Meet Daniel Zovatto, the ‘Nicest Guy on the Planet’ Playing a Killer in Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour (Exclusive).Linh

Woman of the Hour star Daniel Zovatto credits Blockbuster stores and Leonardo DiCaprio for sparking his interest in acting.

As a kid growing up in Costa Rica, “I just fell in love with movies,” says Zovatto, now 33. His father, who works in politics, shared his son’s passion for films and would rent videos from the now-defunct chain.

“I remember watching What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and then Basketball Diaries, and I was like, who is this? This is the same kid?” he says, referring to DiCaprio. “And my little kid brain, I didn’t compute what that was, but my mom’s like, ‘This is acting.’ And I was like, ‘Holy s—. Well, I want to do that.’”

At the same time, he grew up watching his mom Sylvia Blanco on her local talk show “having a relationship with the camera,” he says.

“I just started being an annoying kid who was like, ‘Yo, let me go and act,’” he continues. “Let me go and take classes, let me go. But fortunately I was able to go to New York. And then from there I started theater. And then little by little, opportunities started to happen.”

He scored roles in primetime shows like Revenge and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., films like Lady Bird and the acclaimed limited series Station Eleven.

Zovatto takes on his most challenging role yet in Woman of the Hour, the chilling true story of serial killer and rapist Rodney Alcala, who appeared on an episode of The Dating Game in 1978, ultimately charming contestant Cheryl Bradshaw (Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick, who also directed the movie) into choosing him over two other bachelors.

The role requires him to be both sweet and menacing, often switching between the two instantly. “It seemed like a really exciting, cool challenge to go and do with Anna, who had full trust in me,” explains Zovatto.

Autumn Best, who plays one of Alcala’s would-be victims, says Zovatto couldn’t be more different from the creepy character he plays.

“Danny is just the nicest guy on the planet,” she says. “He’s so friendly and warm and supportive.”

Best, who makes her film debut in Woman of the Hour, says Zovatto gave her a heartwarming pep talk.

“He was like, ‘I can tell that you’re very nervous and I can tell that you had a little bit of imposter syndrome coming into this, but you are so talented and there’s no reason why you should feel that way,’” remembers Best.

Though Zovatto himself has been acting professionally for 10 years, he feels like he’s “just starting” his own career.

“There’s a lot of exciting things that I want to do. I want to keep working with people that make me nervous to work with,” he says.

The married dad would also like to do voiceover work on an animated family film so the eight-month-old daughter he shares with wife Tara Holt can enjoy what he does (since it will be quite a few years till she can see Woman of the Hour).

“I’ve always been a huge Pixar guy. I love those movies. Toy Story, Monsters Inc. — I grew up watching them,” he says. “It’ll be exciting to do movies for her one day.”