By Alex Simon
Bailee Madison in Cowgirls 'n Angels.
One of the busiest twelve year-olds working today, young Bailee Madison has racked up an impressive thirty-two acting credits since making her big screen debut in 2006, including turns in Bridge to Terabithia, House M.D., Brothers and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. The Fort Lauderdale, FL. native is currently starring in the independent family film Cowgirls ‘n Angels as Ida, a feisty pre-teen being raised by her single mother (Alicia Witt). After joining a team of young female trick rodeo riders, Ida finds herself not only traveling the west with a new surrogate family, but possibly stumbling upon the father she never knew. The Samuel Goldwyn Films release arrives in limited theatrical release May 25.
Bailee felt a connection with the script almost immediately. “I read it in the back seat of the car and instantly fell in love with it. I loved the story, the characters and what it stood for.” Bailee was quick to add that the film’s family-oriented message appealed to her. “There aren’t a lot of films like Cowgirls ‘n Angels. It’s got such a positive message that people of all ages can see and enjoy. It’s about faith and courage and love and taking situations that might not seem so positive and making them wonderful. Just to be a part of something like that was an honor.”
Rebecca (Kathleen Rose Perkins) and Terrance (James Cromwell) enjoys a dance while Ida (Bailee Madison) and Madison (Leslie Anne Huff) look on.
One perk of the job was being the youngest performer among four generations of actors, which also included Jackson Rathbone, Alicia Witt, and veteran character actor James Cromwell. “Getting to watch James as an actor was always an education, but as a human being it was an even more amazing experience because he is the definition of humble. He is everything I hope to be when I’m older.”
Bailee got a unique perspective from working with Alicia Witt, who also got her start as a child actor. “She started acting even younger than I did, and has made the transition into an adult actor so seamlessly, plus she’s a really talented musician and has so many diverse interests. She was a great role model.”
Regarding Twilight heartthrob Jackson Rathbone, Bailee blushed before she spoke: “I don’t watch Twilight,” she admits sheepishly, “but of course I knew who Jackson Rathbone was. When he introduced himself, I was like ‘Oh wow! That’s Jackson Rathbone!’" Bailee intends to watch the Twilight films when she gets a chance, but isn’t in a rush. “I need to catch up, but I’m not really into vampires and all that stuff.”
Following in the footsteps of her mother, who is a veteran of local commercials in Fort Lauderdale, and older sister Kaitlin Riley, who has appeared in such films as the true crime drama Monster, playing the young Charlize Theron, Bailee made her debut in 2006’s Lonely Hearts, about the infamous “Lonely Hearts Killers” of the 1940s. A tough and graphic R-rated film, Bailee was asked if she was allowed to see it when it was released, when she was six. “I went to the premiere and was allowed to see the parts that I was in then they’d escort me out so I didn’t see the other parts. So that was an interesting way to make my first movie, but then I got to go to New Zealand to film Bridge to Terabithia, which were four of the greatest months of my life.”
Her precociousness being palpable, I joke with Bailee that I don’t think she’s a twelve year-old kid, that she’s really a short 37 year-old woman in disguise. “No,” she says with a laugh, “I’m just a kid.”
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