NEVER GIVE UP

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Never g ve up

TAYLOR PAIGE HENDERSON AT WORK

“EARWIG AND THE WITCH”

After COVID setbacks, Amarillo actress leads English voice cast of major animated film

By Chip Chandler

You won’t see her face, and her voice betrays no trace of her Texas home, but young Amarillo actress Taylor Paige Henderson will make her feature-film debut in a major new release in February.

Henderson, daughter of Todd and Melissa Henderson, voices one of the title characters in the English-language version of “Earwig and the Witch,” the latest release from Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli. The dubbed version of “Earwig” will screen at 7 p.m., Feb. 3, at the Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive; a subtitled version, not featuring Henderson’s voice, will screen at 7 p.m., Feb. 4.

The film will then begin streaming on HBO Max beginning Feb. 5.

Based on a novel by Diana Wynn Jones, who also wrote “Howl’s Moving Castle” (adapted by Studio Ghibli in 2004), “Earwig” tells the story of a 10-year-old foundling – and, unbeknownst to her, the daughter of a witch – in 1990s England.

Tackling that accent was nothing new for Henderson, who played Jane Banks in Amarillo Little Theatre’s 2017 production of “Mary Poppins” and had plenty of playful practice with the dialect on her own.

“Me and my dad, when I was younger, would always talk in a British accent,” Henderson says. “We just thought it was funny.”

After ruling the roost at her orphanage, Earwig is unexpectedly adopted by an odd couple, the witch Bella Yaga (voiced by Vanessa Marshall) and the Mandrake (Richard E. Grant), and conscripted into becoming an apprentice witch herself.

“She has a very never-give-up attitude,” Henderson says, “and I think I’m definitely like that.”

It shows. Though she just turned 14, Henderson already has acting credits around the state, including professional San Antonio productions of “Fun Home” and “Matilda,” in addition to several roles at ALT and in its Academy. In 2020, she planned to make her off-Broadway debut in “The Bedwetter,” based on the acclaimed memoir of comedian Sarah Silverman, and she was slated to star as the irrepressible title character in “Annie” for Broadway Sacramento in California.

Then, of course, the pandemic struck, and Henderson’s plans were suddenly shot.

“I was super excited about ‘The Bedwetter,’ but obviously, with

COVID and everything, it was postponed,” Henderson says. “That was really upsetting, but we still have hope. … ‘Annie’ … is one of my dream roles. I worked really, really hard on it, but it was also postponed.

“So I was at home for a while doing self-tapes (for auditions), and then I got this audition (for ‘Earwig’),” she says. “I was so, so excited that something I booked was actually going to happen.”

“Todd and I are so proud of Taylor for keeping her dream alive despite all the setbacks she was dealt with COVID,” Melissa Henderson says. “Even though she faced so many disappointments, she didn’t let it keep her down for long. She made up her mind to keep pushing forward and it paid off for her. She trains and works so hard that it’s exciting for us to see all of that pay off for her. This business is tough, but she has a great attitude and perspective on it all.”

Jason Crespin, Henderson’s director at the ALT Academy, says the young actress has always been a hard worker.

“We are extremely proud of Taylor and all that she is accomplishing,” Crespin says. “I remember years ago, I was directing her in a production of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ where she played Piglet. She was brilliant on stage but even more amazing was how professional she was in rehearsals taking notes and backstage getting into character. I knew then that her work ethic matched her talent and with the right opportunities, she could go far.”

Henderson’s voiceover agent at DDO NYC, who she has worked with since 2018, sent her an audition breakdown for “Earwig,” and the young actress immediately recognized herself in the lead character.

In addition to her indefatigable attitude, Henderson said she, like Earwig, is strong-willed: “If you know anybody in my family, they would say I am very strong-willed. If you ask my friends, they would say I’m bossy, which is how (Earwig) is. I don’t say I’m bossy.

“And she’s funny, too. I think I’m funny.”

The character resonated with Taylor from the very start, Melissa Henderson says.

“She immediately said ‘Oh, this is me!’ after reading (the character breakdown),” she continues. “We laughed, but it was true – she and Earwig have many similarities. They are both a little mischievous, but confident girls who do things their own way and never give up – qualities that serve them well most of the time, but can get them in trouble, too.”

“Earwig” was directed by GorōMiyazaki, son of Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, who worked with his Japanese voice cast in their home country. Henderson, meanwhile, worked in a Dallas recording studio with a dialect coach and with dubbing director Michael Sinterniklaas, a prominent voice actor with extensive credits.

To master her accent, Henderson was told to put a cork in it – literally.

“My dialect coach had very different styles of how to teach me to say the words and how to get muscle memory involved,” she says. “I used a cork in my mouth. I would put it in my mouth and say the line in a British accent, so when I took the cork out, it sounded exactly like it was supposed to.”

That wasn’t the only challenge, Henderson says, explaining that she had to match her voice to the movements of her character’s mouth, though it was synced to the Japanese dialogue.

“I had to match up my voice to what they call the ‘lip flaps,’ which I think is so funny,” Henderson says. “It definitely took me a few tries before I got the hang of it. The director was just so amazing helping me figure out everything and how to do it.”

If there was any disappointment about the role, it’s that she didn’t get to meet her costars – among them the Oscar-nominated Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”), “Downton Abbey” alum Dan Stevens and country superstar Kacey Musgraves.

“I dropped to the floor” when she found out Musgraves was cast, Henderson says. “I was almost in tears. I”m so sad that I wasn’t going to be able to meet her, but I’m also really honored that I get to be in a movie with her.”

Studio Ghibli is releasing “Earwig” with American partners GKids in an Oscar-qualifying run this month. “Spirited Away” won the 2002 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, and the studio’s last four films – ”The Wind Rises,” “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” “When Marnie Was There” and “The Red Turtle” – each scored a nomination.

“Earwig” could have a life beyond this initial film. It ends rather abruptly, and when Henderson was asked about that, the studio representative graciously redirected the conversation.

Henderson has plenty of other plans, too.

“I’m getting ready for (television) pilot season, and I’m so ready for Broadway to open back up because that opens up a lot of doors,” she says. “I’m so excited to get back to the City again – New York. I miss it so much.”

Though she has her sights set well beyond Bomb City, she gives her hometown plenty of credit.

“Every single show I’ve done at ALT I’ve learned more and more about how to be a humble person and to be a hard worker and to take nothing for granted,” she says. “(In 2020), pretty much everything was taken away from people in a matter of days, and I definitely didn’t think about all of that until I couldn’t do what I was so looking forward to doing. That all did come back to what I learned here.”

Follow Taylor Paige Henderson online: Instagram: @taylorpaigehenderson Facebook: @TaylorPaigeHendersonOfficial Twitter: @misstaylorpaige