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There's nothing more unsettling than having a conversation with a child actor or, rather, a "movie star in training", about her upcoming project.
AnnaSophia Robb, 13 (Because of Winn-Dixie, Bridge To Terabithia, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), stars in the upcoming R-rated Biblical thriller, The Reaping, opposite two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank.
When in the company of some child stars, it's not unusual to feel that you're in the presence of a middle-aged Hollywood vet. Mature beyond her years, Robb is still childlike in appearance. But her cadence is carefully measured, and it often sounds as though she has been primed by her publicist to regurgitate cliche-ridden answers by rote.
For example, phrases like "it's all about the work", or "I'm so grateful to learn from my fellow actors", reek of parental/studio intervention. But it has to be said, Robb is likeable. And, more importantly, a solid actress.
"I always knew I wanted to act. I always loved to perform," says Robb. "Since the time I was very little I told my mother I wanted to be a movie star, just like every little girl does," she smiles.
But unlike most children, Robb, then a mere 8 years of age, also had the wherewithal to suggest to her mother she should get her an agent to get the ball rolling.
"So, I got an agent in Denver where I live, and then I started acting classes. Then I booked my first TV commercial, a McDonald's ad," she says, matter-of-factly.
In The Reaping, Robb is quite convincing as a "mysterious swamp child" who induces fear in the local village, and the wispy blonde was a good choice to play such a "Damien-like" character.
Says producer Joel Silver, "We chose her because she looked so angelic. I thought it would be more effective to have the delicate, blonde, blue-eyed little girl than a demonic-looking child."
The supernatural thriller, directed by Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers), focuses on the 10 plagues from the Old Testament's Exodus. Swank plays a professor who travels the world debunking religious miracles. She is called to investigate the goings-on in a small town in Louisiana in which a child has mysteriously died, and the local river is red (after Robb's character has apparently slain her brother nearby).
The movie continues through the 10 plagues and although there are no surprises in this special-effects horror genre, it's an entertaining, albeit predictable, ride, and delivers some serious scares.
In this role, Robb got an up-close taste of reality, and the workings of how unglamorous a Hollywood movie can be to shoot.
"Well, I loved that I got to be a kid because I got to be dirty for a change. I could run around barefoot, and if I spilled something on my costume it was okay because it had to look really dirty. It was nice," she laughs. "I didn't have to shower a lot."
The role also called for Robb to learn to be comfortable in the company of real live locusts. Although the scenes were enhanced by special effects, this particular plague took some getting used to.
"I had to be covered in them! They threw them on me. Big, fat ones," Robb says. "I was okay about it, but it was weird getting used to them moving up and down my arms. My hair would stand up. But eventually I forgot about them, and I was able to handle them just sitting on my shoulder."
A far cry from her pre-adolescent fantasies of movie stardom. She laughs. "Well, I never really thought about what it would be like. I just wanted to be a movie star."
Robb's chosen career has already led her around the globe. "The best places I've been to are England and New Zealand," she says. "I really love listening to those kinds of foreign accents, because the people always sound so much smarter." She wants to go to college because she's not "dead-set" on becoming an actress. But if she does, some advice for Dakota Fanning: watch your back.
