Mara Wilson is best known for her leading role in Matilda, in addition to appearing in films such as Forever Daddy and Miracle on 34th Street. Following her success in childhood, she decided to step away from acting and focused her career on writing and activism. Advocating for mental health and LGBTQ+ rights.
During the filming of the film that launched her to stardom, Mara experienced the grief of losing her mother, who passed away from breast cancer. The loss affected Wilson deeply and had an impact on his personal life and career. Despite facing tough times, he kept going and remained in the entertainment industry for a few more years.
Although in an interview she assures that she always felt safe on the set, she also says that she had a very difficult time as a child, when the press began to say unflattering things about her: ” I don’t think you can be a child star without some kind of permanent damage. I always felt safe on film sets. But there were people who would send me inappropriate letters and post things about me online. I made the mistake of looking myself on the internet when I was 12 and saw things I couldn’t put down to watch. People don’t realize that being constantly talked to the press as a kid took a toll on you. It is so heavy.
Ella es Matilda y tiene poderes psíquicos,la película es muy conocida y esta escena más aún pic.twitter.com/3QA3GVNw73
— Ronny Quintanilla (@RonnyQuinta) May 22, 2023
Wilson also talks about her experience with Matilda, and how the character has given all her fans high expectations of her. “They were disappointed that I wasn’t as smart and beautiful and charming as they expected me to be. I think they expected me to be Matilda, and she’s wonderful, but she’s not real. Then they met me , this dull awkward teenager who sometimes got angry, but he could not channel his anger to strength.”
And he ends by saying: “It affected me for a long time because I had this Hollywood idea that if you’re not pretty now, if you’re not pretty, you’re worth nothing. Because I saw it straight my career disappearing. Even though I was tired of all of that, and Hollywood was tired of me, it doesn’t feel good to deny it. For a long time, I had this kind of dysmorphia about the way I looked. And it impressed me a lot.”
