STAR IN THE MAKING: QUVENZHANÉ WALLIS (2012)
There’s a scene in the film Beasts of The Southern Wild where six-year old, first-time actress Quvenzhané Wallis, as the character Hushpuppy, gives her fictional father a glare, that tells you everything you need to know about the young actress, and will make you want to know much more. The glare in the scene is supposed to convey two thoughts at once: ‘don’t mess with me’ and don’t leave me.’ It’s a glare that even veteran actors might find hard to pull off. And yet, the youngster relays the complicated cue as if she’s been doing it forever.
That’s the magic of that scene, and every scene Wallis appears in throughout the film, which won top honors this past winter at both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. It’s those natural chops that led director Benh Zeitlin to single her out of a field of 4,000 potentials to play the role of a six-year old girl learning how to survive in a territory deep in the Gulf Coast dubbed The Bathtub.
Quvenzhané, whose nickname is Nayzie, was born on August 28, 2003 and is straight out of Honduras Elementary School in Houmas, Louisiana. She loves stir-fry and riding bikes, and wants to be a dentist when she grows up and counts her mom as her hero. Her earliest memory? Surprisingly, auditioning for this film. In fact, she was only five years old when her mother took her to audition for the role of Hushpuppy. She fibbed about her age in order to be seen by the casting director (they were looking specifically for a six-year old) and, as she does in the film, she won them over.
“The moment she walked in — I have it on tape. You just see this wisdom and focus and tenacity and fearlessness in her eyes that she didn’t have to say anything,” said Zeitlin during an interview with NPR. “It was like you could put the camera on her face, and you just see this whole world that she has inside of her that’s so beyond her years.”
Since its release this past summer, Beasts, which also stars Dwight Henry as Wink, Hushpuppy’s abrasive father, has gotten reviews from all over the critical spectrum, with some calling it a mythical masterpiece, and others shooting it down as overbearing and overwrought. All of the reviews, however, unmistakably point out that Wallis is outstanding in her role, calling her a force of nature, a gem in the proverbial ocean.
The film, and her performance in particular, has caught the attention of many, with the platitudes reaching as high as the White House, as President Obama sang her praises. Walis been interviewed by Oprah and Jay Leno, and is already working on her next film, starring alongside Brad Pitt in the film 12 Years A Slave.
There’s definitely something about Nayzie.
“She’s a true-born superstar,” Zeitlin gushes. “She talks and people listen, and she smiles and people laugh, and she just has this ability to connect to anyone wherever we go that’s amazing.” And on top of all of that, she’s focused, too. When asked by a reporter what’s next for her, the now-eight-year old — who can give a convincing glare but most likely can’t comprehend the fact that she’s carrying the fate of a much-buzzed-about film on her tiny shoulders — cooly replied, “Fourth grade. Gotta stay on the honor roll.”
Beasts of The Southern Wild, rated PG-13, is currently in wide release in movie theaters across the country.
2012 © Dawson’s Ink