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At just 12 years old, north Texas resident and actress, Quinn Copeland, is already making her mark in the entertainment industry. The talented young actress, who has won an Emmy award for her role in the remake of the hit TV show, “Punky Brewster” (she played Izzy), is set to co-star in her first feature film, “Boy Kills World,” which was filmed in South Africa.
Boy Kills World follows the story of a young deaf boy who discovers he must navigate a dangerous world filled with villains. It’s a dystopian fever dream action film that follows Boy with a vibrant imagination. When his family is murdered, he is trained by a mysterious Shaman to repress his childish imagination and become an instrument of death.
Quinn plays the role of Boy’s sister, Mina, who is adorable, smart, wildly imaginative, fierce loving, and a staunch protector of her brother, Boy. Mina seems older beyond her years by understanding that their parents are working for guerilla factions who endanger them. She engineers weekly escapes from this “totalitarian hellhole”(her words) that don’t get much farther than their local video arcade.
Quinn’s performance in this film has already garnered her critical acclaim with many praising her natural talent and on-screen presence. Her Emmy win only adds to the anticipation surrounding her big-screen debut. Boy Kills World will premiere in theaters on April 26 and fans of Copeland are eagerly awaiting the chance to see her shine on the big screen. We had a chance to speak to Quinn recently about her film debut.
Quinn began our conversation by saying, “I play Boy’s sister, Mina. She is such a fun character to play because she is very strong and feisty and she gets to be in so many different scenes and the best outfits! When I got the audition, the character Mina was described as:
When the anti-Hilda Van Der Koy rebels are rounded up each year for the Culling massacre, Mina does her best to shield Boy from the terror that surrounds them, trying to get him to imagine our magical perfect place where they will meet again. After Mina is killed and Boy trains with the Shaman to become a warrior, the child Mina appears to him constantly in his imagination, an adorable, playful distraction that’s Boy’s last link to his innocence.
“I immediately identified with Mina because I am also not afraid to stand up for myself or for others when something matters to me. Whatever it is, she always goes for it and doesn’t back down, especially when it involves her brother. I prepared for the role by really taking the time to connect with her and what drives her. When I feel that connection, the acting part is natural because I can see things through her eyes. It was my first movie, and I loved every part of it! There are so many people who work together to make a movie, and it was so exciting to meet so many new people.”
Being part of the cast made Quinn feel like she was family. She shared a few special moments, “There are so many favorite moments that it is hard to pick one! One of the first scenes I filmed was shot in a jungle that was a huge set all made just for us. It was magical to step into that world. I had just met Bill Skarsgard, who plays Boy, that day for the first time during a lunch break and then the props people gave me a bag of chips and told me to slowly crunch them in his ear while staring at him while he was trying to meditate. His reaction was so funny!
“Some of the scenes were filmed in this incredible home that looked like a real castle! We only got to film there one day, but it was so great because it was my tenth birthday. Someone told me I needed to go to the hair and makeup trailer, but when I walked up, I saw it was absolutely filled with the movie producers and other great people. They had balloons overflowing out the door. They gave me a cake and sang to me and gave me presents. It couldn’t have been better. How many girls get to spend their tenth birthday filming a scene at a castle? I had the best time and Bill made sure to steal me some of the fancy macarons that were part of the scene.
“But my absolute favorite memory was getting to hang from a tree in a harness and play dead. It was so great because the makeup artist made my skin look pale, my lips look blue, and even painted my nails a shade of purple. We were filming late at night so I got to be extra creepy. My mom taught me the thriller dance, and I was dancing on set like I was a zombie. It was really late at night and the crew was tired, but then I arrived, and everyone was laughing at how much fun I was having.”
Making the movie did have its challenges, though. “The filming schedule was pretty tiring. It was fun to be in so much of the movie, but that also meant I had less time off to explore South Africa. Filming a TV show is very predictable because you have the same schedule almost every day and see the same people. Filming the movie was exciting because we were always moving to different locations and the schedule would be different each day. It’s a rush, but it is hard work. I learned to adapt to changes by focusing on what was consistent, which was always the people. No matter what was happening, I was surrounded by great people who cared about me and made sure I felt comfortable. Each type of project is a different kind of family.”
Quinn shares how being in her first film made her feel. “It was amazing! We got to live by the water in Cape Town for a few months and walked by seals every day. When we were supposed to fly to South Africa at the end of January 2022, there was an ice storm in Texas, and our flights kept being canceled. Then we got to Cape Town and it was summer! The weather was a lot like Texas or Los Angeles in the summer so I loved getting to skip winter. I think filming in South Africa made some of the scenes feel more real like when we filmed in the jungle. It was incredible to see the mountains and the ocean right next to each other.”
In conclusion, Quinn talked about her future. “It’s hard to say how this film will affect my future! I hope I get to do more films because I love the adventure of traveling. But I also hope I get to do TV shows because it’s great to build such lasting relationships because of the consistency. It would be so great to be in a creepy project like Stranger Things. By the way, I was so excited that I got to work with actor/comedian, Brett Gelman, from Stranger Things. That was the best. I would love to work again with some of the great people I got to know. The world seems full of possibilities! I am happy just going with the flow to see where it takes me.”
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Cover photo courtesy Vertigo Entertainment
Bob Valleau is a regular entertainment contributor for Texas Lifestyle Magazine
