Q&A

GN: You began your career at just eight years old with national commercials before quickly moving into film and television, how did those early experiences shape your confidence and passion for acting?  

MH: From very early on, I always knew that I liked telling stories and would create my own scripts and act them out with nothing but me, my dog, and an iPad. Getting on camera on national commercials and tv shows when I was young made me realize that I was doing exactly what I was meant to be doing. Then the challenge was doing it on a bigger platform with more impactful stories to tell!

GN: Your role in No Exit earned you praise from critics as well as your castmates; what was most challenging about spending months on location in New Zealand for such an intense suspense thriller? 

MH: That was really my first feature film and I was so lucky to get to do it in such an amazing location with such an amazing cast! The biggest challenges were coming in and out of the emotional roller coaster each day that playing a desperate kidnapped little girl requires and then trying to balance that with school and just being a normal kid. Thankfully, I had the best director and cast supporting me along with my parents there every day and night so by the end it felt so natural. The other thing was being away from school and friends for four months and being the only kid in the film was tough but I made up for it by creating solid bonds with my Castmates!

GN: In ‘A Friend of the Family’, you played Karen Broberg in a powerful, real-life story. How did you prepare for a role rooted in such sensitive and emotional subject matter? 

MH: This was a very interesting story to me and the best prep I could do was to break it down and approach it with what Karen would actually know about the situation at the time. My parents were there to support me about the context of the whole story and that helped with the portrayal of Karen because truthfully it isn’t likely she would know all the details of what was happening with Jan either. In the real story, the parents would likely have left many details out and so Karen was likely asking herself, “What is going on here?”, ”Why is this an issue?”, “Why is Jan acting strangely?”, “I just want my family and sister to be normal and ok.” ; Having played a kidnapped girl before, I know what it feels like so I just tried to portray Karen in a way that felt natural but also somewhat intuitive.  

GN: Taking on the title role in Mary opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins is a remarkable

‘Milestone’ what did embodying such an iconic character teach you as a performer and as a young woman? 

MH: Wow, this one was really special to me! Mary is THE most iconic female in history, literally, and her story has shaped so much of our everyday lives, no matter if you believe or not, so getting the chance to bring that to life was a dream. For me, I really hope to use my life to do good and make positive impacts on the world and it's not every day that you get a chance to portray someone who has done that so I took the calling very seriously. I tried to pay respect to the older Mary, which is the story everyone knows, by just playing the young Mary as any young girl growing up during that time and place, but also knowing that there is something very different about you at the same time. I think Mary always felt a higher calling in her life, even as a young girl and she always knew something was slightly different about herself so I made sure that young Mary felt that in her scenes and balanced it with the reality of what a young girl would be feeling leaving home and going to study at the temple. And of course, getting to watch the great Sir Anthony Hopkins work is truly inspiring! 

GN: Coyotes places you in a gripping survival thriller, demanding both vulnerability and resilience. How did you balance those two sides of your character while filming? 

MH: To me the two sides are not so different. I think being vulnerable is truly the only way to be resilient, it’s through that vulnerability that we learn and grow and that’s what life is all about and the only way to survive it is by going through it and being open to it. That’s kind of what I felt for Chloe in Coyotes, is that the only way past the things in her life whether it be as simple as lame game nights with the parents all the way to attack of killer coyotes, was to just go through it. Chloe is very much a survivor in everyday life and processes things similarly to her dad, which is artistically through photographs and drawings. That's her outlet so being literally thrown into the situation that unfolds with her family triggers something inside her that has always been there, which is survival mode. And we see her processing it and trying to understand why it is happening and that vulnerability is ultimately what makes her resilient.  

GN: You’ve worked across genres from biblical epics to sci-fi thrillers and suspense dramas. What excites you most about exploring such diverse roles at this stage in your career? 

MH: The diversity of roles is what I live for! I can get bored easily and really like the excitement and challenge so I love being able to step in and out of different types of characters. It helps me improve my skills across all genres, to look at things from multiple perspectives and to use my empathy as sort of a superpower.

GN: Looking ahead to World Breaker and beyond, what kinds of stories or characters do you hope to bring to life as your career continues to grow? 

MH: I think for me it’s about building on others viewpoints and helping people understand one another more from a different angle. To me, if I can help people understand one another better and relate to one another better, that feels like success! Those are the types of characters I love to play, and I would also love to play both a superhero and a supervillain! 

GN: What does the term Goodnight mean to you? 

MH: To me Goodnight means journey off into the land of dreams and endless possibilities and awaken to a brand-new perspective each new morning!

Images courtesy of photographer: Cathryn Farnsworth