‘Scream Queens’ Star Keke Palmer Gives Horror Survival Tips For Ryan Murphy’s New Show, Teases Sorority Girl Character

Keke Palmer might have fans shrieking in terror this fall with the premiere of her terrifying series “Scream Queens,” but instead of having us fearfully covering our eyes, the 21-year-old actress left reporters covered in sweat as she led a high-intensity trampoline class at Body by Simone. The strong starlet had the New York-based class jumping, kicking and punching (not to mention gasping for breath) during the cardio fitness event hosted by Playtex Sport.

“Today I’m here with Playtex,” she told the International Business Times, revealing why she decided to team up with the brand. “It’s about encouraging young girls to stay active even during the time when they may feel they are not. Playtex came up with the Fit2Play program to help girls figure out the best activity [for them] or sport to help them stay active in the most organic way.”

And Palmer's favorite activity? Well, the Illinois-born singer loves breaking a sweat to Simone De La Rue’s Pilates-inspired class. According to Palmer, the high-energy routine leaves her feeling confident and strong, which, admittedly, comes in handy for someone who is starring in a slasher series.

Palmer will be taking on the role of Zayday, a Kappa sorority girl with great aspirations, in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming -- and frightening -- new drama, "Scream Queens." That means the actress will be enduring her fair share of running, you know, if she wants her character to survive getting chased down by murderers. (And according to the showrunner, there will be a lot of killings.)

“Unless I am the killer!” the actress teased to IBTimes before giving advice on what type of exercise one would have to do in order to stay alive in a horror series. “Oh, if you’re trying to make sure you don’t get killed in a scary movie you need to make sure your cardio is up, your speed is on point, honey, and you also need to make sure you have enough strength in your arms in case you need to pick up a weapon or do something to get the killer off of you. You need a major amount of strength.”

But traditional cardio may not be enough. The actress also teased that it’s quite possible that not all the “Scream Queens” chase scenes will take place on land. “And also, you need to make sure that you can swim a little bit,” she divulged. “You never know if there’s a body of water you need to go through in order to get away from a killer.” Is it safe to say things might get a little wet and wild in the upcoming thriller starring Emma Roberts, Lea Michelle and Jamie Lee Curtis?

Whether Palmer's character is getting hunted on land or chased in the sea, we think whoever the “Scream Queens” killer may be will have a hard time trying to take down the gutsy Zayday.

“Zayday is not the cookie cutter type. Zayday is from Oakland. She’s a very cool type of chick, she’s got a lot of spunk to her and she’s also very intelligent,” Palmer explained, adding that like her, Zayday also has “a lot of ambition.” “She has dreams of being in politics one day. I’d say she’s a mix between Michelle Obama and Beyoncé.” (And what a mix that is!)

The actress added that although Zayday is “a lot of fun” she’s also a no-nonsense kind of girl. “Anything that [singles people out] and makes [them] feel bad, she’s like, ‘Oh, hell no!’” Palmer said, hinting that Zayday and Roberts' character Channel, who is reportedly a mean girl, may butt heads.

Even though there will be a bit of cattiness in “Scream Queens,” according to Palmer, the forthcoming series will also have “excitement, fun and horror at the same time.”

“It has a little bit of everything,” the “Brotherly Love” actress told IBTimes, explaining why viewers should tune in this fall to catch the Fox series. “You can imagine your favorite horror movie mixed with ‘Mean Girls.'"

And of course, there’s Nick Jonas nudity, too. "Basically!" she said with a laugh.

"Scream Queens" will premiere this October on Fox.