Shareeka Epps
Shareeka Epps didn't set out to be an actress. In fact, she wanted to be a lawyer. But when directors came to her Brooklyn junior high, looking to cast a short film called Gowanus, Brooklyn, her drama teacher told her to audition. "I had never acted before, but they were like, 'Just come anyway,'" she says. Three auditions later, she was cast as Drey, a junior high school student who discovers that her teacher is a druggie. The flick won the 2004 Short Filmmaking Award at Sundance. Then, she got a call from the directors -- the 19-minute short was being made into Half Nelson, a full-length feature! "They said, 'We can't promise you the part -- you'll have to audition again,'" Shareeka says. "I didn't think I was going to get it -- I figured they were gonna pick some kid who [had been acting] for a long time." But Shareeka's innate talent scored her another chance to play Drey, and this time, she starred opposite The Notebook star, Ryan Gosling! "It was so much fun -- Ryan is so funny," she says. "He taught me a lot, [like] to be focused. He's a great guy." While Half Nelson didn't win at Sundance in 2006, the festival set off buzz about the flick and its 16-year-old star. Check her out!
What bothers you most about being a girl?
It seems that girls are always to ones to get hurt -- physically and mentally.
What do you like most about being a girl?
We're smarter! Guys do stupid things and get in trouble and learn from it, and then still do it again. We learn faster, and we know what we want.
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