Dakota Blue Richards
From Srafopedia
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Dakota Blue Richards (born 11 April 1994) is an English actress from Brighton. In June 2006, 12-year-old Dakota, a Londoner schoolgirl, was awarded the role of Lyra Belacqua in the film The Golden Compass after the casting directors took a shine to her in the Cambridge auditions. She previously attended k-bis theatre school where she had drama, musical theatre, singing, jazz tap and ballet lessons.
Her mother read the His Dark Materials books to her when she was nine. Richards saw the His Dark Materials stage play a year later. As a fan of the books, she hoped to be Lyra from the start, "I thought if I could play any role, it would be Lyra."
Her name, Dakota, means "friend" in the language of the Dakota (A North American Aboriginal tribe, who are native to the Mississippi). Her mother incidentally is an American anthropologist.
Dakota found out about the Lyra auditions watching BBC Newsround, and she wouldn’t have gone to them if it had rained. She traveled from her home in Brighton to Cambridge for the auditions under one condition: that she wouldn't be too upset if she was passed over.
The casting directors sent Philip Pullman audition tapes of their 40 favored girls who'd auditioned for the role of Lyra. He personally endorsed the two that he favored, one of them being Dakota Blue. She eventually won the role of Lyra over 10,000 girls who went to the open casting calls in Cambridge, Oxford, Exeter, and Kendal.
Receiving the good news
She had just come home grumpy from a bad day at school when 'The Golden Compass' director Chris Weitz called her. Dakota's mother tried to put him on speaker phone, but accidentally hung up on him. Weitz called back and informed them of the good news.
Dakota's first interview was with Newsweek. Her mother sat beside her, with her publicist nearby. Dakota showed the interviewer the 'Snoopy dance' her reaction to getting the part of Lyra.
Making the decision to cast a complete unknown as the lead role in a massive production was a bold move for New Line. Here are some quotes about casting Lyra.
"She's absolutely marvelous - and she looks right. I know Lyra better than anyone. Looking like someone isn't a case of having blond hair and blue eyes: it's about bone structure; the way someone carries herself. She is also a very good actress. At 12, she hasn't had time to be fully trained, but that was not what we were looking for. It was a question of getting someone who can be the part." - Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials
"She has just the combination of qualities that make up the complicated character of this girl." - Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials
"Dakota made what should have been an extremely difficult decision quite easy. We wanted a completely new face for Lyra, but I was surprised that any young girl, especially one without training, could light up the screen as Dakota does." - Chris Weitz, director of The Golden Compass
"Usually, it's a gut-wrenching decision. You realize the whole time how much rests on the shoulders of this kid. But I didn't have any doubts about Dakota. She looks not quite tamed, and that's Lyra." - Chris Weitz, director of The Golden Compass
"It was hard to cast someone, honestly, because you know that you may be doing them a disservice. I don't know if anyone can prepare Dakota for the kind of exposure that's going to come with this. Especially in England, where the press can be merciless." - Chris Weitz, director of The Golden Compass
"We were not just casting an actor, we were also casting a family situation. She had to handle the strain of acting and, when not acting, going to school. She had the hardest job. And it was not just hard for her, but for her mother, who had to make enormous sacrifices of time." - Chris Weitz, director of The Golden Compass
Dakota's experiences on The Golden Compass
"I have treated the experience as if I am in two different worlds, the normal life of being who I was before, and all this. I try not to let the film affect going to school, and being me."
"I feel like I can relate to her. I like to think I'm quite brave. I stand up for myself. And I don't let other people tell me what to do. Well, unless it's my mum." - Talking about Lyra, her character from The Golden Compass.
"I figured if I did something wrong, they'd be, like, 'Oh my God, why are we working with her?' But they were really nice." (on co-stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig)
Filmography
- The Secret of Moonacre (2007) Maria Merryweather
- His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (2007) Lyra Belacqua
- His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (2009) (announced) Lyra Belacqua
References
- "The Arctic Adventurer" by Devin Gordon, Newsweek International, Dec. 25, 2006 - Jan. 1, 2007 issue.
