IN CONVERSATION WITH SARAH YARKIN

interview by JANA LETONJA
photography by JONNY MARLOW

Sarah Yarkin is an actress, writer, and producer whose work is defined by emotional honesty, sharp humor, and a fearless curiosity across genres. She currently stars as Rhonda Rosen in Paramount+’s breakout mystery series ‘School Spirits’, where her sardonic, emotionally guarded 1960s ghost has become a standout fan favorite. From studio features like ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Happy Death Day 2U’ to indie thrillers, music, and original writing, Sarah continues to carve out a creative lane that bridges genre storytelling with deeply human perspective, both on screen and behind the camera.

Rhonda in ‘School Spirits’ is sharp, funny, and emotionally guarded. What was your way into understanding her inner life beneath the sarcasm?

I think the funniest people are often the ones hurting the most, and humor and sarcasm are such convenient ways to mask that pain. I love a defense mechanism. When I started getting to know Rhonda and talking about her backstory with the creators of the show, Nate and Megan Trinrud, I was immediately so drawn to her. It’s such a horrible story and sort of a dream as an actor to dive into that, in a masochistic way I guess. It was a gift to be given such a painful story to sink my teeth into and then get to cover it up with a joke. I do that in life so I think I got that immediately on like a cellular level.

Playing a character stuck in the 1960s brings a specific worldview and restraint. How did you approach embodying that era without turning it into a caricature?

When I first booked the role, I went to this used bookstore around the corner from me in Brooklyn and bought every Kerouac and Burroughs book they had, lugging them all to Vancouver with me. I did not end up reading most of them, but I did stare at the stack of them in my hotel room all season, which should count for something. I think what’s actually helped is leaning on the writers for the funny little Rhonda lingo and consulting with Nate and Megan, and Google whenever I’ve had questions about the time, and remembering that she died 60 years ago and is stuck in her clothes from that time, but she has still been witnessing everything around her for the past 60 years. She’s stuck in a certain sense physically, but also witnessing and growing with the times. And I think it helps that I am a bit older than the other actors and can easily tap into that feeling of having been around longer than everyone around me. 

‘School Spirits’ balances supernatural mystery with coming-of-age themes. What do you think resonates most with audiences about that mix?

I love hearing who’s watching the show. My mom loves ‘School Spirits’ and my friend’s mom loves ‘School Spirits’, and my friend’s gen Z coworkers love ‘School Spirits,’ and my 12 year old neighbor loves ‘School Spirits’. I think there’s something for everyone and I think it’s amazing that our demographic spans every generation. That’s the best. I love getting texts from my friend’s mom trying to guess the whodunnit aspect and speculate why that character is acting so strange, and I also love getting tagged in Milo fan accounts about how dreamy he is. The world is such a rich tapestry.

Season 3 premieres on 28th January. Without spoilers, how does Rhonda evolve this season?

Rhonda has such a huge arc over these three seasons. We meet her in season 1 as someone guarded, distant and hurt, and watch her attempt to push through her trauma in season 2. But season 3 is where we really get to enjoy the payoff of that, as she breaks down her walls and grows into someone willing to open up and connect and be vulnerable. I don’t think season 1 Rhonda would recognize this person, and I feel so fortunate that I get to tell her story. Rhonda is so precious to me and I just want her to be happy. 

You’ve moved fluidly between studio projects and indie films. What draws you to independent storytelling at this stage of your career?

I produced and starred in a short film last summer, called ‘Visitors’, that will be having its World Premiere at SXSW 2026. My brilliant friend Minnie Schedeen and I have been talking about making something together for years and this story just came to her in a fit of insomnia, and we shot it two months later. That felt like magic. We assembled a team of incredible female producers and I learned so much from them. It’s been such a wonderful learning experience to just go out and make something. And making something really really good with very little money. I just want to make great work with people I love and do that for the rest of my life. 

As a producer, how has being behind the camera changed the way you approach acting?

Seeing ‘visitors’ through from start to finish has been an invaluable experience. We couldn’t have made this without the help of so many incredible people that lent us their talent, their time and their energy. And to be there in every conversation as a producer and be allowed to show up with my ideas and opinions has been a dream of mine for a long time. Actors often have very little creative control and that can feel frustrating. Pre-production was nonstop and two days before we started shooting, I freaked out and realized I had not been preparing as an actor and needed to take off my producer hat for 48 hours. I can only imagine what that must feel like on a larger scale production, and I’m excited to find out.

‘Visitors’ began as a short and proof of concept. What did you learn from building a project with long-term vision in mind?

Minnie and I have wanted to create something together for such a long time. And it’s been the best experience collaborating with such a close friend. ‘Visitors’ feels like not only a proof of concept for Minnie’s feature idea, but also a proof of concept for our collaboration and our shared vision. We’re so excited for people to see it at SXSW so we can expand it into the feature. 

Music is another creative outlet for you, and your song ‘Rosy Glasses’ appeared in ‘School Spirits’. How does songwriting differ from acting as a form of self-expression?

I can sit down and write music whenever I want, without permission from anybody. I can sit at my piano and cry when I’m having a terrible day and create something from that feeling. The words I write are my own and it’s so personal and vulnerable. It’s like singing my diary out loud, or in the words of Anna Nalick in her song ‘Breathe (2 AM)’, “And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd cause these words are my diary screaming out loud and I know that you'll use them however you want to”. But when I’m acting, I’m saying somebody else’s words and doing all this mental gymnastics to make them come out of my mouth in a way that is true to me. I get to pretend to be someone else and weave parts of myself into that. 

You’re currently writing an autofiction novel set in a pre-#MeToo college environment. What feels most challenging, and most important, about revisiting that time?

I was a senior in college in 2015 and a lot of really messed up stuff happened. I have been wanting to write about it for a long time, but it always felt too soon. I look back at pictures of myself from that time and cry. I just want to give her a hug and tell her it will get better. It feels like a lifetime ago and I feel so much more removed and healed now and can look at it from a safer perspective. It’s been hard to look back, but it feels important to remember. And I look forward to sharing it one day. 

You’ve spoken openly about embracing your queer identity in recent years. How has that self-acceptance impacted your creative choices?

Anytime I’ve spoken about discovering this part of myself that had been buried under years of compulsive heteronormativity, I get these incredible messages from young people saying they relate, that this helps them understand themselves better. It makes me incredibly emotional to see that the work I get to do has actually affected people. When I booked ‘School Spirits’, I was just starting to understand my bisexuality and met Nate and told him I thought Rhonda was probably queer. He agreed, and in that gave me the freedom to continue to learn about myself as I created this character. I am forever grateful. 

Advocacy plays a meaningful role in your life, from environmental justice to animal welfare. How do those values intersect with your work in entertainment?

This can be such a self-involved job and it’s so much easier to not take a stance on anything and just focus on your career. But how depressing would that be? We have this amazing platform and opportunity to create work that matters and start conversations. I am proud to be a member of Plastic Pollution Coalition and work with SAG-AFTRA to eliminate the use of single-use plastics on TV and film sets, as well as pushing for work that shows realistic representations of reusables on screen. People are just waking up to the everlasting dangers of plastic pollution to our health and our climate, and it feels vital that we talk about this.

As you continue expanding as a writer and producer, what kinds of stories do you feel most compelled to tell next?

I would love to work on something featuring my dog Finley. He’s a star. He was in season 2 of ‘School Spirits’, in the back of a scene if you look really closely. I’m pitching a series right now further exploring identity and queerness and quantum mechanics, and I’m excited for everyone to see it one day.