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Mckenna Grace has been a working actor for 13 years.
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She’s as likely to get You’ve grown up before our eyes!
or Stop growing up so fast as much as How do I know you?
or You’ve been in everything!
Octavia Spencer, Mckenna Grace, and Chris Evans inGifted, from 2017
“I’m like, What do you mean?
and What do you want me to do [about it]?
You’re like, Wait, where did this come from out of nowhere one day?
Grace and Brie Larson at the premiere of Marvel Studios’Captain Marvelin Hollywood on March 4, 2019
So it’s such an interesting time in my life to be an actress.
I’m just happy to be here, but it’s crazy.
Still, Grace gets it, and admits she’s been guilty of thinking that way with other actors.
Allison Janney, Margot Robbie, and Grace at the Hollywood Film Awards, where they were honored for their filmI, Tonya,in November 2017
It’s so strange.
Most young actors aren’t Mckenna Grace, though.
Somebody’s going to discover how I got in, and they’re going to kick me out.
Mckenna Grace
If anything, any show or movie would be lucky if she wound up on their set.
When she says she’s just happy to be in the room, she means it.
There’s no ego, no entitlementjust gratefulness.
Grace on the set of ABC’sDesignated Survivorin season one
What’s ironic is that for this particular featureforGlamour’sNew HerefranchiseGrace is young but certainly not new.
She’s a veteran with the excitement of someone just stepping onto set for the first time.
It’s an interesting dynamic, and Grace knows it.
Jim Gaffigan, Viola Davis, and Grace at the premiere of their filmTroop Zeroat the 2019 Sundance Film Festival
So what is Grace’s life really like these days?
Could she imagine doing something else?
Does she want to act for decades to come?
Eddie Murphy and Grace at the premiere of their filmMr. Churchin September 2016
What achievement is she most proud of?
For the latest edition of (Not Exactly) New Here, get to know Mckenna Grace.
After all, she’s not going anywhere.
Grace and Madeline Brewer inThe Handmaid’s Tale. Grace was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a drama series for the role.
Glamour: Hi, Mckenna!
Mckenna Grace:You’re never going to believe where I just got back from.
I just did theGlamourfriendship test with Finn [Wolfhard] where we give each other compliments.
Grace with her parents, Crystal and Ross, at theGhostbusters: Afterlifepremiere in November 2021
And what did he say about you?
Also, I consider myself sensitive, but somehow its gotten a bad connotation.
How do you feel about that word?
The aforementioned proton pack
What can I do about it?
I’m a very sensitive person, sensitive soul, and it’s for better and for worse.
There’s many different ways that word can be used, but it’s not always a bad thing.
Grace and Finn Wolfhard inGhostbusters: Frozen Empire
How does that factor into what you do for a living?
What do you do to protect yourself from how opinionated the public can be?
It can be bad.
Grace as Paige and Iain Armitage as Sheldon in an early episode ofYoung Sheldon
Somebody always has something to say.
I don’t keep my Instagram on my phone.
It’s just so much.
Raegan Revord as Missy and Grace as Paige in a season six episode ofYoung Sheldon
No, actually for every mean person, there’s a bajillion nice ones.
I’m going to look at it glass half full.
So yeah, I just venture to stay out of it.
Grace and Jake Lacy inA Friend of the Familyon Peacock
I think that anyone can have a perception of a person.
People don’t know you online, so it’s easy to not take to heart what people say.
Was there ever a time when you could have seen yourself doing anything else but being an actor?
It’s all I’ve wanted to do.
But I think about that all the time, like, what would I even do?
I don’t even know.
What were you like as a kid before you started acting?
I just funneled that into all sorts of weird little obsessions and hyper-fixations.
I had to do gymnastics, cheerleading, all the things.
Then I was like, I’m going to be an actor.
That’s my adventure this time.
That’s my grand pursuit.
Then somehow it stuck and became my life, my favorite thing in the world.
How do you like LA?
I’m just not claiming LA though.
I don’t know.
I don’t love LA.
I’d like to live in New York or Texas or something.
It’s just, I find that I don’t have too much of a social life in LA.
I just got back from visiting my grandparents in Texas.
We bought eight chickens while we were there.
We keep them at the farm now, so it’s great.
Youve been acting for so longdo you even get starstruck given that this life and career is your normal?
Because the list of people youve worked with is insane.
