Jackie Emerson on Cover of Girls Life Magazine
Unlike her silent character, this game-loving (Scrabble tops her list, L.A.-based actress and singer has put her voice out there for the would to hear. Acting since she was 6, Jackie has not only lent her talents to radio, TV and stage productions, but she has music vids to her credit, too (check her out on YouTube). But it's this slick chick's resourcefulness that helped her win the coveted slot of The Hunger Games' sharp competitor-her first major movie.
''I got cast because I was a fan,'' Jackie says, going on about her addiction to the trilogy she's read a ''billion'' times. Initally hooked thanks to her school's required Summer reading, Jackie landed a coveted audition when the Hunger Games director sought out kids who had read the books. She wowed the casting team with her smarts and skill and eventually scored the plum role of Foxface.
A newbie to the A-list Hollywood scene, Jackie's first day on set was nerve-racking. ''I was terrified. I was so nervous,'' she remembers. Luckily, funny moments like pranks at the hands of castmate Jack Quaid and one of the younger tributes helped to lighten the mood.
No doubt Jackie's sunny outlook helped. Her castmates gush about how happy she is all the time. Says Amandla, ''Just being around her bubbly energy makes you feel 10 times better if you're having a bad day.'' It's not just her energy, but her confidence that makes this femme fearless. ''There's no such thing as normal. Everybody's weird,'' she says, explaining that she snuggled with her childhood stuffed dog each night while filming the flick to fend off homesickness.
''A 17 year old who still sleeps with a stuffed animal? Think what you want,'' she laughs. ''But you should always own who you are and what you're doing in that moment. Be proud of who you are...that's the most important thing.''
Credit: Girls Life Magazine, April/May 2012 issue~ Written by: Patricia McNamara Photographed by: Dean Foreman
