Actress Sarah Hoffmeister recently acquired her first major film role. She can be seen starring alongside Katie Holmes in “The Secret: Dare to Dream.” The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name. Hoffmeister plays ‘Missy Wells,’ the moody teen-aged daughter of ‘Miranda Wells’ (Holmes). YEM spoke with the up and coming actress about filming the new movie!

Young Entertainment Mag: How excited were you when you found out you got the role of Missy on The Secret: Dare to Dream?

Sarah Hoffmeister: When I first got the call that I booked the role of Missy, I was ecstatic. I was so grateful and excited to work on such an incredible film with such a talented cast and crew. I was so happy that all of my hard work had finally paid off and that all of the time and effort I have put into my craft was being recognized.

YEM: What was your favorite scene to shoot and why?

Sarah: My favorite scene to shoot was the scene when the whole family is at dinner and Tucker proposes. This was my favorite scene to shoot because of all of the emotions that I had to put into it and how much it connected to my personal life. I really had to prepare for that scene because Missy has a lot of emotions going on when he proposes. She is obviously upset because her mom is remarrying. That stirs up a lot of emotions about my father and his death. However, she is also trying to mask her sadness to be happy for her mother.

By marrying Tucker, Missy knows that her mom and her family wouldn’t struggle as much and maybe Tucker really does make her happy. This scene was also very personal to me because my father in real life also got remarried. So I was able to draw from a lot of my personal emotions as well.

To top it all off, one of my best friends had come out to New Orleans to visit me on set the day we were shooting this scene. She not only got to watch me film but the director, Andy, asked her if she wanted to be in the background! So, it was my favorite scene to shoot because of not only the emotional depth. But also because one of my oldest childhood friends got to be on camera with me! (If you want to try to look for her she is sitting right behind Bessy in the background!)

YEM: Did you really get to make taffy on set or everything was that all movie magic?

Sarah: Yes, we got to make real taffy! I had been looking forward to shooting that scene the whole time because I really wanted to make taffy! Although, I never ate it because my hands had been touching the taffy for a good 3 hours of shooting. So I didn’t think it would be too sanitary.

YEM: Was there anything in your acting that you were able to learn from this film that you plan to bring to your next role?

Sarah: Being on set for a month and a half did teach me a lot about my acting. I had never played a character for that long before, that I was really able to dig deep into the character of Missy. I learned a lot about how to detach from myself to get into the character of Missy. And then how to detach from the character once we were done filming a scene.

YEM: How much of Sarah is in Missy?

Sarah: I think that a lot of my personality traits are definitely in Missy. I was able to connect to Missy because, like a lot of people, I used to struggle with comparison. I think a lot of young teens especially struggle with comparing themselves to others or struggle with what others think of them. And that was definitely something that I went through as well.

YEM: Was there anything that you got to witness from Katie Holmes’ acting that inspired you?

Sarah: Working with Katie all around was inspiring,. But there was one thing that she did that I really learned from. Before the scene where the big storm comes, Katie played sounds on her phone of thunder and rain to get all of us into the mood of the circumstances. It would have been very difficult for me to get to that place if it weren’t for her.

YEM: Did Katie give you any good tips on dos or don’ts?

Sarah: I remember one time Katie did sit me down in between scenes and she gave me some very helpful advice. She told me to never let anyone, in the industry or not, give me any substances. Being a young woman in the industry is challenging in some ways. So having her tell me that really gave me the confidence to stand up for myself.

YEM: I love the scene in the kitchen between mother and daughter when Katie’s character eats ice cream and you’re on your new computer. What was it like to film that scene?

Sarah: That was also one of my favorite scenes to film. It is at a point in the film where Missy has really regained confidence and self-worth. She has a new and more positive outlook on life because of Bray’s help. It is also one of the turning points in the film where she gets her mom to think about Bray in a different perspective. Filming that scene was not only heartwarming but also very uplifting.

Future Projects

YEM: What do you have coming up? Anything about yourself you’d like people to know that they might not know?

Sarah: I have had a lot of amazing auditions recently. And hopefully, I will be back to filming once the industry opens back up again. People may not know that I love to surf! I have grown up at the beach my whole life and it has always been a very big part of my life as well as acting.

YEM: What was your favorite film growing up, one that you had to watch over and over again?

Sarah: When I was little I was obsessed with the Barbie movies. I watched Barbie: Mermadia and Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus until they broke.