Where You've Seen Cailee Spaeny Before

MsMojo

Hey, it's Amara from "Pacific Rim 2!" Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re discussing where you’ve seen actress Cailee Spaeny before.

Transcript

00:00Hello. Who are you? Hi. Thank you.

00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo. And today, we're discussing where you've seen actress Kaylee Spaney before.

00:12Are you sure you want to do this?

00:15Spaney Uprising.

00:17I was born in Tennessee and I grew up in the southern midwest. You know, Elvis

00:20holds a different weight in the south, you know, so we grew up going to Graceland. But

00:25I think that was what was so fascinating about doing this movie is that I didn't

00:28know anything about her side of the story. Kaylee Spaney is no stranger to large ensembles.

00:33Born in 1998, she was the seventh in a family that's since grown to nine children.

00:38Brought up in Springfield, Missouri, Spaney performed at the Silver Dollar City Amusement

00:43Park, joined a cover band called NRG, and acted in a local youth theater. During the theater's

00:482014-15 season, she played Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, a role she rotated with Rachel

00:54Haig. Spaney has cited The Wizard of Oz as one of her favorite movies,

00:58dressing as Dorothy three times for Halloween.

01:01Somewhere over the rainbow

01:08Her grandparents were also from Kansas. Spaney identified with Dorothy's desire

01:12to leave her simple home and pursue greater heights over the rainbow. Rather than wait

01:17for a tornado, she took the initiative, asking her mother to drive her to Los Angeles.

01:22I am beautiful in every single way

01:28Dropping out of school, it wasn't long until Spaney found an agent and manager,

01:32but work didn't immediately come. Over the next few years, she traveled back and forth between

01:37Missouri and L.A., going on auditions. She made her screen debut in Counting to a Thousand,

01:42a 2016 student short for Missouri State University.

01:45You like games?

01:51Because me, you, and your mommy, they're all gonna play a game.

01:57Waiting for her big break could feel like Counting to a Thousand, and then some. When

02:01Spaney was 17, she booked her first major role as Amara Nemani in Pacific Rim Uprising.

02:07Suddenly, Spaney went from the humblest of roots to starring alongside John Boyega in a multi-million

02:12dollar production. While Pacific Rim Uprising wasn't the biggest critical or financial hit,

02:17the cast was generally praised, with Spaney being singled out.

02:20I built her because one day they're gonna come back.

02:25The Kaiju. And when they do, I'm not gonna be stuck waiting for someone else to come save my ass.

02:30After Pacific Rim Uprising, Spaney landed four more gigs in a week.

02:34By the end of 2018, she appeared in three additional films,

02:38playing Dakota Johnson's rebellious sister in Bad Times at the El Royale,

02:42Ruth Bader Ginsburg's daughter Jane in On the Basis of Sex, and a young Lynn Chaney in Vice.

02:47She went on to appear in other films like The Craft Legacy and How It Ends.

02:57Spaney dominated the small screen as well,

02:59popping up as Erin McMenamin in Mare of Easttown and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt in The First Lady.

03:05The miniseries Depths was an especially significant turning point for Spaney,

03:09marking her first collaboration with creator Alex Garland.

03:12Garland kept Spaney in mind while casting his dystopian thriller Civil War.

03:16She starred as Jessie Cullen, an ambitious young photojournalist who, like Spaney,

03:21is originally from Missouri.

03:23Would you photograph that moment if I got shot?

03:28What do you think?

03:29Jessie becomes the protege of a senior photojournalist named Lee Grant,

03:33played by Kirsten Dunst. Mirroring their characters, Spaney had always looked up to Dunst,

03:38seeing Spider-Man in theaters, wearing out the Jumanji VHS as a kid,

03:42and deciding to become an actress after seeing The Virgin Suicides.

03:47Hi.

03:56Sofia Coppola directed Dunst in the latter film, forming a long-working relationship.

04:01Around the same time Civil War began production,

04:03Coppola was developing an adaptation of Priscilla Presley's memoir.

04:08Hello?

04:09Priscilla, it's Terry.

04:12Oh, hi.

04:13Just got a call from Elvis asking if you could come over Friday.

04:18Really?

04:19Funnily, Spaney previously auditioned for Coppola's unproduced Little Mermaid movie

04:23and her 2017 film The Beguiled.

04:26I won't be here much longer, Amy.

04:28Careful. Keep your stitches in a straight row.

04:32Jane, it's the same for you as all of us.

04:35You don't leave because there's nowhere for you to go.

04:37There is so.

04:38She also read for Francis Ford Coppola's longtime passion project Megalopolis.

