WARNING: The following contains minor spoilers for Thunder Force, which arrives on Netflix on April 9.
Taylor Mosby is only 18 years old, but she's already played noteworthy parts in everything from Grey's Anatomy to The Last O.G. Now, she's playing Tracy, the daughter of Octavia Spencer's brilliant inventor Emily in Thunder Force. Mosby is thoroughly believable as both a genius who works alongside her mother and a Fortnite-loving teenager who wants to talk about boys.
In an interview, Mosby spoke with CBR about how she learned she was cast in Thunder Force, working with Spencer and Melissa McCarthy on the movie and why she now has one less item on her bucket list.
CBR: How did you learn that you were going to be part of the film?
Taylor Mosby: It was actually a strange phone call because we weren't prepared. I think I had just come from the grocery store with my mom and we were on our way home. It was over the summer when we found out, and we were on our way home. And then my manager calls me and she's like, "Taylor, where are you right now? I have to tell you something." I was like, "Okay, what's happening?" And she let me know that I booked it and we're screaming on the freeway. And you know the windows are down so all these people [are] looking at us and I have no time to explain to them what happened. I don't know these people. But I just thought that that was so funny because the way we found out was very entertaining for the entire street. [Laughs]
What was it like to work with Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer?
They are very caring about both your work and you as a person, so they would make sure that you understood why the character was making the choices they were and that the chemistry that we had between each other was real. So we were off set making jokes and getting to know each other. They would ask questions because they've been friends for 20 years, so they would make sure that I was kind of a part of this really easy-flowing chemistry that they had. I appreciated that. The dynamic was great because of that.
Did you feel comfortable working with them immediately given what big stars they are?
It was a gradual thing for me because I did walk in starstruck, "Okay I can't play it cool, I'm being real." I walked in there and I was like, "Oh my gosh I can't believe I'm sitting here with these people…" But after a while, you know, we just took time to break down where the script came from, you know what I mean? You find inspiration [in many] things because at the end of the day it's art. Everything's somebody else's vision, and you create this big creative vision around these characters. And so we were working really [to] just calm down and make it work how it's supposed to, if that makes sense.
And ultimately, you get to play a superhero in a surprise twist towards the end of Thunder Force. Was that fun for you, and is there any other superhero you aspire to play as you continue in your career?
I'm really hoping to just play more superheroes. It's one of those things as an actress that you have on your bucket list, like, "Oh I hope I get to do this." You don't know if it's actually going to happen, and it did. And I'm only 18 so I'm looking forward to playing anything. It's exciting for me. I don't have any specifics, limits, no. Just give it all to me. I'll do it.
Written and directed by Ben Falcone, Thunder Force stars Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Bobby Cannavale, Pom Klementieff, Taylor Mosby, Melissa Leo and Jason Bateman. The film arrives on Netflix on Friday, April 9.