Willa Fitzgerald Movies and TV Shows: Complete List

Willa Fitzgerald built her reputation through steady television work before landing a starring role that put her on genre fiction fans’ radars. From anchoring MTV’s Scream as Emma Duval to playing Officer Roscoe Conklin in Amazon Prime’s Reacher, Fitzgerald has quietly assembled one of the more versatile resumés in mid-tier television.

Breakthrough Role: Emma Duval in MTV’s Scream · Recent TV Hit: Roscoe Conklin in Reacher · Netflix Series: The Fall of the House of Usher · Movie Highlight: Strange Darling (2023) · IMDb Credits: Over 30 roles listed

Key links to official sources for Willa Fitzgerald’s filmography and background are compiled below.

What is Willa Fitzgerald Known For?

Willa Fitzgerald is an American actress born on January 17, 1991, who built her reputation through steady television work before landing a starring role that put her on genre fiction fans’ radars. She earned a BA in theater studies from Yale University in 2013, giving her formal training that shows in the precision of her performances (Jack Reacher Wiki). That combination of classical education and practical range has allowed her to move fluidly between horror franchises, prestige literary adaptations, and action procedurals.

Early Career Roles

Before her breakout, Fitzgerald logged appearances in Amazon’s Alpha House (2013–2014) and USA Network’s Royal Pains (2016), building credits that demonstrated versatility across formats. Her early film work included Freak Show (2017) as Tiffany, Blood Money (2017) as Lynn, and Beach House (2018) as Emma—all roles in genre territory that would later define her public profile. She also played Meg March in the BBC’s 2017 adaptation of Little Women, a plum literary role that showed she could hold her own in period drama alongside established cast members.

Breakthrough in Scream

MTV’s Scream gave Fitzgerald her signature role: Emma Duval, the teenage protagonist who anchors the series through three seasons of increasingly twisted horror. The show ran from 2015 to 2019 across 29 episodes total, and Fitzgerald appeared in 23 of them—including every episode of the first two seasons. Her portrayal of Emma gave the franchise a fresh face while honoring the legacy of Sidney Prescott from the original film series. The role established her as someone audiences could follow through genuinely scary material, and genre casting directors took notice.

Her trajectory from MTV horror lead to Amazon action procedural demonstrates an uncommon ability to cross genre boundaries without losing audience trust in either space.

Did Willa Fitzgerald Leave Reacher?

Officer Roscoe Conklin was a significant presence in Reacher’s first season—a capable, independent-minded deputy who worked alongside Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) to unravel the conspiracy at the heart of the story. Fitzgerald was cast in March 2021, and Reacher premiered on Amazon Prime Video in February 2022 (Wikipedia). The character originated from author Lee Child’s Killing Floor novel, making her part of the source material’s canon.

Roscoe Conklin Role

Roscoe Conklin was a franchise-seasoned cop assigned to the Margrave, Georgia police department when Reacher arrives in town. Fitzgerald played the character as grounded and self-assured, a contrast to Reacher’s bare-knuckle methods. The dynamic between Roscoe and Reacher gave the season its procedural backbone alongside the central mystery. Fitzgerald described playing Roscoe as a deeply satisfying experience, expressing both love for the character and respect for showrunner Nick Santora (UPROXX).

Why Absent in Season 2

Season 2 of Reacher moved the story to a different case and setting, following the events of Bad Luck and Trouble. Roscoe Conklin was mentioned but not seen in season 2’s episodes (UPROXX). Book adaptation changes account for the absence: Roscoe exists in the Killing Floor narrative, but season 2 drew from a different novel where the character doesn’t appear. When asked about potential returns, Fitzgerald stated she has no insider knowledge about whether there will be more Roscoe appearances in Reacher. The trade-off for faithful adaptation is that fan-favorite characters sometimes get sidelined when the show follows storylines from other books.

This structural reality of book-to-screen adaptation leaves Fitzgerald’s return contingent on the showrunner choosing to revisit earlier source material.

Willa Fitzgerald Movies

Film roles account for a significant portion of Fitzgerald’s career, with credits spanning indie horror, literary prestige, and thriller territory. Her filmography shows a performer who gravitates toward character-driven projects over blockbuster spectacle.

Strange Darling

The 2023 horror-thriller Strange Darling stands as Fitzgerald’s most recent theatrical release. She starred in the film alongside Kyle Gallner, with Fitzgerald promoting the project actively throughout the year. The film continued her established relationship with horror audiences while offering a different tonal register than her MTV Scream work—more thriller, less slasher. Critical response to the film positioned it as a strong entry in the neo-horror category, though Fitzgerald’s performance was the primary draw for her existing fanbase.

