Toronto Film Festival: 'What Maisie Knew' 7-year-old Onata Aprile, and costar Alexander Skarsgard, on being 7, 'weird' fame
by Solvej Schou
When youre a 7-year-old actress in a movie with A-list actors and actresses, whats captures your attention most on a day off? A white balloon.
Onata Aprile, the big-eyed, incredibly cute, pixie-sized girl who stars as Maisie in What Maisie Knew, a sad, nuanced story about parental disregard directed by Bee Season filmmakers Scott McGehee and David Siegel that just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, had the time of her life chasing one around while doing press in Toronto for the film. She skipped around in little black boots and an A-line Perskickety long-sleeved dress, rubbed the balloon on the heads of journalists (including this EW one), as well as her costar Alexander Skarsgard, and shrieked with laughter like a mini hyena.
I liked hanging on his arm! yelled Aprile about filming with Skarsgard, who plays her goofy, caring bartender stepdad, the new husband of Maisies selfish, rocker mom, played by Julianne Moore. Hes a human jungle gym!
Based on the Henry James novel, What Maisie Knew also stars Steve Coogan as Maisies funny British dad, equally as negligent as her mom. Aprile, who spent seven weeks filming the role, plays Maisie with deeply quiet, heart-wrenching concern, opposite of the grinning kid in real life running around who loves Junie B. Jones books, is starting second grade, and says Moores character was really yell-y!
I want to be in movies, but I dont know what theyre going to be, said Aprile, in her little voice, throwing her balloon into the air, her mom standing close by. She helps me learn my lines. She says them her way, and then I say them mine!
Lanky, slim Swedish True Blood heartthrob Skarsgard, in town at Toronto taking a quick break spending the past two months in a fallout shelter filming the intense Warner Bros. movie Hidden, and being emaciated, losing 16 pounds for it, he said, laughed easily with Aprile, who jumped and sang around him.
I adore Onata. Even though Im physically exhausted, Im just so thrilled to be here, said Skarsgard. The whole thought of maybe not being here with her broke my heart. I hadnt seen the movie before the premiere, and neither did she. To see it with her was amazing. I love her, love working with her.
Skarsgard remembered starring in his own first role, when he was 7, Apriles age, and what its like being a child actor. He worked from age 7 to 13, and then took a break. Fame, Skarsgard said, is fking weird, and especially when youre 13, and you have no idea whats going on, and who you are. Theres nothing natural about being a celebrity. When I was that age, it made me paranoid. I didnt like it at all. As for Aprile, just starting out her career, Skarsgard said, she was a talented natural. Not to mention loving balloons.
Shes so sensitive, and real. I work for months, and I think about my character, I analyze everything. Then you show up on set, and shes a million times better than I am. Im like, Come on!! This is not fair! said Skarsgard, smiling. You work so hard, trying to sound and be natural, and she shows up and its not at all false. Its all spot-on and real. She wasnt aware of the camera. She couldnt care less. When I got over the fact that this [then] 6-year-old girl was so much better than me, it was so great, because thats what acting is, when you get so much from someone.
Skarsgard grew up with five younger siblings, and his actor dad Stellan has a 10-day-old baby, the second child with his second wife, Skarsgard said. He lived with about 35 cousins in his south Stockholm neighborhood growing up, plus a grandmother, uncles, aunts.
He knows how to get along with kids.
A normal Tuesday night dinner would be 15 people. It was social, very loud. Thats how I grew up, what Im comfortable with, said Skarsgard. Im on my own now, a home, and its weird being alone.
As for being a stepdad in What Maise Knew, Skarsgard said it was truly a welcome challenge, along with breaking out of his sweaty, lusty vampire mode on True Blood.
Theres got to be something interesting, a discovery, in roles. If theres no exploration, then whats the point? asked Skarsgard. Especially on a show like True Blood, theres so much attention. Its easy for you to become that character. Many scripts sent my way are similar. Thats why I dont play a different version of Eric Northman every year. I do that seven months out of the year. When I have a hiatus, I want to do films like this, that are different, where I learn something.
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/09/...rtainment+Weekly/EW.com's:+The+Movie+Critics)
from Santress tumblr: this is why we love him, he is the best to his fans.
by Solvej Schou
When youre a 7-year-old actress in a movie with A-list actors and actresses, whats captures your attention most on a day off? A white balloon.
