Langenkamp stayed in close contact with the casting director, her assistant, and the producer. While studying at Stanford University, she would travel to Los Angeles to pursue acting opportunities. Her first official Hollywood audition was for Drew Denbaum's "Nickel Mountain" (1984), an adaptation of John Gardner's 1973 novel. During the audition, her rented car got hit by a runaway truck on Cahuenga Boulevard. Denbaum and the casting director helped Langenkamp during the ordeal. She bonded with them and got cast in the lead role of Callie Wells. She has expressed regret for doing the nude scene as she feared voicing her discomfort at the time of filming. She later got cast as Beth alongside Joanne Woodward and Richard Crenna in the CBS television film "Passions" (1984). The direction towards her character received praise.