Other Film Roles

Fitzgerald appeared in The Goldfinch (2019) as Kitsey Barbour, playing alongside Ansel Elgort and Nicole Kidman in an adaptation of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer-winning novel. The film received mixed reviews, but Fitzgerald’s supporting turn gave her prestige-cinema credibility. She also appears in Regretting You (as Jenny Davidson), Desperation Road, Relay, and Alarum—all projects that demonstrate her ongoing commitment to character-driven work over quick-turnaround assignments.

This selectivity suggests Fitzgerald prioritizes creative relationships and role depth over volume—a strategy that limits mainstream visibility but builds industry reputation among horror auteurs.

Willa Fitzgerald TV Shows

Television remains Fitzgerald’s primary medium, with recurring and guest roles across cable, broadcast, and streaming platforms. Her TV credits reflect a career strategy focused on quality over quantity—choosing shows with strong writing rooms and cultural visibility over sheer volume of appearances.

Reacher and Scream

These two franchises anchor Fitzgerald’s television identity. MTV’s Scream gave her three seasons (2015–2019) as a lead performer, while Amazon’s Reacher provided an eight-episode appearance in 2022 that exposed her to a different audience. Dare Me (USA Network) offered a supporting turn as cheer coach Colette French—a role that let her play authority and menace simultaneously. Together, these three shows position Fitzgerald as someone who can anchor horror franchises, hold her own in action-heavy procedurals, and subvert audience expectations in psychological drama.

Netflix and Recent Series

Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher arrived on Netflix in 2023, featuring Fitzgerald in the ensemble cast of the gothic horror miniseries. Flanagan’s productions have developed a devoted following, and any appearance in his work signals genre credibility within the horror community. She’s also announced for the upcoming horror feature Pulse, starring as Danielle Simms—a lead role that puts her at the center of what appears to be a contemporary supernatural narrative. Her 2022 announcement for the noir thriller Joe Baby (directed by Steven Brand) remains pending, suggesting her pipeline of projects balances theatrical and streaming releases.

Fitzgerald’s continued work with Flanagan and Brand signals a performer who has found her creative home in horror—building relationships with auteur directors rather than chasing mainstream franchise roles.

Where is Willa Fitzgerald Now?

Fitzgerald’s career trajectory suggests someone building deliberately rather than chasing every opportunity. Her recent projects span theatrical horror (Strange Darling), prestige streaming (House of Usher), and upcoming genre work (Pulse), indicating that horror remains her home turf—but one she navigates with increasing sophistication.

Latest Projects

The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix (2023) is her most visible recent credit, though Strange Darling gave her equal billing in a theatrical release the same year. Fitzgerald appears alongside Flanagan’s regular ensemble players, which has become its own kind of brand within contemporary horror. Her TV Guide profile lists Pulse as an upcoming starring role, suggesting 2024–2025 will bring her back to screens in a lead capacity.

Upcoming Roles

Beyond Pulse, Joe Baby remains in Fitzgerald’s filmography pending release—she was announced for the Steven Brand project in June 2022, but production timing hasn’t been confirmed. Her IMDb profile shows over 30 total credits, suggesting a steady workflow that balances new productions with festival-circuit releases from her growing library of work. Whether she returns to Reacher remains uncertain given the book’s adaptation constraints, but her existing fanbase keeps the question active.

For audiences following her career, the next 18 months will likely clarify whether Fitzgerald’s trajectory heads toward genre leading-lady status or remains a respected character-actress presence.

“I have no insider knowledge about whether there will be more Roscoe appearances in Reacher. I loved playing her, and I have a lot of respect for Nick Santora.”

— Willa Fitzgerald (UPROXX)

“The character is someone who knows how to hold her ground. That’s what made Roscoe work—she wasn’t waiting for Reacher to solve everything.”

— Review analysis from SlashFilm on Reacher season 1 (SlashFilm review)

Fitzgerald’s career path offers a masterclass in building without burning bridges. She left Scream after three seasons, transitioned into prestige literary adaptation with The Goldfinch, then pivoted back to genre work with Reacher—all within five years. That fluidity matters: actors who can move between prestige and genre without losing credibility in either space are rare. For horror fans, she’s a reliable presence; for prestige-drama audiences, her Goldfinch credit provides evidence of range.