Photography: Tiziano Lugli / tizianolugli

Styling: Zadrian Smith / zadriansmith

Hair: Paul Norton / paulnortonhair

Make-Up: Fabiola

Styling Assistant: Patrick Lynere / patrick_lynere

Interview: Melissande Grignard / melissandegrignard

Words: Matthew Burgos / itsmatthewburgos

The sweep of passion that indulges in Ariana Greenblatt / ariana_greenblatt glistens. The New York-born, young actress will showcase her flair in acting through her new movie “Love and Monsters”. Although she has already adjusted her body and mind clock to the early call times and pre-production set-ups, her high-spirited character suits perfectly to never-ending self-exploration. For Ariana, finding the equilibrium in what she does while still digging deep in what personal boundaries she can still push to grow emerges as a journey to harbor. In our exclusive French Fries interview with the actress, Ariana reveals the behind-the-scenes spur of actions in her off-the-camera life, the fun she dabbles in during her movie shootings, the one-hour stint she spent showing Dylan O’Brien assorted Snapchat filters, and how her portrayal as Minnow in her upcoming movie has turned out to be a favorite.

At only 13 years old, we know you from “Liv and Maddie”, “Bad Moms 2”, “Stuck in the Middle”, we’ve heard your voice in “Scoob”, we saw you in “The one and Only Ivan”, we will see you soon in “Love and Monsters” and you still have a lot of upcoming projects. How do you manage being a young actress? Can you still enjoy being a child?

My parents have always emphasized the importance of having “balance” in my life.  Which really just means discovering other things I really like to do and enjoy so that it’s not always about acting or chasing that next project.  So, school and my education are priority number one.  I attend a normal school with other kids and teachers, and we have all the activities that go along with that, school dances, field trips etc. I also have other hobbies that really help me decompress and create like pottery and baking. I can lose myself for hours on a pottery wheel and literally as I write one of my best friends is coming over after school to bake Halloween cookies with me!

What is the funniest thing you’ve ever had to do on set?

I have a Netflix movie coming out next year called “Awake” with Gina Rodriguez and we had this crazy intense fighting scene. It was actually really funny and every time they said cut, we would laugh.  

Which has been your favorite character that you have performed?

Oh definitely Minnow in “Love and Monsters”.  I love her and Young Gamora in “Avengers: Infinity War”.

The new movie «Love and Monsters» is out now. The movie is about a guy, Joel, who lives underground after a «monsterpocalypse» and now must face the monsters on his own. One day he finds the way to reach his high school crush. You play Minnow, a survivor who meets Joel Dawson along his way, what’s her story?  

Minnow is a rare, young survivor who, like her adult fellow surface survivor Clyde (played by the great Michael Rooker), has lost everything that was important to them. Their way of life, like their families and town, are all gone so they have adapted to live and survive on the surface.  So, although Minnow is very tough and aware, she is still a little girl at heart and misses being around others and all the little things of a normal life. Joel brings some of that back to her.

How do you feel about that movie ? Was it fun to shoot?

Well we got to shoot in Queensland, Australia and my scene partners are Dylan O’Brien and Michael Rooker so right out of the gate it was a 10/10! Such a great time! We traveled constantly to many off the grid locations and filmed everywhere, from swamps to forests!  The three of us spent a lot of time laughing and ribbing one another and had perfect chemistry.  It’s honestly one of the funniest experiences I’ve ever had. The crew really took great care of us and the Australian people are so kind and generous.

The movie was supposed to be seen in theaters but it’s going to be released at home. How do you feel about that? Do you think it’s still going to have the success it deserves?

It’s a terrible time in the world and these are honestly first world problems considering what’s happening out there. Of course I wish movie theaters were open and packed and people could see and hear it on the big screen. There’s nothing like that experience but it’s not our reality unfortunately and, like my last movie that also skipped theaters to go directly to streaming on Disney+, “The One and Only Ivan,” it’s nice for people to be able be in the comfort and security of their home and just escape for 90 minutes. “Love and Monsters” is such an easy, fun movie to watch. It’s just pure joy. There’s nothing too heavy. It’s just a lot of fun. I’m super happy with how it came out. In fact, I hope we get to make another one!

Do you know Dylan O’Brien is the dream guy of every girl on earth? How was it to work with him? 

Honestly, I don’t see it.  I mean really, “dream guy” “every girl on earth?”  LOL  He’s ok….(If he’s reading this, I know he’s laughing!)  He’s the best! At our first table read, I introduced Dylan to the world of Snapchat filters which were something he had no idea or interest in. We burned a good hour of rehearsal time torturing him with different filters.  I posted some to the delight of his fans. HAHA He’s such a good sport and I love him very much.  We both have a similar sense of humor and he is the real deal, nothing fake or phony. He’s just awesome.  A little personal fun fact. I turned 13 in August and because of Covid couldn’t have a proper party with my friends. My parents put together a great party for me at home and surprised me with a birthday video with shout outs from some of my favorite people. Michael and Dylan both sent me the sweetest funniest videos.  It really touched me and made this girl smile.

Who was the funniest person in the cast of “Love and monsters” in real life?

“Boy” the dog.  He was absolutely the funniest…lol

How is it for a child to share a job with so many adults?

In my eyes, actors are actors.  Age doesn’t really come into it for me.  I mean when I did “Stuck in the Middle” for 3 years I had six siblings all older than me.  It’s more about equal respect for everyone on that set, whether it’s crew or talent.  We all have our roles to play, to come in, be prepared, and have fun.  The biggest difference for me is that I still have to do school every day in addition to my scenes but that's life.    

Who do you dream to work with? 

Natalie Portman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jim Carey.

I’ve heard that you love singing. Do you have any musical projects coming up?

Well I’m not going on tour to support my solo project any time soon that I can tell you but you will hear me sing in Boss Baby: The Family Business which comes out March 2021.  The great Hans Zimmer wrote my solo piece for the movie so I’m really excited for that.