Multiple award-winning Texas teen actress Alexis Arnold shines bright with her stunning performance in the highly anticipated sci-fi film, “Mission From Outer Space 2037.” (Release: November 10, 2024.) Don’t miss this intergalactic adventure that’s out of this world!

Texas native Alexis Arnold is a talented and multiple award-winning actress from Houston. She began her journey in the entertainment industry at a young age, building pirate ships and castles out of cardboard boxes and watching movies. At five, she expressed interest in acting and her persistence eventually won over her parents.

A Stellar Start

Arnold’s early roles included the lead in a children’s local theater production of Elsa and modeling for brands such as BELK, Macy’s, David’s Bridal, and Zulily. She made her SAG feature film debut in “Sanitatum”, alongside actors Elisabeth Rohm and Richard T. Jones.

In 2019, Alexis won the Best Young Actress award for her role in “The Last Astronaut” at the Houston Film Critics Association’s Worldfest Houston. She continued to impress with her performances, including her role as Allison Stryker in “The Shipment”, earning two Young Artist Academy Award nominations.

In 2021, Alexis volunteered at a therapeutic horse riding program for children with spinal abnormalities where she assisted in rehabilitating both children and horses. This experience inspired her to bring authenticity to her role as Jodie Davis in “If I Could Ride”, which earned her multiple International Best Young Actress awards.

Most recently, Alexis was hand-picked by Director Shawn Welling and Executive Producer Lee Majors to star in the upcoming film “Mission From Outer Space 2037” (Nov. 10). With her dedication to her craft and her passion for storytelling, Alexis Arnold is set to continue rising as a noteworthy star in the entertainment industry.

Talking Awards

Being recognized for her performance is rewarding, but not everything. “The recognition is great, but honestly, it’s not even about that,” says Alexis. “I just love acting, being on set and making a story and a character come to life. I remember when I was little, I would wake up two hours before we had to be on set. I would rush to my mom’s bedroom and ask if it was time to go yet. I just couldn’t wait to start filming. Even though I’m 15 now, I still get excited. I am just so honored to have been cast in so many wonderful movies that have allowed me the opportunity to grow and do what I love. 

“It is extremely hard to choose my favorite award because all of them are meaningful in their own way. I started modeling and acting in commercials when I was five years old and by the time I was seven, I was booking movies with some incredibly talented and well-known actors. By the time I was eight, I won my first award and that one was very special because I had no idea I was getting an award. 

“Director Shawn Welling invited me along with some of the other cast members to an awards ceremony at Worldfest Houston. My mom told me the movie “The Last Astronaut” was getting an award, so Shawn wanted a few of the cast members there to enjoy a nice dinner to celebrate. Then Nick Nicholson, who is a renowned film critic, and the Houston Broadcast Film Critics presented me with a beautiful trophy for Best Young Actress for my role as Young Naomi in “The Last Astronaut”. I was sitting in my mom’s lap and was shocked when everyone was telling me I needed to go up on stage and get my award. My mom was surprised, too. She didn’t even have her phone out to take pictures, so we both just enjoyed living in the moment. It was very special to me, because film critics are ridiculously hard to please. Naturally, being recognized by prestigious film critics at such an early age was definitely something to be happy about. 

“Another award that was very meaningful to me was the award for Best Ensemble Cast and all the Best Actress trophies I won for the film “If I Could Ride”. It was such an amazing experience standing on stage with Executive Producer Don Miller, Director Shawn Welling and actors Tom Vera and Eva Igo. We looked out into an audience full of fans holding cell phones in the air with their flashlights twinkling at us. I remember riding in a limousine and signing hundreds of autographs that day, and it will be an experience I will always remember, especially since I had an opportunity to share it with such an amazingly talented group of friends.”

