Priah Ferguson, breakout star ng ‘Stranger Things’
ISA sa mga breakout stars ng Stranger Things ay ang aktres na mas gustong gumawa ng action roles at mukhang nais din nitong magtrabaho sa likod ng camera.
Sa season 3 ng sci-fi back-to-the-’80s Netflix show, nabigyan ng jolt of sassy electricity role si Priah Ferguson, 12-year-old Atlanta middle schooler. Gumaganap siya bilang si Erica, ang My Little Pony-obsessed, He-Man stealing walkie-talkie intercepting little sister ni Lucas, na ginagampanan naman ni Caleb McLaughlin.
“She’s a very confident person and I’m confident,” sabi ni Priah. “She’s a leader. I’m a leader. So we have a lot of similarities.”
Nagkaroon ng quick-or-you’ll-miss it moments sa season 2 ng Stranger Things ang aktres, na dati nang gumaganap sa minor roles sa Atlanta at Mercy Street. Ngunit napasabak din siya sa action sequence at nagkaroon ng catchphrases tulad ng “You can’t spell America without Erica” at “Just the facts.”
“I got to do like a little stunt. So I was like, ‘Wow this is something I’ve always wanted to do’,” lahad ni Erica. “That was cool.”
“She’s an anti-nerd nerd,” aniya. “A lot of people have a little nerdiness in them. I have a little nerdiness in me.”
Ayon sa kanyang ina na si Adjua Ferguson, nakitaan na nilang mag-asawa ng artistic potential ang kanilang anak noong dalawang taong gulang pa lamang ito.
“She was an expressive baby— she always had the most unique expressions and reactions. She always had an old soul. She would just respond to things beyond her years, very conversational,” sabi ni Adjua. “From there, people kept saying she had something special.”
Nais ipagpatuloy ni Priah ang pag-arte at pangarap niyang makapag-direk din one day, ngunit nais niya pa ring i-enjoy ang pagkabata. Hindi siya nagpaplanong bumalik sa school’s drama club ngayong fall.
“I want to separate my acting from school. It just got to be a little too much,” ani Priah. “It’s just too much drama.”
Hinihikayat niya ang mga kabataan na isantabi ang gadgets at yakapin ang unstructured play bilang bahagi ng “BE Time” initiative.
“I love having free time to stay off my phone, even though I love my phone,” she said. “At times it can just be draining. You just need a time to really see the real world.”