “Kristen just kept riffing. She’s so funny—I was trying not to break the whole time.”
Coleman also gets more time with co-stars like Ken Jeong, Craig Robinson, Flula Borg, and Anna Faris. “Ken is hilarious. He brings so much to every scene,” she says. “But honestly, everyone in this cast is amazing. Every day on set was fun.”
Filming took them to Cape Town and Rome—though Rome may have stolen her heart. “Base camp was literally in the middle of the city. We shot inside the Coliseum. Empty. It was surreal, like stepping back in time,” she recalls.
While in Cape Town, Coleman also found time to give back. She and producer Chris Bender visited Masi Creative Hub, a community organization repurposing plastic for urban gardening systems. “They’re making garden beds and even bricks for homes out of condensed plastic,” she says. “It was so inspiring. We raised about $10,000 for them.” That experience sparked an ongoing interest in environmental activism. “I’ve become really conscious about single-use plastic,” she adds. “I want to do more.”
Even with everything else on her plate, Coleman’s been diving into theater, starring in She Kills Monsters at her high school. “I wanted to be home for ninth grade, no acting jobs. But I couldn’t help myself. I still did the play,” she laughs. “And theater is so fun. The energy you get from the audience... it’s addictive.”
If that sounds like someone whose future is wide open, it is. And she’s already eyeing more action-heavy roles. “I want to keep up the martial arts,” she says. “I love doing my own stunts. When I’m in it, I feel like Sophie.”
And if there’s a third My Spy movie? “It has to be a trilogy, right?” she says, half-joking. “You can’t stop at two.”
Here’s hoping Hollywood agrees.
Watch the interview above and then check out the trailer below.
