Kristian Ventura returns in the highly anticipated second season of School Spirits, bringing even more depth to his role as Simon Elroy. As Maddie’s (Peyton List) fiercely loyal best friend, Simon finds himself navigating shocking new twists, including the unsettling revelation that Maddie’s body is now inhabited by another spirit. This season pushes Simon to his limits as he fights to uncover the truth, all while struggling to hold onto his belief in Maddie’s presence. Ventura’s performance promises to deliver heartfelt emotion and gripping suspense, making Simon’s journey one of the most compelling arcs in the series.

What fascinated you about the second season of School Spirits?

Just how grey the areas were. Discovering who Janet was made it harder for me to pick a side. I play a person who is trying to get his friend’s possessed body back, but the person who stole it also had her life innocently taken at a young age. Everyone has their reasons. There’s a line where she says, “Now I have a chance at the life I’ve always wanted.” And as much as I wanted to villainize Janet, you take a step back and go, “Wouldn’t we all seize at the opportunity to live?” My character’s loyalty to his friend makes it so that he fights for his loved ones. But in another world, if he somehow met and loved Janet, he’d fight for her too. We’re bound by loyalty. In a way, loyalty decides for us. So that’s a weird complicated thing. As for Janet, the only moral choice for her to make is, “I lost my life, and no one else should have to lose theirs.”

That’s an act of service, and I find it to be a very underrated theme this season.

Your character Simon Elroy goes through so many challenges. What will he face this season?

You can give your arm and leg to someone but eventually you’re going to run out of body parts. Simon’s going to lose himself. He looks around and he goes, “Wait, I’m trying my best here, but… what’s left of me?” He burns out. And the good thing about having someone like Simon is it’s in his own natural mechanism to help and love you. The disadvantage is by the time you solved all you have to solve, who’s left? Do you even resemble yourself? Maddie loves Simon because Simon is Simon. But if all he is give himself away, he turns into a shadow and she ironically will have no one left to love. Last year when filming, I’d sit down and read the script feeling like he’s a bit of a forgotten figure.

The show explores themes of the afterlife and mystery. How do you personally connect with those themes, if at all?

I believe in God. And I want to be enough to enter his kingdom, but I don’t always feel prepared. And self-evaluation is painful. Feeling from sin is not easy. I just know that death comes at an uncertain time and a friend once told me that it’s best to make sure that each day that you are alive, you walk the straight and narrow path.

How do you prepare for your emotional scenes in the show?

When you read the episodes over and over again until it hurts, and then it’s time to roll camera, you just drop in. Living in that temporary, invisible space in the mind has been my favorite place since I can remember. I don’t know where the emotion comes from. I just search through the words on the page. I take every line the writers create very seriously, I don’t ever want to change them. It’s like sustenance. Reading the script over and over helps me understand my character. And when he gets emotional, so do I.

What do you think makes School Spirits different from other teen or supernatural dramas?

I never felt uniqueness was ever needed in art. That never made sense to me. Of course, I work in an industry where standing out is your only chance at survival, but as a fan of books and movies, the only prerequisite for something good was if it moved me and taught me, regardless if it was repetitive. It just needs to get it right. Nothing needs to be different. Some things I see nowadays are purely unique, but what does it stand on? I think this show is quite confrontational. It shows us people stuck in an afterlife because they’re running away from something inside them. It stands on fear and love and friendship. All things we’ve seen before, just written in a new voice. That’s the heritage of the theatre.

Are there roles you know you’d want to play in the future?

There’s Santiago in the Alchemist. It’s rare to find a beautiful journey in stories that seem to say everything.

How do you approach balancing acting with other aspects of your life?

Awfully. It doesn’t work. It’s a strange position. You’re a sponge to someone’s script and then once the film is over, you are dumped back into the world. Your heart is trained for these sporadic moments of intensity.Sometimes I feel out of context just being alive on a sidewalk. You learn a bunch of skills you don’t know what to do with. Sometimes you obsess over something and then go dark. It’s always imbalanced if you want the truth. I don’t fight it, at least not now. I’ve understood it as the consequence of producing fiction from your very bones, to which I’m very grateful to do.

Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring actors or creatives who want to break into the industry?

It’s okay to take things seriously. You have to. That’s how we go from A to B. You’ll seem like a boring person to many, but it’s the most rewarding thing to meet people who care too. They are who keeps me going. And I haven’t even met them!

Catch Kristian in School Spirits on Paramount+