‘Twilight’ baby grows up for ‘Nutcracker’
Mackenzie Foy takes center stage in Disney’s version of holiday classic
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Vampire babies grow up, just like the rest of us. ❚ This weekend, Mackenzie Foy takes center stage in “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” (in theaters Friday) as Clara, a child whose curiosity drives her into a Disney-sized expansion of the classic holiday tale. ❚ It’s a supersized spotlight for Foy, who first experienced fame in “Twilight” as Renesmee, the half-human, half-vampire hybrid child of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) in the two “Breaking Dawn” movies.
Back then, Foy was the kid who installed a swear jar on the franchise’s set. Now, she’s on the cusp of turning 18 and the face of a massive Disney film. “I was 9 and 10 (while making “Twilight”). It feels like so long ago. I was so little, and now I’m almost out of high school,” Foy says.
Director Lasse Hallström says his “Nutcracker” holds “imaginative additions” to the classic ballet most audiences know. “We have fun with it,” he says, adding characters, realms and even famed ballerina Misty Copeland, who handles the dancing portion of the new “Nutcracker.”
In the Victorian tale, Clara joins forces with the Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightley) to chase down a mysterious key deep into the four realms of “The Nutcracker,” where Clara confronts the nefarious Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren, whom Foy calls “Miss Helen”).
Foy had seen the “Nutcracker” bal-
let a handful of times as a child, but she’s more of a martial arts fan (she has a black belt in Taekwondo). “I did ballet way back in the day when I was really, really young,” she says. “I don’t even think I was very good at it. I think I kind of just, like, flopped around.
“But I liked the tutu.” Hallström, who put Leonardo DiCaprio on the map in 1993’s “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” says Foy has an astounding emotional depth.
“I remember trying to understand, in between takes, I was just curious to know (how) she had this magical ability to show emotion and not overact or underact, but be so truthful in every moment. I had the pleasure of being early with seeing Leonardo DiCaprio work in ‘Gilbert Grape’ – and to see him in action was kind of similar to watching her in action. ... She’s going to be a big star.”
For now, outside of movie premieres and the occasional Chanel fashion show, Foy’s life is rather normal.
The home-schooled teen is active on Instagram, went to the prom and is part of a book club with friends (Somaiya Daud’s “Mirage” is the latest youngadult title on her list). Social media has been, miraculously, a positive experi- ence so far.
“I’m really lucky in the way people are very kind in the comments section,” she says. In her own life, “I know that I’m being as kind and as good as I can possibly be, and that’s what it is. There’s more strength in kindness than there is in hate, and that’s something people need to remember.”
On the set, Knightley says her instinct was not to offer the younger Foy any advice. “I didn’t think she needed any from me. Mackenzie is an incredibly intelligent and thoughtful young woman with her head very much screwed on,” Knightley says by email. “She was always working twice as hard as everyone else as she was keeping up with schoolwork and playing a huge lead in a film. Her work ethic is phenomenal.”
Foy still gets recognized from her “Twilight” days and says it even happened at Chipotle recently. “Sometimes I’ll get: ‘You look like the girl who was in Twilight. Is that you’?” (Thankfully, people have retired the Team Jacob or Team Edward questions.) “I’m just Kenzie,” she shrugs. “I’m normal.”
And when the holidays roll around at the Foy house?
“On Christmas Eve, we bake tons and tons of cookies. I cannot cook at all,” she laughs. “I tried to make the physical cookies, and I burned like two trays. I felt so bad! So my mom and my brother bake the cookies, and I decorate them.”