Hunter actress Geraldine Viswanathan stars in Hollywood teen comedy Blockers | WATCH TRAILER

The 22-year-old from Whitebridge delivers some of the most memorable lines in the bawdy teen comedy, which stars Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz and John Cena as three parents who discover their daughters have made a pact to lose their virginity on prom night, and set out to “block” their efforts.

The film has been praised by critics for its gender-swapped, enlightened spin on the teen sex comedy.

“I thought the script was really smart and funny, and I knew Kay Cannon would be the perfect director for it,” Viswanathan, 22, said. 

“If it had been directed by a man, it would not be the movie it is now. 

“But I thought the role itself was awesome. Kayla is so unapologetic and strong in knowing what she wants. I think it’s hard to find characters where young females are being treated this way.”

Viswanathan’s family flew to the US to be by her side for the film’s premiere in Los Angeles last week.

“It made it that extra bit special,” she said.

“We all went on a family holiday to LA when I was 15, when the movie Bridesmaids was premiering. We went and waited by the barricades for hours to get autographs from my idols – such as Kristen Wiig, and Rose Byrne.

“Not only did we end up meeting them all, we got free tickets to go and watch the premiere. It was one of my all-time favourite nights.

“Cut to seven years later: My first American movie Blockers is premiering at the same theatre. It came full circle. It was awesome for me and my family to be on the other side of the barricades this year.”

Viswanathan said working alongside Hollywood heavyweights – such as Seth Rogen, who was a producer on the film, and director Kay Cannon, who wrote the Pitch Perfect films, as well as the stellar comedy cast –had been a dream come true.

“I learned so much just by watching these brilliant people at work,” she said.

“I’m a huge fan of Seth Rogen, Kay Cannon, Leslie Mann etc... so you could imagine how excited I was to work with them when I got the job.

“At first, I was really intimidated, but as we went on I relaxed more and tried to conjure up courage from somewhere.

“I became extremely close with Gideon [Adlon], Kat [Newton] and Miles [Robbins] – as we had the most scenes together. It was also awesome to get to know John Cena, who is an incredible and inspiring person, and hilarious actor.”

Viswanathan said the younger cast members lived in the same hotel in Atlanta for three months during filming.

“It felt like camp,” she said.

“We would just knock on each others doors and hang out every night. We became so close. 

“It was one of the best experiences of my life. On set, it was literally prom every day,” she said.

Since filming Blockers, Viswanathan has starred in a Netflix movie produced by Ben Stiller called Eggplant Emoji, and an indie-drama produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith called Hala. She has just finished filming a TV series with Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi.

Viswanathan said while growing up in Whitebridge she had imagined herself one day walking the red carpet, and rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s biggest names in film and television.

But she had not thought it possible.

“At a certain point I realised that this is really what I want to do, and then I did everything I could to make it happen,” she said.

“It’s definitely been building up for a few years now.

“Nothing has happened overnight.”

Prior to Blockers, Viswanathan – a graduate of Hunter School of Performing Arts – played Bonnie Mahesh in ABC TV series Janet King, and starred in the feature film Emo: The Musical.

She was also part of an all-girl sketch comedy collective called Freudian Nip.

“We’re very proud of her,” her former deputy principal, Bree Harvey-Bice, said.

“She was at the Hunter School of Performing Arts from kindergarten.

“She was very talented from a very early age.

“Geraldine was involved in everything – if there was any kind of fund-raiser, she was involved, and helping.

“She was very well-liked, and very well-respected at the school. She was – she is – a really lovely young woman.

“In her Year Book, the question was, ‘In 10 years time, where do you think you will be?’ And she said, ‘Sipping gin and juice with Beyonce and Jay Z.’ We think she just might.”