In The New Mutants, this April’s X-Men spinoff, the Sacramento-born Blu Hunt plays Dani Moonstar, whom she describes as a “bad bitch.” Though oft-deployed in our empowerment-hungry era, the “bad-bitch” distinction is especially apt; Moonstar’s superpower, telepathically exposing enemies to their darkest and most terrifying fears, can only be categorized as bad-bitch behavior. “She’s really tough,” adds Hunt, “and she doesn’t play into any clichés.” And part of that is thanks to the casting of Hunt; as a descendant of the Oglala Lakota tribe, Hunt is demographically in sync with Moonstar, one of the Marvel-verse’s first and only Native women.

As such, Hunt has recently seen her share of real-life fears come to pass. “Trump has been doing damage to Native land and destroying sacred monuments ever since he’s been in office,” she recounts. But Hunt, who was raised on Scorsese and Harmony Korine films, suggests her role as Moonstar could at least offer a cultural corrective to her peoples’ recent political setbacks:

“Representation right now is extremely important,” says Hunt. In The New Mutants, Hunt’s Moonstar finds partners in badassery in Magik and Wolfsbane, played by The Witch’s Anya Taylor-Joy and Game of Thrones’s Maisie Williams respectively. Adding depth to the mix is Josh Boone, who previously directed YA heart-tugger The Fault In Our Stars. “I’d describe [the lm’s dynamic] as Nightmare on Elm Street meets The Breakfast Club,” says Hunt. “It’s really scary, but beneath the horror it’s very emotional.”

Next up for Hunt is the politically charged Dave Eggers’ adaptation Fathers & Prophets, a welcome immersion into intense filmmaking for the actress.“It’s a very intense drama,” she says.“I might have to shave my head!” It’s all in a day’s work for a fearless actress like her: “I think you should come out of every [project] not being the same person.”

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