Mackenzie Foy – Interstellar’s Rising Star
Interview by James Patrick Herman Photographs by Jeff Vespa
Everybody is talking about Interstellar—A.K.A .Oscar Winners in Space—but our telescope is focused on the film’s rising young stars who have yet to skyrocket to fame. Remember their names.
Remember the vampire child of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson from Twilight: Breaking Dawn? She’s back—and stepping into Jessica Chastain’s shoes in Interstellar. Did we mention that Mackenzie Foy is also a former Ralph Lauren model? All this before the age of thirteen.
You turn fourteen a few days after Interstellar comes out. How will you spend your birthday?
“With Jimmy Fallon. I’m super-excited to be on his show.”
Then I can only imagine how you’ll celebrate your sweet sixteen. What do you consider to be your big break?
“Probably Twilight: Breaking Dawn. It helped to get my name out there.”
It certainly did. So what did you learn from your first movie?
“We filmed for seven months, so it was a big learning experience for me: How to watch everything and take it all in and most importantly, how to listen. I was nine when I started and by the end of the last promotional appearance, I was twelve.”
How did you get into the character of a vampire toddler?
“She was half-human. I had to put on a wig, colored contacts, fake teeth and then went on set. Everybody was very nurturing.”
Did you ever get accosted by crazed Twihards?
“People would run up to me on the street and start crying. I was like: ‘Don’t cry!’ ”
And how was working on Interstellar—an adult movie with a cast of Oscar winners—different from the Twilight Saga?
“To me, it was just another movie. I mean, I just wake up and do my thing, get to meet some new people and go to bed again.”
You began your career as a child model. What was that like?
“I got to wear all of these beautiful Ralph Lauren dresses that I loved. That was my first job when I was three, and I modeled until around the age of nine when I could no longer fit into kid’s clothes.”
How did you become America’s next top child model?
“I started out with dance lessons at the age of three. An agent came to one of my recitals and asked my mother if she wanted to get me into modeling. My mom was like, ‘I don’t know.’—she thought it was a scam. But she agreed to send in my head shot and that’s how I booked my first job. Eventually I transitioned into commercials and TV shows and then movies. I was on a TV set when I first decided that I wanted to do movies.”
Was there a memorable moment when you had that epiphany?
“No, I just felt that I should give it a shot. So I went on an audition for Twilight: Breaking Dawn, learned my lines and hoped for the best. Then I got a call back.”
You make it all sound so easy. Do you prefer acting to modeling?
“They both make me happy. But I might be a little short for modeling when I get older. Anyway, I want to be a director when I grow up.”
Who inspired you to want to sit in the director’s chair someday?
“Mr. Bill Condon [director of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn]. Seeing him make words come to life—and that whole amazing process of filmmaking—made me think to myself: I want to do that someday.”
You may have heard that there is a lack of female directors in Hollywood, so hopefully you will help to change that.
“Absolutely! Girls are confident and they know how to get those deep emotions out of actors. They can do everything that boys can do.”
Which movie genre interests you the most? Something in the vein of Twilight, perhaps?
“No, I want to make an action movie. My goal is to be an actor, director and possibly a producer, too—I still go back and forth about that.”
Do you even know what a film producer does?
“To be honest, I am not quite sure.”
What would be your dream role?
“To play a superhero. I like Black Widow but also the Hulk, Iron Man and Ronan. Oh, my gosh. Ronan is actually a bad guy, but he’s so cool. I like bad guys.”
Don’t tell your mother. So what is it about villains?
“Their evil demeanor and awesome costumes.”
If you had to choose between playing a superhero or a supervillain, which one would you choose?
“Definitely a villain. There’s one from the Marvel comic books who can control snakes. I really like snakes.”
What’s your favorite thing about being an actress?
“Working with amazing people and traveling all over the place. Because usually I’m just doing tae kwon do in my spare time. At first I just wanted to learn self-defense, but recently I got my black belt. The harder something is, the more I like it. My master keeps telling me to do action movies.”
You’re like a real-life Hit-Girl from the Kick-Ass films. Could you beat somebody up?
“If I had to. I can break boards up to an inch-and-a-half thick with my bare hands. But I prefer to use words, not violence.”
Did you pick up any pointers from your Interstellar costar Matthew McConaughey?
“Mr. Mathew is an amazing guy! I miss him so much. He taught me how to be more loose and not to be so stiff. He is very relaxed.”
Do you want to win an Oscar like him and your other costar, Anne Hathaway?
“Yes, I want to win an Oscar for acting and an Oscar for directing. That’s my plan.”