Can you tell me the importance of your
character Zu deciding to be mute?
Zu has more to her story to tell. She
represents the youngest of the kids who
have been put in these camps so I think she
represents the most innocent and traumatized
age group.
Since the film revolves around a group of
children that need to protect one another,
what is the most important underlying
message of this film?
The most important message is that no
matter who you are, where you come from,
or what you story is, you can still come
together to be a family and protect each
other. It’s a story about acceptance and
family and also kids being kids!
What was that like to perform your own
stunts and why did you decide not to use a
stunt double?
I did have a stunt double for some of the
really dangerous scenes. But for one scene
in particular, Zu has to take a hard fall and
it was a close up shot. If they used the stunt
double (who was an adult), they would not
have been able to capture a close up of my
face and the scene would not have been as
emotionally powerful. So I said that I wanted
to learn how to do the fall myself. The
coordinator taught me how to fall correctly
on a pad first and then eventually on the
ground. It was so cool to see the end result
and know that I did it myself.
I know that you want to shine a light
and awareness on the international and
domestic process of adoption. Why is this
of key importance to you?
I want to shine a light on adoption because
I’m adopted and proud of where I came
from and where I am now. I think that being
adopted is special and want to help other
adopted kids feel special too!
What do you hope your platform as an
actor can do to help bring change and a
voice to the care of animals?
I love animals! I have two rescue cats and a
rescue dog. I’d have more if my mom and
dad let me. I’d like to volunteer my time
helping find homes for orphaned pets. Every
animal deserves to be loved and have a
home. Animals are people too! ;-)
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