‘My Workday Would Be Over’: A Quiet Place Day: One's Lupita Nyong’o Explains How Her Pizza Allergy Affected The Horror Spinoff

The horror genre’s renaissance is showing no sign of slowing down, to the joy of fans. And while the best horror movies have returned to theaters with new sequels, original concepts like A Quiet Place (which is streaming with a Paramount+ subscription) have also done well. A prequel titled Day One is in theaters now, and star Lupita Nyong’o explained to CinemaBlend how her pizza allergy affected the horror spinoff, being quoted saying “my workday would be over.”

One might learn from reading an A Quiet Place: Day One review, there is a big plot point in the New York City-based movie about protagonist Sam wanting to get a slice of pizza, with the audience eventually learning why it’s so important to her. As shown in the video above, I had the chance to speak with the cast and director Michael Sarnoski about the movie, where I asked about how much pizza talk was happening on set. Despite her character, Nyong’o couldn’t get in on any pizza days, as she told me:

It was catastrophic for me because I’m gluten free and I’m dairy free so pizza is a thing of my past. It was really hard for me to get on the pizza craze. We’d sometimes have pizza trucks come through and you smell the pizza, it smells so inviting. But if I ate a single piece of it my workday would be over.

Well, that’s no fun. Despite Sam’s mission to get a slice of pizza from the famous Patsy’s Pizzeria in Harlem, the actress herself isn’t as much of a fan thanks to her dietary restrictions. And while everyone else from the cast and crew were able to scratch that pizza itch when it was brought to set, her enjoying a slice would have definitely messed with the schedule for A Quiet Place: Day One.

When I saw an early screening of the new Quiet Place movie, I definitely had a craving for pizza. There’s only so much talk about pizza during the movie for me to resist. And I can only imagine there was a ton of debate about toppings when filming for Day One was underway. At least, for everyone other than Lupita Nyong’o.

(Image credit: Paramount)

Sam’s passion for pizza is something many east coasters understand, so it perfectly worked with the horror spinoff’s New York City-based story. The trailers for A Quiet Place: Day One showed how horrifying the sound-based aliens would be in the Big Apple, but at least there’s good pizza to enjoy.

When speaking with director Michael Sarnoski, he revealed just how much specificity was taken with the pizza. And of course, just how many slices he ate throughout the process of writing and directing Day One. In his words:

I remember we were talking about what that pizza should be. Should it be cheese, should it be some veggie pizza. What sort of classic pizza do we want to go with? We shot in London so they’re not quite known for their pizza culture out there. I don’t have a super memorable pizza memory from then, but I have gone to Patsy’s multiple times since then, and before during the writing process. And I’ve eaten far too much pizza over the course of this lifetime.

Personally, I don’t think there’s such a thing as too much pizza. Unless you’ve got the same dietary concerns as Lupita Nyong’o, in which case it sounds like a slice comes with a fair amount of pain. Luckily there are folks like myself and Sarnoski to pick up the slack.

A Quiet Place: Day One is in theaters now. Check the 2025 movie release dates to plan your trips to the theater next year.

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