Frankie Corio said she laughed while watching herself with her friends at a screening of Aftersun
The star of the Bafta-winning film Aftersun had never acted before landing the role as a young girl on an idyllic vacation with her father.
Twelve-year-old Frankie Corio, from Livingston in West Lothian, plays Sophie alongside Paul Mescal.
She won the role after her mother, Leona, sent her photo to a casting agent who ran an ad seeking wild girls between the ages of 10 and 12.
Frankie explains, “I wasn’t trying to get into acting.
“My mom came home one day and said, ‘I invited you to an audition,’ and I was ‘cool.’
“I understood what it was, but I didn’t think I would understand.”
Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal spent two weeks together prior to filming so they could get used to each other
In the film character, Sophie is the daughter of Calum, a young man with mental health problems played by Mescal.
Adult Sophie, played by Celia Rowlson-Hall, recalls vacationing in a Turkish resort with her father 20 years ago.
The scenes that Frankie shot as a young Sophie were filmed on location in Turkey last summer.
“Wow, she really plays”
Her mother, father Frank, 44, sister Mariella, 13, and brother Lorenzo, six, stayed with her for the full two months of filming.
Elementary school teacher Leona said she was so proud to see her daughter.
The 40-year-old told BBC Scotland: “Francesca had an escort the whole time and they were really relaxed, I was able to come and go on set.
“My husband and I took turns on set, but we also wanted to give her some space to be herself and to bond with Paul.
“We gave them a bit of freedom and didn’t want to come across as pushy parents either.”
The film revolves around a young Scottish father who embarks on a package tour to Turkey with his daughter in the late 1990s
Leona said she was “in disbelief” when she heard her daughter had won the role.
“Everyone has commented on how natural her acting is. In her real life, she’s very expressive, so to see her play it really calmly and not overdo it, it was like, ‘Wow, she’s really playing’.”
Frankie enjoyed directing the film except for one thing – the singing.
In one scene she was on stage in front of an audience and had to perform REM’s “Losing My Religion”.
“I hated it, I hated every moment. I hated the song and had to sing it. There were a lot of people there.
“I got through it by pretending to be Sophie, my character. I did it for all my scenes, I just pretended to be someone else.”
“Paul taught me to play billiards”
Frankie spent two weeks getting to know Mescal, who played Connell on Normal People, before filming began.
“We went swimming in the sea, played pool and ate ice cream,” she said.
“I had no training, apart from learning to play pool for a few scenes. Paul taught me to play pool,” Frankie added.
Paul Mescal plays the divorced father Calum
While she feels quite similar to her movie character, Frankie made the differences clear.
She said: “I’m not as embarrassed as they are, like singing karaoke and also jumping in the pool with my shoes on – a bit of an odd decision.
“But sometimes I never saw it as acting, it was just hanging around and saying lines, rather than seeing it as acting.”
To help her, she got tips by watching her favorite actress, Millie Bobby Brown, on Stranger Things.
“A really great movie”
Her friends in Scotland were very supportive and were “so excited” when she took them to a screening.
And she was “very proud” when she heard her teachers were planning a movie night to see it.
The film, which opened the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2022, is directed by Charlotte Wells. He won a Bafta for Outstanding Debut British Film.
Frankie said, “I think it’s a very great film. I am also very proud to be a Scottish actor and hopefully it will bring out more Scottish actors.
“I want to continue being an actress when I grow up. It’s fun to play someone you’re not.”
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