This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
*Caleb McLaughlin is no stranger to supernatural terror, but in “Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi,” his new immersive Audible Original, the “Stranger Things” star steps into entirely new territory: the world of immersive audio storytelling, identity, and ancestral reckoning.
“When I saw the title, I was like, well, The Curse of the Mbirwi, this is very interesting. But then what I connected with was that Deshaun… was narrating his own story. But there were different tones as I was reading it. And I love the creative aspect that Nyasha [Hatendi] put into his writing.”
Written and created by actor, director, and executive producer Nyasha Hatendi, Sacrilege follows a grieving African-American family from Detroit on a luxury safari in Zimbabwe. Their trip turns into a fight for survival when teenage Dashon Wallace (voiced by McLaughlin) unknowingly desecrates a sacred burial ground, awakening a shape-shifting spirit—the Mbirwi—summoned to protect the local community. What follows is a deeply immersive and psychological journey that fuses folklore with family secrets and personal demons.
“I love that journey,” McLaughlin says of the show’s deeper themes. “Even for myself, I want to go to Africa, and just honestly connect with my people and my roots.”
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For McLaughlin, portraying Dashon required more than just voice acting; it was an emotional split between past and present versions of the same character. “There was a distinctive difference between the present Deshaun and the narrated Deshaun,” he explains. “My tone would change… it’s literally my voice. So I had to have more inflections and understand like every word had to mean something.”
McLaughlin’s collaboration with creator Hatendi was a highlight. “We connected right away. Honestly, I just told him I understood exactly what you’re trying to do… And he’s a real artist, really particular, really detailed… especially when he was directing me, like he’s like, ‘I need you to breathe after this line.’ I’m like, wow.”
That precision paid off. Sacrilege is not only emotionally gripping but technically groundbreaking. Released in Dolby Atmos, the sound design immerses listeners into every rustle of the savannah and every whisper of the supernatural.
LISTEN TO THE SERIES INTRO BELOW:
“When I was recording, I didn’t get any of the beautiful sounds of Africa. I had to go off of what was on the paper and what was going to be. So I had to work around that, knowing like, alright, this is going to happen, so I have to say this here or whatever,” McLaughlin says. “Once I was able to… hear it all come together, I was immersed in the story. The background, like the crickets, the waterfall, or just the breathing, has its own character. It has its own number on the call sheet.”
But at the heart of the story lies the Mbirwi, not just a monster, but a manifestation of unspoken truths. “I feel like it’s more of a mirror than it is a villain,” McLaughlin reflects.
“It represents things that we try to avoid in our life… a lot of people don’t like sitting with their thoughts. And sometimes you just have to deal with it,” he says.
LISTEN TO DASHON DREAMS OF MONKEYS:
“Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi” is more than just a horror story. It’s about reckoning with history, with family, with self.
“I think people can learn a lot from the Mbirwi…like, facing ourselves or the worst part of ourselves. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” McLaughlin says.
“You can take a lot of different things [from it]… like, okay, I want to get closer to my family, or like, maybe I won’t be disrespectful to sacred land… or to others and other cultures. But yeah, just enjoy, listen in your car, put your headphones on, and enjoy the emotional roller coaster.”
Watch our full conversation with Caleb below.
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