Who do you go around taking photos with?
Comic book characters or superheroes?
I have a little photo album on my phone called Starstruck with all the pictures that I’ve collected.
At this point, I’m just like, it’s too cool.
I get too excited.
So I’m always starstruck.
Churchin September 2016
That is so cute.
I honestly would not have guessed that.
I’m in no way, shape, or form jaded over any of this.
I am just so happy to be here 24/7.
Whos the most famous person in your phone contact list that you still can’t believe is in there?
Patton Oswalt, because he played Ratatouille, and I love him so much.
That’s my comfort film.
Did you even think about what it meant to be a successful actor when you were a kid?
Did it mean getting awards?
It’s my dream job.
It’s my goal in life to be a great actress and keep working.
Youve already been nominated for an Emmy forThe Handmaid’s Tale.
What was that experience like?
That was the craziest thing ever.
I can’t believe that happened.
Grace and Madeline Brewer inThe Handmaid’s Tale.
Grace was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a drama series for the role.
Im going to guess you never took an acting class and this all just came naturally to you.
Or am I wrong?
Let’s send you to LA.
It was more like, I begged to be an actor.
I must have been five.
It’s something that genuinely I’ve been pursuing.
What do you think is the most misunderstood part of what you do?
People only see the triumphs and the victory, but it’s a very discouraging line of work.
I am constantly digging my nails into auditions and roles and being like, I have to play this.
I’m not going to take no for an answer.
Well, with as many roles as you’ve had, Im sure people think this must come easy.
It’s often, and nobody really sees it, but it’s a very tough job.
And then somehow I ended up coming back in for the chemistry reads out of nowhere.
What did that teach you about this business?
I got brought back because Ivan [Reitman] really liked me.
But I went into the chemistry reads thinking that I wasn’t going to get the role.
I was like, I’m just so honored and excited and happy to be here.
I’m going to give this everything that I’ve got anyways.
I was like, This is a dream come true just to be in this room.
So I cried a little bit whenever I put on the proton pack, which is so embarrassing.
That’s so heartwarming!
At the chemistry read, I was like, Oh, no.
This is so bad.
The aforementioned proton pack
Do you have any superstitions when youre filming?
No, but Jason Reitman really changed the way I act.
He was like, I don’t want you rehearsing your lines before you come to set.
And I was like, Jason, all I do is rehearse my lines before I come to set.
What are you talking about?
I don’t want it to be rehearsed.
I don’t want you to read your lines when you come to set.
And I haven’t since.
That mustve been really scary at first, but also kind of freeing, I would imagine.
Yeah, for sure.
So, thank you, Jason Reitman, for changing my life and the way I act.
Ive got some rapid-fire questions now for you.
What is your choice of beverage and snack on set?
Diet Coke and trail mix.
Ooh, I would chow down on some trail mix right now.
The trick and the secret is just to get somebody else to do it for you.
My mom still blow-dries and helps me with my hair every day.
Whenever I have to go to work or do things, my mom helps me do my hair.
Whatd you think of your wig you wore in your firstGhostbustersmovie?
It was not a wig in the first movie.
I dyed my hair and chopped it up to [my chin].
Yeah, it was definitely crazy, but little 13-year-old me loved it.
Anything to be a Ghostbuster.
If you were to be given a superlative on set, what would yours be?
Most excited to be there.
And most likely to know everyone’s name.
I keep track of everything.
I read your next role is in Olivia WildesPerfect, which is the story of Olympian Kerri Strug.
That was back in 2021 that we were doing production on that.
I don’t know what is happening with that film.
We prepared for it for a while, but I don’t know what’s happening with it.
But I am currently doing a film this year that I’m also executive-producing.
And then [I’ll film]The Handmaid’s Talehopefully this year.
But right now it’s allGhostbusters.
How was thisGhostbustersfilm different for you compared to the last one in 2021?
That was really fun, hanging out with the cast.
And it was very fun having the original Ghostbusters on set a lot more than we did last time.
I feel like I changed so much as an actor on that project.
And of course,Ghostbusterstruly changed my life.
What project do people most reference when they meet you?
[But this is a] very real reality for a lot of young girls in real life.
I find that I get in and out of moods with music.
And so I have a playlist right now with songs to not be depressed to.
I just listen to happy music, like Kesha and 3OH!3.
Music is my way to bring myself into an emotion and out of it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
