Announcing The New Epic Disney Hero – Ruby Barnhill

One of my favorite parts of press trips is interviewing the actors. I can honestly say that meeting Ruby Barnhill, who plays Sophie in The BFG, was a real treat. As someone around the same age as my kids, I felt an immediate protective instinct toward her—LOL—but it quickly became apparent that she was wise beyond her years. Throughout the press interviews on this trip, everyone who worked with Ruby had nothing but glowing things to say about her. She has a way of lighting up every room she enters, and it is easy to see why she’s made such a lasting impression on everyone around her.

One of the first questions we asked Ruby was how she found out she had landed the role, and I loved her response:

When I heard that I got part, I was so, so happy.  I literally thought, well, from the look on my mom and dad’s faces,  I thought it was going to be news. They were literally like jumping up and down, they were so excited. They said, “Ruby, Ruby, here’s the phone for you. Here’s the phone for you. ”  I was like “okay”, because I thought they were  pretending, like they were trying to trick me or something. I didn’t know what was going on.  Then Nina Gold said to me, “Ruby, how old are you?”  I’m like I’m ten.  She then said, “oh, well, that’s a shame. ”  I asked “why is it a shame?”, and she said “because you’re not gonna be able to drink champagne when everyone’s celebrating, because you got the part!”  I was so happy and my Nana bought me 100 balloons!

It was so great.  I was so excited, because I always wanted to be an actress since I was like three or four.  My dad’s an actor, I’d watched plays of his.  It was really, really amazing for me to experience that. 

It was amazing to hear her tell us that story.  You could still hear the excitement in her voice!  We also asked her what it was like working with Steven:

It’s so amazing.  I’ve learned so much not only about acting and directing, but also about life in general.  One of the things that I’ll remember is that I struggle with making mistakes.  My art teacher told me that whenever you make a mistake you panic.  You mustn’t feel like that, because everybody makes mistakes and it’s fine.  

Steven really helped me realize that it’s okay to make mistakes and that nobody minds it at all.  Even if you have to do like 100 takes nobody would mind.  That was one thing I learned, and it was amazing.  I had a great time, so it was great.

We then asked Ruby about how she felt about becoming a new kind of Disney hero.  Her first response was:

Wow.  I never thought of it that way.

Then she went on to say:

It’s so exciting, because a lot of Disney films now have very strong female leads and it’s really great to be a part of that.  It’s really cool, because I’ve watched like Disney my whole life.

I was in the cinema, and we saw the BFG trailer and all the kids — (nobody knew it was me obviously), but all of the kids behind us were like, oh, that looks so good. We’re gonna go see that.  It’s really nice to know that people are gonna enjoy it, and appreciate it.  

Lastly, we asked her about her favorite part about being in the movie:

I think my favorite part of just making the film was being able to come on set every day and see everyone.  It was really nice, because I got to act every single day which I had wanted to do my whole life.  That was really, really great.  I also got to be with Steven and Mark (Rylance) every day.  It was always so exciting.  It’s just there’s such a magical feeling on set.  

It’s great to be part of a film that has such a warming and meaningful story.

Overall, my interview with Ruby Barnhill was nothing short of delightful. Her talent, maturity, and warm personality shine on and off the screen. She has a bright future ahead of her, and I feel fortunate to have had the chance to meet and speak with her. If her role in The BFG is any indication, we can expect many more incredible performances from this rising star. In short, keep an eye on Ruby—she’s one to watch!