Eagan Actress Stars in Horror Film Set at Nuclear Disaster Site

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Former Eagan resident and Eastview High School graduate Devin Kelley screamed her way onto the silver screen last month, with the debut of her first film, a horror flick entitled "The Chernobyl Diaries".

“Her instincts as an actress were superb,” said Eastview English and theater teacher Scott Durocher, who worked with Kelley when she was a high school student.

Kelley had her first starring role when she played the Virgin Mary in a nativity play while her family was living in Brussels, Belgium. By the time she started first grade, Kelley’s family had moved stateside and she had officially caught the acting bug.

Throughout her school years, Kelley took advantage of every theatrical opportunity offered, from speech team to choir to musicals and plays. She was also a member of the Youth Performance Company, a Minneapolis theater company for young actors.

Kelley’s collegiate pursuits took her to the west coast, where she received a B.F.A. in theater from the University of Southern California.

Her first year after college embodied the classic working actor cliché — waiting tables and auditioning.

Then, during the summer of 2009, everything changed.

Kelley moved to the east coast to be an acting intern for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. There, she was discovered and signed by her manager, Jill McGrath.

By winter, Kelley had booked a role as . The series ran for one season on Fox before being canceled.

“‘The Chicago Code’ was a dream job,” said Kelley. “When it got canceled, it was really hard.”

Kelley’s next opportunity, starring in "The Chernobyl Diaries", saw her traveling across the world and onto the big screen.

The movie, filmed on location in Serbia and Hungary, tells the story of a group of tourists exploring the abandoned city of Pripyat, which was once home to the workers at Chernobyl. As so often happens in horror films, things go quickly awry and fright ensues.

“It’s kind of like a rite of passage as an actor,” said Kelley, of her first horror role. “I was terrified the whole time.”

When Kelley originally auditioned for "The Chernobyl Diaries", there was no script. For the majority of the audition process, she didn’t know very much about the film.

Even after filming began, the script served as a guideline, and the cast improvised the majority of the movie. This made the dialogue fresh and kept the cast from getting too comfortable with the material.

However, given that the film was shot in tunnels in Belgrade once inhabited by Nazis and a power plant and abandoned military base in Hungary, the improvisational nature of the film wasn’t the only thing making people uncomfortable.

“I was just on edge 24/7,” said Kelley.

After filming wrapped on "The Chernobyl Diaries", Kelley shot an indie anti-love story called "Anchors" in New York. The film is now in post-production.

Reflecting on her career, Kelley never ceases to be surprised by her own success.

“I’m so amazed that I’m not waiting tables,” said Kelley.

But for John Lynn, Kelley’s high school vocal coach and friend, her accomplishments are hardly a shock.

“She had an incredible amount of drive,” said Lynn. “I’m not surprised at all she’s done well.”