04:43Although Spaney didn't get any of these roles, she left an impression on Coppola,

04:47so much so that Spaney didn't have to audition for Coppola's Priscilla biopic.

04:51Dunst vouched for Spaney, who met up with Coppola for coffee in New York.

04:55At the time, Spaney didn't realize what the meeting was about.

04:58She got an idea of where things were headed when Coppola pulled out her iPad,

05:02showing her a photo of Priscilla.

05:04On the last day of shooting Civil War, Spaney was officially cast as Priscilla Presley.

05:09The news brought tears of joy to Dunst's eyes.

05:12We had to start one day. We're much older than she is now.

05:18Becoming Priscilla.

05:20In addition to Dunst, Spaney shares a fair deal in common with Priscilla Presley.

05:37Granted, Spaney didn't marry an older rock star as a teenager.

05:40Like Priscilla Presley, though,

05:41it was clear from a young age that Spaney was destined for a life beyond her hometown.

05:46Priscilla moved from West Germany to live with Elvis in Memphis when she was 17,

05:50the same age Spaney was when she got cast in Pacific Rim Uprising.

05:59All eyes were now on Spaney, just as Priscilla became an overnight celebrity.

06:03Priscilla left Elvis when she was 26, forging her own path.

06:07Likewise, Spaney was now in her mid-20s and coming into her own as an actress.

06:12After several supporting performances, Spaney took center stage in Priscilla.

06:16Despite these similarities, Priscilla would be a transformative experience for Spaney.

06:21Outside of the hair, makeup, and wardrobe, Spaney strived to embody Priscilla.

06:26Spaney did so by looking at photos, watching home movies,

06:29and soaking up any interviews she came across.

06:31An old audio recording was particularly helpful, listening to it on repeat.

06:37While Priscilla would be totally different from the Naked Gun movies,

06:47Presley's performance as Jane Spencer was also essential viewing.

06:51It didn't hurt that the real Priscilla Presley was an executive producer on the biopic,

06:55giving Spaney advice.

06:56Perhaps the biggest challenge was portraying Priscilla from age 14 to her late 20s.

07:01This is what drew Coppola to Spaney,

07:03believing she could convincingly evolve before the audience's eyes.

07:07Why don't you ask for something more serious?

07:11I don't work like that.

07:14Although Priscilla was filmed out of order throughout an intense 30-day shoot,

07:18Spaney never missed a beat in the titular role.

07:21Priscilla premiered at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival,

07:24where Spaney was awarded the Volpe Cup for Best Actress.

07:28Spaney's performance earned several other notices throughout awards season,

07:31most notably a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama.

07:36Some critics felt Spaney deserved an Oscar nomination as well,

07:39but Priscilla had put her on the map with more opportunities coming.

07:42Dad, I'm doing great. You don't have to-

07:45Are you still doing well in school?

07:48Yes, of course I'm doing well in school.

07:50Uh-huh, I know I want you to graduate.

07:52Yes, I will graduate.

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08:10From Over the Rainbow to Rain Caridine

08:14Only a few months after Priscilla, Civil War hit theaters, becoming a surprise sleeper hit.

08:19Spaney's most high-profile project yet came later that year when she played

08:22Rain Caridine in Alien Romulus.

08:25Something in the water.

08:26What do you mean there's something in the water?

08:27I don't know, there's just something in the f-----g water.

08:29Spaney once said she'd like to play the first victim in a horror movie.

08:32Romulus returned to the Alien franchise's horror roots,

08:36but Rain is more of a survivor in the spirit of Ellen Ripley.

08:39While Spaney studied Sigourney Weaver's performance for inspiration,

08:42she was careful not to turn Rain into an Ellen Ripley clone,

08:46creating an action heroine for another generation.

08:49Spaney took a year off after finishing Romulus, although she'd get back to work soon enough.

08:54Are you sure you want to do this?

08:56From biopics to blockbusters, Spaney has exemplified a vast range before even turning 30.

09:02She'll continue to branch out in upcoming projects like Wake Up Deadman, A Knives Out Mystery,

09:06and the second season of Netflix's Beef.

09:09While a follow-up to Romulus hasn't been announced,

09:11director Fede Alvarez has some ideas.

09:14Given her theater background, we're eager for Hollywood to finally cast Spaney in a movie musical,

09:19wherever the yellow brick road takes her going forward.

09:22We can tell that Spaney has only scratched the surface of the rainbow.

09:34What role introduced you to Kaley Spaney? Let us know in the comments.

09:43Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.

09:47And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

09:52We'll see you next time.

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