The Verge: Callan McAuliffe and Madeline Carroll

MADELINE CARROLL

Rob Reiner is used to directing kids, but have you ever dealt with directors who maybe don't know what to do with child actors?

Yeah, I've been in situations like that. Usually, though, they'll ask me, "Well, how would you do this [moment]?" Then you can just do it like that because they haven't experienced it, so they just hand it off to you. You can do whatever you want, so it's really nice when it's like that. [Laughs]

Callan is Australian, doing an American accent. Was there ever anything American that you had to explain to him?

We would always tease each other back and forth. He would say weird things, like, instead of saying, "I'll go get that right away," he'd say, "Straight away." [Laughs] I'd always say, "That's not how you say it!" But no, Callan is fabulous at that accent. When we tell people that he's actually Australian, everybody goes, "What? Really?" He just had it down pat, even from the audition.

Have you ever done an accent in a film?

Yeah, actually. When I was ten, I had to do a British accent in Resident Evil: Extinction. I played a computer, and it is really hard to say really big words in an accent. But a lot of the time, it feels like playing around, and I personally think it's really fun to do an accent. I had sympathy for Callan because I know it's really hard to do it over and over again, but he did it amazing.

Let's talk about Machine Gun Preacher, which you've been filming. I've only seen pictures of Gerard Butler's mullet. What is it like in person?

[Laughs] His mullet is for when he's supposed to be younger, and it is really funny. I tease him about it, but he already teases himself about it. He's a big joker on set. I actually just finished that film two days ago, but it was so much fun working with him and Michelle Moynihan. They're awesome.

You appeared on Lost a few years ago as young Ben's childhood sweetheart, Annie. A lot of people thought that character would be important and keep recurring.

Yeah! That show is so secretive and they wouldn't tell me anything, but that's what I thought, too. I thought she was supposed to be a big part of the storyline, but they didn't really touch back on that at all. I would have loved to go back, especially to go back to Hawaii. It's, like, the most beautiful place I've ever filmed.

How do you deal with auditions and rejection?

A lot of times when I was younger and I really wanted a role and got close, it would stink really bad not to get it. I would get my hopes up and it just wouldn't come through, but I always think that God has something in store for everybody, and I would just pray about it. I actually passed on a big move before Flipped and nothing had come along, so I was like, "Oh God, please let me get something." Then Flipped came, and it was really exciting and cool to be able to do a movie like this. It's been such a pleasure to work with people like Rob Reiner and John Mahoney. I hope everybody likes this movie, because these are the kind of movies I'd like to continue to make. Rob's done all these great films from Stand By Me to The Princess Bride to When Harry Met Sally to Misery, and all these movies still get watched today. It's not like they were some big blockbuster hit and then they were gone -- people are still watching and loving his movies. I hope Flipped is one of those movies.

Are you going in there and auditioning with the same actresses over and over? Is that a bonding experience or can it be competitive?

I wouldn't say "competitive"... it's just like you go in and do your best, and then they pick whoever's right for it. I definitely see the same girls over and over, but a lot of the girls, I'm actually friends with. Ever since I was six, I've seen the same people.

I'd imagine that you go up for a lot of the same roles as Chloe Moretz.

I used to see Chloe a lot, but we're two different looks. I have dark hair and pale skin and she's blond -- we look different. But yeah, Chloe's really, really sweet. I haven't seen her much lately, since usually we get called in for different things because of what we look like.

Is that frustrating, that you might go in and nail your audition, but you're not the right look?

Yeah, it's very frustrating. [Sighs] That actually happened to me a few weeks ago. Sometimes it'll come down to what they already have in their minds -- like if they have a movie that's based on a book and the character has brown hair and brown eyes, then that's what it comes down to. It's so frustrating. It really sucks.

What is it like to do a red carpet?

It's so much fun! I love it. Right before you go out on the carpet, you get butterflies -- it's really nerve-wracking because they're all saying, "So-and-so! So-and-so! Look over here!" But it's so much fun. I love doing red carpets, they're awesome.

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