LOS ANGELES 鈥� Storm Reid tried to play it cool when Ava DuVernay told her she had the lead role in Disney鈥檚 A Wrinkle in Time, but it wasn鈥檛 long before the tears started flowing.
鈥淚 flipped out,鈥� says Reid, now 14 and in the ninth grade.
The Atlanta-native started acting at age three after she told her mother that she wanted to be a 鈥渟tuperstar.鈥�
She has had bit roles in television (NCIS: Los Angeles, Chicago P.D.) and film (12 Years a Slave, Sleight), but nothing even close to something such as A Wrinkle in Time. As the heroine, Meg Murry, she is in nearly every frame, navigating mean girls at school, the loss of her father and even interdimensional travel.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such an important story to be told,鈥� says Reid, who had done a book report on the Madeleine L鈥橢ngle novel in the sixth grade. 鈥淪he goes on this beautiful journey and finds herself and becomes more accepting and learns that she is worthy of being loved.鈥�
DuVernay saw Reid early on in the casting process and said every girl after had to measure up to her. Eventually, she trusted her initial impulse and went back to Reid.
鈥淭his whole thing doesn鈥檛 work if you don鈥檛 have a great Meg. She goes from completely depressed to defiant to exuberant to joyful to determined to fighting evil. It鈥檚 every emotion,鈥� DuVernay said. 鈥淪he has the whole thing on her shoulders. She鈥檚 incredible.鈥�
The experience of filming A Wrinkle in Time was incredible, Reid said, not only because it meant acting alongside the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Chris Pine, but because of DuVernay鈥檚 set.
鈥淥ur set was so inclusive with women and men and different races and sexualities. It was kind of like the United Nations,鈥� Reid said.
鈥淪he has a beautiful vision and a beautiful mind.鈥�
Reid looks up to actors such as Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman and loves movies such as Hidden Figures that tell stories that aren鈥檛 so widely known.
She appreciated that all of her A-list co-stars were humble and down-to-Earth, and said that she is still just a normal teenager with a normal life outside acting.
She said people keep telling her how much she鈥檚 going to change with her new raised profile. But Winfrey disagrees.
鈥淢iss Oprah told me those people are not right,鈥� Reid said. 鈥淪he told me: 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to stay the same, but the people around you are going to change.鈥� I feel like I鈥檒l be recognized more
once the movie comes out, but I鈥檓 still the same girl.鈥�
