Matilda star Mara Wilson opens up about childhood fame in rare TV interview

18 December 2020, 11:48

Matilda star Mara Wilson on Australian TV

Mara Wilson - known for her roles in Matilda and Mrs Doubtfire - has spoken about her child stardom in a TV appearance.

The star of beloved family film Matilda has spoken out about the pressures of fame from a young age during a rare interview on Australian TV appearance.

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Mara Wilson, now 33, who is also known for her roles in Mrs Doubtfire and Miracle on 34th Street, also discussed working with Danny DeVito and the late Robin WIlliams.

Speaking on Today Extra, she opened up about feeling huge pressure from film critics at the time, despite being such a young age.

She said: "It hurt to hear adult critics saying things against me. It felt very unfair and very hard. There was really a lot of pressure on me, I felt, from the outside world."

And speaking about DeVito, who played her dad in the 1996 film Matilda, she said that he was "really wonderful" and that his family took her "under their wing as kind of like a second family".

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The film Matilda was dedicated to Mara's mother Suzie, who tragically died of breast cancer during filming.

Mara said: "Danny and his wife, Rhea, they would let me come over to their house.

"We would have sleepovers, we went to go see plays, we went to see movies.

"They made sure I was also being treated like a kid. I played with their kids, just like any other kids."

And speaking about Robin Williams, who played her dad in the 1993 film Mrs Doubtfire, she added: "I remember him singing show tunes to me and playing games with me. He loved to play all kinds of little jokes.

"He could be very shy one on one, particularly with adults, but with kids, he just came alive because they are the ultimate audience.

"He was just a consummate performer who was so great when he had an audience."

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