Before ‘Obsession’ Made Her a Scream Queen, Inde Navarrette Was Destroying Lobbies in ‘Call of Duty’ on Twitch

Horror has always had a talent for producing stars who seem to arrive fully formed out of nowhere, impossible to ignore and impossible to define by what came before. In a genre year that has already delivered several breakout moments, no performance has lodged itself into the cultural conversation quite like Inde Navarrette’s turn in ‘Obsession’. The film has become a genuine phenomenon, and Navarrette is at the center of all of it.

Released by Focus Features on May 15, the Blumhouse-produced supernatural horror has earned a rare 96% on the Tomatometer and a 94% on the Popcornmeter, alongside an A-minus CinemaScore, making it one of the most critically and commercially celebrated genre films in recent memory. ‘Obsession’ has now become the highest-grossing film in Focus Features history, crossing $224.7 million worldwide on a reported production budget of just $750,000.

But as the internet digs deeper into who exactly Inde Navarrette is, a thoroughly entertaining piece of backstory has resurfaced and taken on a life of its own. Before the red carpets, the rave reviews, and the Blumhouse deal, she was a ‘Call of Duty’ player quietly running lobbies on Twitch.

Navarrette was active on Twitch under the username “indenavarrette,” beginning her streaming journey on July 8, 2022. During her time on the platform she played a variety of titles, but viewers have zeroed in on her impressive command of the ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ franchise, with popular clips showing her confidently navigating multiplayer matches and eliminating opponents with ease.

The origin of her love of gaming is genuinely charming. In an interview with GQ, Navarrette explained that gaming began as a family activity: “We started on the PS2, and we would play Shrek games in Big Head mode with my mom.

And then I would branch off by myself to play campaign games.” From there, the leap to Twitch felt like a natural one. Her streaming era started during the Covid lockdowns, inspired by YouTube creators like Markiplier. She built her own PC, and explained her reasoning simply: “If I’m not working on a show and I love playing videogames by myself and I love playing with friends, then why not stream? It became a lot of fun.”

The resurfacing of those old streams has clearly resonated with audiences, partly because they offer a portrait of the actress that feels entirely unguarded. There is something fitting about the fact that the woman delivering one of the most viscerally intense horror performances of the year was previously the kind of Twitch regular who wore a Toad hat and ran ‘Call of Duty’ killstreaks without breaking a sweat.

As the clips went viral, Navarrette made her return to streaming, playing ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Outlast’ with a packed schedule that also includes a fan-voted game selection, making clear she is back behind the controller for the long term. Given the internet’s obvious appetite for this version of her, that return has been met with considerable warmth.

What ‘Obsession’ Actually Did for Her Career

None of this would land the same way if the film itself were not such an extraordinary piece of work. Director and writer Curry Barker’s ‘Obsession’ follows Bear, played by Michael Johnston, who makes a wish on a novelty toy called a One Wish Willow that his longtime friend Nikki will love him more than anything in the world. The wish is granted with sinister and gory consequences, with Navarrette’s performance earning descriptions of her as a “scream queen in the making.”

The film opened to $17 million in its debut weekend, then grew to $23 million in its second, and to $26.4 million in its third, a pattern of week-over-week growth that is almost unheard of for horror releases, which typically fall off sharply after their opening. Producer Jason Blum noted the extraordinary trajectory, saying “No movie has done that, gone up two weekends in a row, since E.T.,”

Navarrette herself, speaking to Deadline about the dual nature of her character, said of playing Nikki: “It meant a lot to me, and I really wanted to take it seriously. I didn’t wanna just shy away from anything about that, so I really sat with Nikki for quite some time.”

It is the combination of all of this that makes the Twitch revelation feel like more than just a fun celebrity footnote. The same person who builds her own PC and goes deep on ‘Call of Duty’ is the one who sat with a deeply uncomfortable character and refused to take the easy road. Both things track.

Let us know in the comments whether you were already following Inde Navarrette before ‘Obsession’ blew up, and whether you plan to catch her return to Twitch.