Ponte Vedra girl to star in upcoming Lifetime movie, ‘Terror in the Woods’

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Ponte Vedra's own Sophie Grace, 12, will star in the film "Terror in the Woods," which premieres on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. on the Lifetime channel.

Grace's character, Kaitlyn, is a 12-year-old with schizophrenia who attacks her friend as a sacrifice to an Internet character — Suzerain.

"She doesn't know what's real and what's not," Grace explained. "As the story goes on, you really start to feel for her because in some scenes you can just see how sad and confused and lost she is. It doesn't justify what my character did or make it right."

According to Grace, she was born to act. After signing up for classes to hone her craft, Grace’s coach connected her with an agent who helped the new actress get her first audition.

A few days after trying out for a role in "Terror in the Woods," Grace and her mother were shopping at a local Publix supermarket when they received the news that Grace won the role out of thousands of actors.

"I was so excited," she said. "There were stuffed animals everywhere and I hugged them. We were in the middle of the store, but it was just so much fun."

Grace said walking onto the movie set for the first time made her nervous, but she quickly felt at home as she settled into her role and the jitters went away when the camera started recording. Playing Kaitlyn was a unique challenge, Grace noted, but she enjoyed the opportunity to take on a multi-layered character.

"I really like characters with a lot of depth and a lot of layers that you have to peel away throughout the movie," she said. "That's what makes acting, acting for me. You really transform into a completely different person and I guess that's my strong suit in acting, that I can really get into a new character and then come right back to me."

Furthermore, reading “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” by Joanne Greenberg prepared Grace for her role. The novel chronicles a girl struggling with schizophrenia, like Kaitlyn.

"I read that book twice because I really wanted to be able to think like Kaitlyn and understand what she was going through," she said. "At first, I wasn't comfortable with playing her because I couldn't relate to the bigger side of her, but after I did my research and I learned more about her, I felt like I could connect with her and sympathize with her."

For Grace, a leading role in "Terror in the Woods" is just the beginning.  

"I want to spend the rest of my life doing this,” she added. “The days (on set) just blew by for me, I was having the time of my life. This really is my passion."