Young Carmel twins find acting is their passion
By Mark Ambrogi
Typically twins share many of the same loves. Acting reigns supreme for Carmel 10-year-olds Mitchell and Amelia Wray.
Yet while Amelia prefers more bubbly roles and enjoys singing and dancing, Mitchell is fine with the more serious roles.
“He’s an old soul,” their mother, Chauncie Wray, said. “He’s always been that way.”
That ability which he displayed in a public service video, helped him land the role of Carlos in “Crossroads of America,” which was filmed in Indianapolis this spring.
“He wasn’t able to read the script because [the subject matter]wasn’t age appropriate,” Wray said. “He had to cry, scream and yell. It was an intense movie. They kept him so protective and they were so good to him.”
Lara Sampson Hemingway, the movie’s writer and producer who also plays one of Carlos’ sisters, said Carlos was a difficult character for a young actor to play.
“He’s going through really twisted family stuff, and there’s content Mitchell himself can’t see,” Hemingway said. “He went into filming with the fewest instruments, and still gave a stunning performance. When I do a scene with another actor, I think of it as ‘going into the ring’ with them. Mitchell is a real contender in the ring. We had a lot of hard scenes, and Mitchell was right in there with us. He’s a very hard-working actor, not even for his age, I mean just in general. He’s already a pro.”
The twins will be fifth graders at Carmel’s Towne Meadow Elementary School this fall. Mitchell and Amelia have been regularly performing in the Junior Civic Theatre at Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre.
“His kindergarten teacher came over and babysat one day and I came home and she said, ‘Have you ever read any of the things he’s written?’ She said his writing is incredible and he’s so creative. We put him in every sport there was and he didn’t like team sports. He was still fascinated with DVDs and reading the covers.”
So Wray decided when the twins were six years old, she would get them involved with Junior Civic because Amelia shared her brother’s interest.
“They’ve always worked together,” Wray said.
Amelia would act in the mini-movies that her brother would write. He has his own YouTube site, called Mitchell the Critic. Mitchell said he doesn’t have any doubt that he will be a director or an actor when he grows up.
“I don’t love singing, but you have to be well-rounded,” Mitchell said.
Although Amelia doesn’t have Mitchell’s gift for writing, she shares his love of acting.
“I love to sing. I love to dance and I love to act because it’s my passion,” Amelia said.
Mitchell has already auditioned for another movie role.
“I like getting to express my feelings,” Mitchell said. “It was the best experience ever because I loved getting to do a movie. It was the time of my life. You never know if it’s going to be your last time.”
About Mitchell
Favorite TV show: “Dr. Who”
Favorite destination: California, because that’s where Universal Studios is and if I ever got to work there I would love it. Wherever Stephen Spielberg lives, I want to go live with him. He is inspiration all the way.
Favorite sport: If you call skateboarding a sport, I love to skateboard.
Favorite food: Fettuccine Alfredo. No, wait, I love me a good steak, a filet.
Favorite book: “The Keepers: The Box and the Dragonfly” by Ted Sanders. (Mitchell met Sanders as a Zionsville book signing in March).
About Amelia
Favorite TV show: “Glee”
Favorite destination: If I get a scholarship, I want to move to California so incredibly, crazy bad. One, because it’s beautiful there. Two, because there are more (acting) opportunities there and three, my favorite YouTubers in the world live there. If I got to meet them, it would be a Fan Girl moment and I would fall on the ground.
Favorite food: I love salads but sometimes I have to have a little sugary carb in me. I love cheeseburgers, French fries, fried pickles, mac and cheese…
Favorite book: I really like the “The Dork Diaries” series because it’s so girly.