Onata Aprile, the big-eyed, incredibly cute, pixie-sized girl who stars as Maisie in What Maisie Knew, a sad, nuanced story about parental disregard directed by Bee Season filmmakers Scott McGehee and David Siegel that just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, had the time of her life chasing one around while doing press in Toronto for the film. She skipped around in little black boots and an A-line Perskickety long-sleeved dress, rubbed the balloon on the heads of journalists (including this EW one), as well as her costar Alexander Skarsgard, and shrieked with laughter like a mini hyena.
I liked hanging on his arm! yelled Aprile about filming with Skarsgard, who plays her goofy, caring bartender stepdad, the new husband of Maisies selfish, rocker mom, played by Julianne Moore. Hes a human jungle gym!
Based on the Henry James novel, What Maisie Knew also stars Steve Coogan as Maisies funny British dad, equally as negligent as her mom. Aprile, who spent seven weeks filming the role, plays Maisie with deeply quiet, heart-wrenching concern, opposite of the grinning kid in real life running around who loves Junie B. Jones books, is starting second grade, and says Moores character was really yell-y!
I want to be in movies, but I dont know what theyre going to be, said Aprile, in her little voice, throwing her balloon into the air, her mom standing close by. She helps me learn my lines. She says them her way, and then I say them mine!
Lanky, slim Swedish True Blood heartthrob Skarsgard, in town at Toronto taking a quick break spending the past two months in a fallout shelter filming the intense Warner Bros. movie Hidden, and being emaciated, losing 16 pounds for it, he said, laughed easily with Aprile, who jumped and sang around him.
I adore Onata. Even though Im physically exhausted, Im just so thrilled to be here, said Skarsgard. The whole thought of maybe not being here with her broke my heart. I hadnt seen the movie before the premiere, and neither did she. To see it with her was amazing. I love her, love working with her.
Skarsgard remembered starring in his own first role, when he was 7, Apriles age, and what its like being a child actor. He worked from age 7 to 13, and then took a break. Fame, Skarsgard said, is fking weird, and especially when youre 13, and you have no idea whats going on, and who you are. Theres nothing natural about being a celebrity. When I was that age, it made me paranoid. I didnt like it at all. As for Aprile, just starting out her career, Skarsgard said, she was a talented natural. Not to mention loving balloons.
Shes so sensitive, and real. I work for months, and I think about my character, I analyze everything. Then you show up on set, and shes a million times better than I am. Im like, Come on!! This is not fair! said Skarsgard, smiling. You work so hard, trying to sound and be natural, and she shows up and its not at all false. Its all spot-on and real. She wasnt aware of the camera. She couldnt care less. When I got over the fact that this [then] 6-year-old girl was so much better than me, it was so great, because thats what acting is, when you get so much from someone.
Skarsgard grew up with five younger siblings, and his actor dad Stellan has a 10-day-old baby, the second child with his second wife, Skarsgard said. He lived with about 35 cousins in his south Stockholm neighborhood growing up, plus a grandmother, uncles, aunts.
He knows how to get along with kids.
A normal Tuesday night dinner would be 15 people. It was social, very loud. Thats how I grew up, what Im comfortable with, said Skarsgard. Im on my own now, a home, and its weird being alone.
As for being a stepdad in What Maise Knew, Skarsgard said it was truly a welcome challenge, along with breaking out of his sweaty, lusty vampire mode on True Blood.
Theres got to be something interesting, a discovery, in roles. If theres no exploration, then whats the point? asked Skarsgard. Especially on a show like True Blood, theres so much attention. Its easy for you to become that character. Many scripts sent my way are similar. Thats why I dont play a different version of Eric Northman every year. I do that seven months out of the year. When I have a hiatus, I want to do films like this, that are different, where I learn something.
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/09/...rtainment+Weekly/EW.com's:+The+Movie+Critics)
from Santress tumblr: this is why we love him, he is the best to his fans.
Oh we definitely share the same dob - RL Sgt Colbert 
had to stop myself going there 
:giggles:
. Good catch, Santress 
No still not going there - one obsession is more than enough 
- I'll have to submit this now and try and suss it out later cos every time I preview the post I have to go through Santress' huge photos of Skars, so between the two of you, I'm either falling off my chair or giggling like a total loon