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26 Dec 2025 18:15
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Chase Infiniti was named after characters in Batman Forever and Toy Story

    The 25-year-old One Battle After Another star, whose full name is Chase Infiniti Payne, has revealed her parents chose her unusual moniker by taking inspiration from movies - naming her after Nicole Kidman's character in 1995 superhero film Batman Forever while her middle name is inspired by Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear and his iconic catchphrase.


    She told the Guardian newspaper: "I love explaining it! I love my parents very much, and they spent a lot of time on my name.

    "My first name comes from Batman Forever - I'm named after Nicole Kidman's character Chase Meridian.

    "And then my middle name, because Infiniti is my middle name, that comes from Toy Story, when Buzz Lightyear says: 'To infinity and beyond.'

    "My parents definitely love the movies."

    Chase kicked off her career with a role in Apple TV Plus drama series Presumed Innocent before landing a part in Paul Thomas Anderson's movie One Battle After another playing Leonardo DiCaprio's onscreen daughter - and she's revealed she "freaked out" when she was told she would be auditioning with the actor.

    She added to the publication: "I was definitely freaking out the first time that they told me. And I called my parents right away, and I was like: 'Mom, I'm about to meet Leo DiCaprio and Regina Hall tomorrow.'

    "So they were freaking out too, even more than me. Once I got there, on the day, I was like: 'OK, I came here to do my job, and I'm gonna make sure that I'm doing right by myself and my scene partners.'

    "Standing in front of DiCaprio, the facade kind of fades the second that they call 'Action'. Also he's such a kind person, and really funny. So even the first time I met him, it was really easy to drop in from the start."

    Chase explained the audition process was long and tough as she spent six months going through the process and even taking karate classes to win the role of Willa Ferguson.

    She said: " I did six months of auditioning for the film while I was working on my first project, Presumed Innocent ... I had in-person auditioning, callbacks, chemistry reads and camera tests, and then I had four days of intensive karate training, private lessons and group classes.

    "Paul came to watch the final one, and then after that, he told me I'd got the part."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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