Helena Zengel is definitely not your average 12-year-old.
The precocious preteen co-stars alongside Hollywood heavyweightTom Hanksin 2020’sNews of the World(viaIMDb).
She then co-starred in a series of German films, includingDie Tochter(The Daughter) andSystem Crasher.
That performance is also the one that piqued the interest ofNews of the Worlddirector Paul Greengrass.
As she toldDeadlinelast year, acting is just what she was born to do.
“Acting is actually normal for me.
I never had acting classes or anything, so it’s just something natural I like to do.”
Luckily, she was able to pick it up fairly quickly.
These days, Zengel’s English is nearly flawless.
“I used to have English in school from the third grade onwards.
And then we went on a cruise with friends from Romania.
They didn’t speak German and we could only talk in English.
That’s how I got really good” (viaWorld Today News).
Those aren’t the only languages Zengel can speak.
Helena Zengel had no formal acting training
Helena Zengel was basically born to be an actress.
Acting is just something she was meant to do.
Zengel’s first role was on the German seriesSpreewaldkrimi.
At some point everyone said I have to stop wasting my time and start working with this girl."
“We did the scene where I bite Tom Hanks' hand.
Greengrass toldGold Derbythat he was set on Zengel from the moment he watchedSystem Crasher.
“I thought it was brilliant and Helena was superb in it- with huge range, too.
I had a strong sense then, literally, as I watched it.
I thought, ‘Well, I mean, it’s going to have to be her.
She’s the perfect age.
She looks exactly right.'”
Zengel explained toScreen Rantthat she also had to learn a lot about the Kiowa culture.
“There were three weeks; every day, one and a half hours of learning Kiowa.
It was great.”
Luckily, Zengel really enjoyed having the opportunity to practice not speaking.
So, it was a fun experience to not talk in a movie” (viaScreen Rant).
Helena Zengel ended up enjoying her experience with Tom Hanks a lot.
