Chloe Grace Moretz Was 'Intimidated' to Take on 'Carrie,' Tried to Never Break Character on Set

Oct. 17, 2013— -- Chloe Grace Moretz, the latest young starlet to don the pink prom dress and the bucket of pig's blood for the new "Carrie" reboot, said she felt "intimidated" to take on the lead role in the revamped quintessential teenage revenge fantasy, which is out in theaters Friday.

"I was intimated on taking on a Stephen King novel," Moretz told "Nightline." "That's what scared me ... trying to take something that was one of his most iconic pieces of work that he's ever written and try and breathe life, even halfway as good, as the words that he has put into a book."

To help her get into the mindset of Carrie White, the high school student who is relentlessly bullied for being different only to discover she has psychological powers, Moretz said she tried to stay in character for the entire time she was on set.

"It was the first movie I ever did in which I wanted to try method [acting]," she said. "You know, trying to really breathe and live in her because she is such a dark character you can't just cut and be like hee-hawing around."

Despite all the latest movie special effects, Moretz said the new "Carrie" was less concerned about supernatural powers than it was about human nature.

"I think it really is the emotional aspect of it," she said. "It's really what you read within Stephen King's novel, you see that in our movie. You see the effects of the mother-daughter relationship more than just the teenagers."

In the film and the book, Carrie isn't just bullied, she is a victim of parental abuse. Carrie is "abused by too much love," Moretz said, from her mother, Margaret White, played by Julianne Moore in the new movie. "They're all going to laugh at you," is one of the film's most iconic lines.

Moretz's real-life mother, Teri Moretz, is a single mom, like Moore's character. While she is far removed from the horribly extreme antics of Margaret White, Teri Moretz can relate to wanting to protect her daughter.

"I'm a momma bear, and there are times that you have to just let go and it's not easy," she said, adding that there were times when it was "difficult" to watch her daughter as a character being abused.

"There are moments that you're like, 'Ooh, I can't watch it,' but it's just so beautifully done," Teri Moretz said. "I saw the original one ... and this one is really beautiful, but it's psychologically disturbing."

Chloe Grace Moretz is no stranger to starring in disturbing and ultraviolent films -- she is best known as the fanboy favorite from "Kick Ass," which she starred in when she was 12 years old. But even as the lead in the new "Carrie" movie, the now 16-year-old actress joked that she still wasn't old enough to see the R-rated film in theaters.

"I'm illegal, I can't even see it," Moretz said, laughing. "I mean, I'm sure my mom will buy me a ticket."

When the original "Carrie" came out in 1976, it redefined horror as a film genre. It wasn't just a box-office smash but garnered an Oscar nomination for then-26-year-old Sissy Spacek and for a young novelist named Stephen King. "Carrie," which is based on his novel, was his first foray into film.

But Moretz didn't seem put off by the notion of following an Oscar-nominated performance.

"If I think of that, it's going to kill me, and I'm never going to be able to achieve what I want to achieve as an actor," she said.