Digital Cover: Georgia MacPhail
Talent: Georgia MacPhail
Photographer: Jonny Marlow
Stylist: Amanda Lim
Makeup: Loren Canby
Hair: Ryan Richman
Producer: Chrissy Wang
Words: + EIC: Anthony Vu Cao
Special Thanks: imPRint PR
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am 13 years old, and I was born in New York. I moved to California when I was two though, so it definitely feels like my home. I am the second oldest of five siblings. We have three dogs, two cats, seven chickens and a bunny. I love all sports, especially basketball, and I love to sing and perform with my sisters when I’m not acting.
You started performing at young age. Who or what inspired you to pursue this?
Watching Broadway shows from a very young age inspired me to start performing. I saw Matilda on Broadway when I was very little and that was it. I knew I wanted to be on stage. I started local musical theater at age three and never stopped. When Covid shut down my theater group for the year, I turned to an on-camera acting class on zoom. Agents and managers reached out at the end of that class during a showcase and that’s how this started. I love TV and films, but it is still a dream of mine to be on Broadway one day.
You’ll be starring in “Horizon: An American Saga,” opposite Sienna Miller and Kevin Costner, who also directed, produced, and co-wrote the film. Can you tell us more about the film and your role?
This film is a beautiful and tragic story told from many different points of view about what happened in the 1860s when people started migrating across the country and settling the American West. I play Sienna’s daughter, Elizabeth Kittredge. She’s a 12-year-old pioneer girl who experiences a great deal of tragedy and is forced to grow up very fast in order to survive and be strong for her mom.
How do you most closely relate, if at all, to your character?
Although it’s hard to imagine myself in Elizabeth’s shoes, since life was so different and difficult back then, I definitely relate to many of her character traits. She’s very loyal and she’s mature for her age. She’s also an optimist and she finds the good in everyone. She is protective of her family, and very close to her mom, so those are all things I see in myself.
What was it like to work with Kevin Costner and Sienna Miller?
It was every bit as amazing as you’d think to work with these legends. I learned so much from them and I respect them both more than anything. Sienna and I shared pretty much every scene, so she became such a huge role model to me, both professionally and personally. She is such a kind, warm, funny person, and I really loved getting to know her. Kevin as a director really blew me away, as he is so hands-on and involved in every little aspect of filming. He would hold these very detailed, specific rehearsals where we would collaborate on our ideas for the scene, so that once it was time to shoot, we’d usually be done in just a few takes. He was so efficient and brilliant at making his vision a reality.
Can you share any fun memories from set and filming in Utah?
We mainly filmed in Moab, Utah, which is one of the most beautiful places on earth. However, during the summer, one of the main tourist attractions is Whitewater rafting down the Colorado river, so we would be halfway through filming this intense emotional scene with this stunning 1860s set created for us, as authentic as can be, and all of a sudden, these huge neon orange rafts would drift by in the background! Kevin would call cut and we’d wait out the tour group as they chanted “Kevin, Kevin, Kevin!”
“This industry is unpredictable, and when you’re just starting out or you’re in between jobs, read as many books as you can, travel, volunteer, make new friends, learn an instrument, master a new hobby.”
You also starred in the sci-fi film “Roswell Delirium” where you won Best Young Actress at the Rome International Movie Awards. Tell us about your experience filming this.
That was such an honor and such a surprise. That was actually my first ever feature film role, and I had the most amazing time filming with the brilliant cast and director. It was set in the 1980s and I play a mean girl who is a bit of a bully. It was a really fun role, and I filmed it just before Horizon, so it was also fun for me to play two very different characters in two very different time periods in the same year.
If you were not pursuing acting, what would you want to do and why?
I’d be a writer. I still think I will be one day, as that’s a real passion of mine. I have been writing stories, screenplays and songs for many years, I just haven’t shared them with a wider audience yet, but one day I hope to!
Do you have any advice you’d like to share with young aspiring actors and entertainers?
The best advice I’ve been given that I like to pass along is to just be a student of life. This industry is unpredictable, and when you’re just starting out or you’re in between jobs, read as many books as you can, travel, volunteer, make new friends, learn an instrument, master a new hobby. Having a really full life outside of acting will make you a happier, more interesting person and it will make you an actor who has more experiences to draw on.
What can we look forward to next from you?
I’m super excited about this year. Horizon Part One is out in June, followed by Horizon Part Two in August. After that, I have a few fun projects that are in the works. They are unlike anything I’ve done before, so I’m very excited. That’s all I can really say for now! GR8T
