Summer H. Howell beat 1,500 actors to lead Prime Video's Carrie

Summer H. Howell beat nearly 1,500 other actors to play Carrie White in Prime Video's new Carrie series, which premiered on Oct. 7.

The 22-year-old stars as the titular character in Mike Flanagan's television adaptation of Stephen King's story, with Flanagan as showrunner. It is her first time leading a television project, meaning she carries the show as its central character. "I feel like I've been preparing to be Carrie my whole life," Howell told The Hollywood Reporter.

She has a long history with horror. Howell took her first role in a horror film at age 8, and her first onscreen role was in Curse of Chucky, the film by Don Mancini, according to Teen Vogue.

Her road to Carrie took three months. She sent her first audition tape in January 2025. That led to a long work session with the casting team on a Friday in March 2025, when she performed four intense scenes. Then came the call with the news.

Flanagan rang her on April Fool's Day to say she had the part, with approval from King himself. Howell said she thought the timing might be a prank. It was not.

While she was auditioning, Howell stayed away from King's book and the 1976 film. She wanted to build her own version of Carrie first, rather than copy what had come before.

In this version, Carrie White has spent her life hidden away inside her home with her fiercely protective mother, Margaret, according to Prime Video. When she is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal, her hidden powers begin to surface.

For viewers, this means a familiar story reset for phones and feeds. The bullying does not stay in the school corridor. It spreads online.

The main cast around Howell includes Samantha Sloyan and Matthew Lillard. Alison Thornton plays Chris Hargensen, one of Carrie's schoolmates, Deadline reported.

Prime Video released a full trailer ahead of launch and put the show forward at San Diego Comic-Con, where Flanagan made his first-ever appearance at the event alongside Howell and Sloyan. The series was cast after an extensive search that saw nearly 1,500 actors, according to Amazon MGM Studios.