Interview with MY SPY Star, Chloe Coleman
Chloe Coleman, the child star at the heart of Peter Segal’s latest covert comedy My Spy, has been waiting to eat a singular, decked-out cookie since March.
“It looks delicious,” the 11-year-old actress said, holding her sugarcoated treat up to the camera. “I’m really excited to [finally] have it.”
Cookies, especially those embroidered with the names of big Hollywood productions, typically don’t last long. But for My Spy, which pushed its release date from August to 2020 before finally slashing its theatrical run altogether with Amazon, they may have gone a bit stale.
A came-and-went expiration date won’t stop Coleman from celebrating her first starring role, however. Even inside a cramped online conference room, in the thick of what must have been a long day, she spoke with grace and energy about her time on set and with former professional wrestler – and still hulking performer – Dave Bautista.
Together, they anchor Segal’s family action-comedy. She as Sophie, the new girl on the block with a few tricks up her sleeve, and he as JJ, the soldier-turned-operative who’s sent to spy on her and her mom (Parisa Fitz-Henley). After Sophie quickly busts his sting, the two team up to save each other from schoolyard bullies, lonely nights, and, of course, the nuclear terrorist targeting her family.
The film is a callback to the unlikely, big-small pairings from ‘90s hits like Kindergarten Cop and Mr. Nanny. But with severed heads, gadgets, gizmos, grenades, and special emphasis on explosions, My Spy’s influence and appeal span all over.
“There are jokes for kids, there are jokes for adults,” Coleman explained. “Pete made jokes for everyone.”
While the movie also stars comics Kristen Schaal and Ken Jeong in supporting roles, most of those jokes spring from Coleman’s chemistry with Bautista, which, according to both actors, was there from the start.
“When I had my audition, he was sort of fighting for my role,” Coleman said. “In the chemistry read, after coming out, I really wanted to be able to act with him. And getting the privilege to, I’m so grateful.”
The former WWE Champion shared that gratitude.
“It’s really an odd thing to be able to relate to someone professionally, but [to] also keep in mind that they’re a child,” Bautista told Nine in January. “She’s so much more professional than I’ve ever been in my life.”
Though tales of Coleman’s proficiency and professionalism have been shared by the cast and crew, the 11-year-old also found an old school, yet effective way to have fun on set: a cash-only swear jar.
Unimpressed by her surrounding potty mouths (Segal has been referred to as “King of the F-bombs”), Coleman established and enforced a verbal law enforcement agency. Though she only accepted paper dollars, actors like Bautista paid for credit beforehand, as to avoid a harsh interrogation later.
In the end, the My Spy crew was taxed over $250 by its young lioness, who matched the contribution and donated the lot to help preserve the Amazon Rainforest.
“If you did that with the world,” Coleman said, with a surprising awareness of capitalism and vulgarity, “you’d have so much money.”
My Spy will be available on Amazon Prime this Friday, June 24.
We want to thank Chloe Coleman for speaking with us.
Watch My Spy
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