Hello YEM readers. We have an exclusive interview with another talented actress. This time it’s Alina Brace. Alina co-stars in The Fabelmans which is slated for a November 27 release in theaters. In the drama, Alina plays the younger version of Natalie Fabelman. The film features many other famous and familiar faces besides Alina, including Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, and Seth Rogan. The film was also directed and co-written by the legendary screen director Steven Spielberg on whom the storyline was loosely based on.
YEM recently caught up with Alina to discuss The Fabelmans and other intriguing topics about her acting career. But first, read ahead to learn more about The Fabelmans, the stellar cast and crew, and Alina Brace’s impressive resume.
The following is a movie excerpt from YEM’s previous article with The Fabelmans actress Keeley Karsten.
The Fabelmans is set in the mid-20th century during post-World War II. The drama tells the story of an average Jewish family residing in different parts of the country. The clash between one’s artistic desire and filial responsibility, secrecy, and deceit, in addition to the hidden depths of creative expression and contentment, is at the heart of Steven Spielberg’s gripping film centered around this complex family.
Michelle William’s plays a retired concert pianist named Mitzi who has taken a reluctant setback from the spotlight to raise her family. She works part-time, teaching students how to play the piano. Mitzi’s husband, Burt, is played by Paul Dano. Burt is a genius who is gainfully employed in the IT industry. In his spare time, Burt delights in capturing his family on film. The family’s lives are upended on one fateful night when the pair takes their son Sammy, played by Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord, to see “The Greatest Show On Earth”.
Sammy comes away from the film enthralled, particularly with the film’s depictions of trains. To recreate the train sequences, he observed on the big screen, Mitzi encourages Sammy to take up his father’s filmmaking hobby, much to the chagrin of Burt, who feels their son’s time and talents are better spent elsewhere. To the family’s amazement, Sammy takes to filmmaking like a duck to water and captures beautiful moments on film. Later in the movie, the family moves to California to foster Sammy’s talent.
At first glance, The Fabelmans relays the tale of a child who is already skilled in his craft and improves upon it. However, it is much deeper than that. The film also touches on the challenges of marriage, child-rearing, and growing up’s trials and tribulations. It’s also about the wonders of artistic temperament and talent, a concept explored by the main characters Sammy, Mitzi, Burt, and other supporting characters in the film.
As mentioned, Alina Brace plays the role of young Natalie Fabelman in the film. Natalie is Sammy’s third youngest sister.
In real life, Alina is a six-year-old actress born and raised in the United States. In addition to her role in The Fabelmans, Alina has acted in many other critically acclaimed projects, such as the 2020 film Sweet Magnolias starring Joanna Garcia Swisher and Carson Rowland.
In her interview with YEM, Alina discussed many topics about The Fabelmans, including insight into her character, acting career, and more.
YEM started the interview by asking Alina what it was like to play the role of young Natalie in The Fabelmans? Alina relayed that it was her first major movie project, and when she got on set, she didn’t know what to expect. But her nervousness dissipated because everyone was friendly and instantly put her at ease. Find out the rest of her answer to our inquiry in the interview.
Next, we asked Alina whether she had anything in common with her character. Alina mentioned that they both have younger siblings, and that their families had to relocate from one part of the country to the other. Watch the video to find out the other similarity Alina shares with young Natalie.
As The Fabelmans is a project close to Steven Spielberg’s heart, the film is one of his most highly anticipated dramas yet. YEM asked Alina what she was most excited about audiences discovering about the film. Alina stated that she was looking forward to viewers seeing the entire movie and much more in her answer.
YEM asked Alina what it was like to film with such a talented cast on set. She answered that she had a wonderful time and that Seth Rogan always made people laugh.
Be sure to watch the interview to find out more about Alina’s experience working on The Fabelmans.