Mission Accepted

Alexis talks about her time on set of the upcoming feature film “Mission from Outer Space 2037”. “I absolutely loved working on “Mission from Outer Space 2037”. I feel like with every movie I work on I grow more and more. What is different with “Mission from Outer Space 2037” is I have an opportunity to show that I am also quick at learning new skills. I can show that I am not afraid to take on a new challenge. I enjoy performing my own action scenes, and in “Mission from Outer Space 2037” I execute all my own stunts. It was something new for me and it was something I truly enjoyed. Of course, my mom says if there is ever anything too crazy, I better leave that for the professional stunt actors. But in this movie, I didn’t need a stunt double, and it was fun to perform my own action scenes. 

“EmmaRain Welling, the director’s five-year old daughter and star of the film, is so adorable. I was in a car wreck scene with EmmaRain where I had to hold her, scream, and cry, because I thought she was going to die. I’m guessing I did a decent job, because she started crying and said, ‘I’m ok! Why are you crying?’  She didn’t like seeing me cry. It was so sweet that she cared so much for me. I think of her as my own sister, and I love her just as a big sister would love a little sister. That’s why it is so important to me to be a positive role model for her and her little sister, LillySky.” 

Balance School, Home and Acting

“I started off in public school, but in second grade I booked two feature films and several commercials. Even though I was a straight A student and was always the first to finish my work, the school was giving my mom a hard time about my absences. We received a few threatening letters from the school district, so my mom had to start homeschooling me in third grade. My mom was working a full-time job at the time, so she also had to find a part time job. She works two days a week at a hospital and homeschools me five days a week. 

“I always find time to hang out with my friends. All last summer I would spend the days at the waterpark with my friends and in the evenings, I would spend time with my film family working on “Mission From Outer Space 2037”. The thing is, I consider the cast and crew at Welling Films my family. We all get along so well, and we have worked together on so many films that I also consider many of them my best friends. One of the coolest things that happened this year was when a couple of my waterpark friends Tim and Zina Harrington, who also ironically are models and actors, were invited to join the cast as Russian spies. I also have tons of friends that are in high school that are football players, baseball players, cheerleaders, dancers, or they are in the band. They have always supported me and my acting career over the years, so I also find it important to find the time to go and watch them. Almost every Thursday or Friday night I was at a football game cheering on my friends in the stands.”

MFOS 2037 Attraction

“What drew me to my character, in MFOS 2037, is that Jackie Moss is a spy and has several cool action scenes. At first it was a bit challenging because I had never done stunts before, but with the help of Mark Dong (my private stunt coach), Victor Gelsomino and James Marler (both stunt coordinators/actors in “Mission from Outer Space 2037”) I was able to learn my stunts quickly and in a fun and safe environment. I always feel so safe when working with Welling Films because there are so many people who double and even triple check everything. One of my favorite stunts was when I slid on my knees into a scene with my bow and shot two arrows at once and killed two zombies. I also enjoyed fighting an alien in the rain and practicing with Josh Peri (actor and a man of many talents) in a boxing ring.”

An Evolving Career

“I hope I have an opportunity to work on a series regular someday. I would also like to work with Steven Spielberg. That has been a dream of mine since I was seven. Another person I would like to work with is Sean McNamara. I am a huge fan. One of my favorite movies when I was younger was Soul Surfer, and I own several of his other movies too.

“I am extremely excited about flying to New England to start filming “If I Could Ride 2” in September. I had so much fun filming the first one and met so many wonderful people in Vermont and New Hampshire. New England is so beautiful, especially in the fall. It will be great to see everyone again, especially Executive Producer Don Miller. 

“I’m honestly grateful to work on any type of film or TV series, but if I had a choice my favorites would be either drama or fantasy. I enjoy movies or shows with werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, dragons, witches, or anything supernatural. Movies like Harry Potter and Twilight or TV shows like Vampire Diaries and Shadow Hunters are a few of my favorites. So I guess my dream role would be the lead in a fantasy movie or TV show, but I also really like a good drama with an exceptional storyline.”

For more information about Alexis Arnold and/or to follow her on social media, please visit her website. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cover photo courtesy Welling Films.

Bob Valleau is a regular entertainment writer for Texas Lifestyle Magazine.