THE WONDER YEARS

BODHI RAE BREATHNACH’S BIG BREAK IN HAMNET VERY NEARLY DIDN’T HAPPEN – THAT WAS UNTIL STEVEN SPIELBERG STEPPED IN TO SAVE THE DAY. “SHE IS THE GIRL,” HE TOLD PRODUCERS. ONE WORD FROM HIM AND THEY DID EVERYTHING TO MAKE IT WORK. FOR BREATHNACH, THAT LOOKED LIKE TRAVELLING UP AND DOWN THE COUNTRY WHILE BALANCING OTHER PROJECTS, ALL WHILE TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH HER SCHOOLWORK AND HANG OUT WITH HER FRIENDS. BUT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. THE ACCLAIMED PERIOD PIECE – IN WHICH SHE STARRED ALONGSIDE JESSIE BUCKLEY AND PAUL MESCAL – WAS A SPRINGBOARD FOR THE 15-YEAR-OLD’S BURGEONING CAREER, LEADING TO ROLES IN ROBERT EGGERS’ GOTHIC FOLK HORROR WERWULF, AS WELL AS THE UPCOMING ADAPTATION OF SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. EQUAL PARTS PRECOCIOUS AND SELF-EFFACING, BREATHNACH TAKES IT ALL IN HER STRIDE. AFTER ALL, IT’S NOTHING COMPARED TO THE PHONE-FREE BOOT CAMP IN THE WILDERNESS THAT SHE JUST GOT BACK FROM.

Left Full look **Marni**
Right Full look **Miu Miu**

Hey Bodhi! What does a typical day look like for you at the moment?

I've been doing lots of things over the holidays. Last week, I went to this boot camp with no phones. We went into the wilderness, carved things, and did archery and axe throwing. We did a bit of pottery. We had to camouflage ourselves by rubbing charcoal on our skin. We had to sleep outside in the forest as well. It was definitely an experience.

Left Full look **Marni**
Right Jacket, t-shirt, socks and shorts **Fendi**, shoes **Nike**

What has been the most challenging part of starting your career at such a young age?

It’s challenging to miss so much school. My attendance this year was only 63%. I was with my friends when I opened my report card, and I screamed. Luckily, I’m quite academic, and I do tutoring on set, so my grades don't really suffer, but sometimes it's hard with friendships. At the beginning, my friends weren't used to it. I would come back after two or three months, and it would be hard for them to settle back into me being there. Relationships can definitely be hard to uphold when you're away in other countries so much, but really they're used to it now, and they're very good about it.

Which parts of your character in Sense and Sensibility could you relate to the most?

Even though Margaret existed two hundred years ago, I think children across all generations have that connection, that playfulness and that innocence. Even though she's from a completely different time, it was easy to relate to her because she’s growing up and exploring and learning new things just like me.

How do you think your role in Hamnet prepared you for Sense and Sensibility?

It was my first ever big film, so I learned what it's like to be on a proper big movie set and what it's like to work with people, how to make everyone's job easier and give the best performance. I think it prepared me for my whole career.

With them both being period pieces, the way I had to speak in Hamnet prepared me for Sense and Sensibility, because it's definitely a lot more proper. There were times in both films where we’d be improvising a little bit, and you'd have to remind yourself you can't say things like, "Are you okay?" It would be, "Are you all right?"
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