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Remember Maya Bennett? The sweet new girl who decided to join the Peace Corps and break up with Zack in the Disney channel show, “The Suite Life on Deck,” leaving him heartbroken and all of us in disbelief. Well, that “new girl” is Zoey Deutch, the now 24 year old L.A. born girl who has since grown up and starred in many projects, both on the big screen and on television.
Real talk, Zoey Deutch seems like such an adorable and sweet person. Don’t believe me, just watch some of her press interviews, or watch Ed Sheeran fictionally fall in love with her in his music video “Perfect.”
Before her big acting breakthrough, she even had a small role in “The Amazing Spider-Man” starring Andrew Garfield, but the scene was unfortunately cut. But don't fret Zoey Deutch fans, her scene is included in the DVD.
One of her most recent roles was the Netflix rom-com “Set It Up,” where she starred alongside Glen Powell as two overworked assistants wanting nothing more than some time for personal lives. While no “Set It Up” sequel has been confirmed, fans of Deutch and Powell’s chemistry will be glad to hear they are starring alongside each other again in a film titled, “Most Dangerous Game,” a film by the same “Set It Up” screenwriter, Katie Silberman.
Since the start of her acting career in 2010, Zoey Deutch has starred in some of my, and probably your favorite movies.
“Beautiful Creatures”
Deutch portrayed Emily Asher in the 2013 film adaption of the book “Beautiful Creatures,” a romantic gothic fantasy film set in the fictional town of Gatlin, South Carolina. This was a supporting role for Deutch, but her first role in a big Hollywood film. Emily Asher is your typical small town, Christian, family oriented, Southern girl. At school, she’s one of the stereotypical popular, better than everyone else, mean girls. Emily and her friends bully the protagonist, Lena Duchannes, because of her family name and their reputation with the supernatural. After accusing Lena and her family of “praying to Satan,” Emily and her friend begin to pray aloud in class, frustrating Lena and causing her to shatter the classroom windows.
“Vampire Academy”
In her starring role, Zoey Deutch portrayed Rose Hathaway in the 2014 fantasy comedy horror film adaption of the novel “Vampire Academy.” In the film, Rose is a dhampir, a half-vampire and half-human. She is at St. Vladimir’s Academy, which for some reason is located in Montana, training to be a guardian of the Moroi—good vampires that coexist with humans. Her best friend, Princess “Lissa” Dragomir, just so happens to be a royal member of the ancient race, and the last of her line.
Despite trying to stay under the radar at their private vampire high school, Lissa’s life is at danger at every turn. Rose will have to put her training to the test to help her best friend survive. “Vampire Academy” is the perfect cheesy supernatural movie, just don’t take it too seriously, especially when you begin to see more vampire fangs than you’ve ever cared to. Unfortunately, the film was a failure both critically and financially, barely making half its budget in the worldwide box office.
“Dirty Grandpa”
In 2016, Deutch starred as Shadia in the comedy “Dirty Grandpa” alongside Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, and Aubrey Plaza. The movie follows Jason and his grandfather Dick as they travel to Boca Raton, Florida, a week before Jason’s wedding. On the trip, they run into Shadia, a girl Jason had met when he took photography classes. Dick decides to hide Jason’s real profession as a lawyer and tells Shadia and her friends that his grandson is a photographer. Jason and his grandfather meet up with Shadia and her friends in Daytona Beach for spring break where they party and catch up, all the while hiding his engagement back home.
When Jason realizes his feelings for Shadia are still there, he plans to tell her the truth but she finds out on her own account. Jason calls off his wedding and must prove to Shadia that he loves her before it's too late. Despite being a box office hit, “Dirty Grandpa” is considered one of the worst films ever made.
“Everybody Wants Some!!”
Easily one of my favorite Zoey Deutch movies, “Everybody Wants Some!!” is a 2016 comedy centered around college baseball players in 1980s Texas. Deutch stars as Beverly, a performing arts major. Beverly meets Jake, played by Glee star Blake Jenner, when he's out with his buddies scoping out the campus for girls. When she dismisses the advances of two of his friends, Beverly calls out Jake saying “I like the quiet guy in the back seat.” Eventually Jake and Beverly go on a date and after hitting it off, she invites him to “Oz,” a party hosted by performing art majors.
After the party, Jake and Beverly end up spending the entire night together talking and getting to know each other. The morning after the party happens to be the start of the semester. The movie ends with Jake and Beverly walking to class together, knowing freshman year is one to look forward to. The testosterone filled “Everybody Wants Some!!” was highly critically acclaimed, scoring 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it grossed less than half of its original budget.
“Good Kids”
Deutch joined the cast of 2016 comedy “Good Kids” as the only female in the main four person cast. She stars as Nora, one of the four good kids who plan to live up the last summer before college. Since childhood, Nora and her friends “traded cool for college.” They skipped out on parties, drugs, and drinking, and instead focused on good grades and getting into college.
Nora, specifically, was accepted into Harvard. When the four share what they wished they had experienced in high school, Nora admits she thought it would have been nice to have a boyfriend. The four friends agree to share in a “Summer of Yes,” and do all the things they missed out on the last four years.
“Why Him?”
Zoey Deutch joined an all-star cast in the 2016 comedy film “Why Him?” starring alongside James Franco and Bryan Cranston. Deutch stars as Stanford college student Stephanie Fleming. In the movie, Stehanie is dating Silicon Valley millionaire Laird Mayhew, played by James Franco. Laird’s personality encompasses a father's worst nightmare.
Stephanie's dad Ned, played by Bryan Cranston, finds Laird disrespectful, immature, and all around not worthy of his daughter. Things take a turn for the worst when Ned realizes Laird plans to propose to Stephanie over the holidays. When Laird is refused a father's blessing, he promises to win Ned over.
“Before I Fall”
Deutch starred in the 2017 teen drama “Before I Fall” as Sam Kingston. Sam is a popular girl with perfect friends, a perfect boyfriend, and a seemingly perfect life. Her biggest problem seems to be whether she is ready to be physically intimate with her boyfriend, played by YouTuber Kian Lawley. The movie opens on “Cupid’s Day” where students celebrate Valentine's Day by distributing roses to each other.
At first, the day seems normal for Sam. She goes to school, she gets invited to a party, and her friends make fun of the weird girl Juliet at lunch. On their way home from the party, Sam and her friends are in a car accident and she dies. The scene cuts to Sam waking up on February 12th, Cupid's Day. She wakes thinking she just had a really bad dream. But the day continues exactly as her “nightmare” did and she is once again in a car accident and woken up on Cupid’s Day. Eventually, Sam realizes she is stuck living February 12th over and over again, no matter what she changes or who she interacts with.
Sam learns a lot about herself and those around her as she relives the same day for who knows how long. In the end, Sam realizes what caused her original accident and what action will end the time loop. In an attempt to save someone, Sam is once again killed, but this time she doesn’t wake up. Having made changes in her life, she relives all the good times before finally thanking the person who finally saved her. “Before I Fall” was one of the highest grossing independent films of 2017, making $18 million worldwide against a $5 million budget.
What’s Next For Zoey Deutch?
Zoey Deutch will also have a role in the “Zombieland” sequel, “Zombieland: Double Tap” alongside Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin who will all be reprising their original roles. The film is set to be released in October 2019.
In 2018, Zoey Deutch was named as one of “The Best American Actors Under 30” by the online publication IndieWire. Despite what the critics say, she has starred in some of the best young adult films in the past few years and she continues to prove that she is one of Hollywood’s young rising stars.