At 9, Quvenzhane Wallis became the youngest girl ever nominated for a Best Actress Oscar after she burst onto the big screen in 2012's Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Now 11, she follows up that accomplishment by playing the titular moppet in a contemporary version of the musical Annie, a performance that last week earned her a Golden Globe Award nod.
"The thing that Annie means to me is that it is good to always be strong and if you have a goal, go for it, and, if there is something in your way, just go around and find your path again and go for your goal," the child star told UPI at a recent roundtable interview with reporters in Manhattan. "I want [moviegoers] to walk away with a great feeling and an upbeat feeling and [hope] that they are still singing 'Tomorrow' and 'Maybe' and all the other songs that are in the film."
Asked what it was like to act opposite Hollywood heavyweights such as Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale in New York City, Wallis said: "It was very fun. Being a South girl, Louisiana, it was cold sometimes, and I wished I was still in Louisiana, but, hey... So, it was just really fun working in New York with everyone there. ... People would come down the street and go, 'We love you, Jamie Foxx!'"
Annie is in theaters now.
Source: MENA