It’s unusual enough to fly home to New Zealand to sit your Year 11 exams following the glamorous New York premiere of your new movie. But when you spy a passenger on that flight reading a copy of The New York Times with your face on it, things get too surreal!
When fame becomes real
This was a moment 15-year-old Amie Donald experienced after attending the Big Apple world premiere of M3gan 2.0, in which she stars as the demonic AI doll.
“I looked over and someone was reading the newspaper I was in!” the Auckland actress and dancer exclaims.
“When I said something to her, she was so sweet. It turned out her granddaughter had watched me in the film.”
M3gan’s rising star
Making connections with fans is a highlight of the cult following Amie’s developed since portraying M3gan in the horror movies directed by Kiwi filmmaker Gerard Johnstone and shot in Aotearoa.
When Woman’s Day last caught up with Amie in 2023, she was dealing with her rise.
“I never imagined being in movies,” she says.
“I had no idea dancing and acting could be connected. When you’re dancing, you take corrections and apply them quickly, which you need to do on set!”
While Amie’s first role was in Netflix’s Sweet Tooth, she was otherwise new to acting when she landed M3gan and had no idea how popular the film would become.
M3gan meets Venca
The movie has opened up a world of fan-convention appearances, ranging from Armageddon in Auckland to Monsterpalooza in California. During these events, she interacts with followers dressed up as M3gan and gets a chance to be a fangirl herself. She recalls the moment when she met Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower, 36, who plays the demon Vecna in the hit Netflix series.
“I was excited to meet him,” she laughs.
“He was sweet.
Yet while Amie loves the chance to hobnob at conventions and walk the red carpet, it’s going back to school in New Zealand that keeps her grounded. Homeschooled during M3gan, she returned to a class environment after the first movie because she missed her friends. They also helped her keep up with her schoolwork as she commenced M3gan 2.0.
A new chapter for M3gan
The sequel picks up two years after M3gan and sees the doll’s creator Gemma, played by Girls star Allison Williams, rebooting Amie’s character to help take on a dangerous new doll, Amelia.
The fight scenes proved her favourite part of filming, even though they required her to undergo intense physical preparation with Muay Thai, Wing Chun, kickboxing and rig-wire training.
Her least favourite part? Getting into M3gan’s pink cyberpunk outfit.
“It was challenging because it restricted my movement,” she admits.
Friendship beyond the set
“If I needed a bathroom break, I had to ask prior!”
Along with school mates, the role’s also helped Amie to meet new friends. She says it’s Allison, 37, and co-star Violet McGraw, 14, who plays Cady, whom she’s become closest with.
“Violet and I message each other every day!” she says, adding she’s also loved getting to know newcomer Ivanna Sakhno, 27, who plays Amelia.
The actresses reunited at the New York premiere, where Amie wore a custom frock by Kiwi designer Samantha Zhang, who also dressed her for the first film’s launch. Watching the flick alongside her co-stars was Amie’s mum Roisheen, 56, dad Miles, 52, and brother Campbell, 22.
“It was great having my brother along – it was his first time on the red carpet,” she shares. “We also went to a Yankees game and my mum caught the ball!”
Growing up in the spotlight
Comparing photos of Amie at M3gan’s 2023 premiere to images of her hitting the recent red carpet in New York show how quickly she’s grown from a little girl to a young woman. Yet she’s grateful she hasn’t had to sacrifice teenage fun, such as attending friends’ birthday parties, and says the biggest challenge of pursuing acting in her teens is simply getting roles.
“You can have many auditions but might not get the role because you don’t look like the mother they just cast,” she says.
“Or things come up, such as the actors’ strike. Whatever I do get cast for, I’m grateful for. My family always makes sure I stay humble and my brother’s very protective over me!”
M3gan 2.0 is now in cinemas.
