Mia Tharia only turned 19 in May, but already she has been to Cannes Film Festival with debut feature September Says, has filmed Klara And The Sun in New Zealand alongside Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams for director Taika Waititi, and completed work on BBC TV series The Listeners, directed by Janicza Bravo (Zola) and starring Rebecca Hall.

It is a rapid rise for the actress, who still lives with her clinical psychologist mother and scientist father in their south London family home.

In Ireland-set, off-kilter drama September Says — the feature directing debut of actress Ariane Labed, and adapted from Daisy Johnson’s 2020 novel Sisters — Tharia plays teenager July, who has a complicated relationship with her disturbed, slightly older sister September. She won the part following a first audition with Labed and casting director Isabella Odoffin that led to an immediate callback for a chemistry read.

“The energy was something I hadn’t experienced before,” says Tharia. “I could feel Ariane’s eyes on me, not in a scary way but she was searching for something and looking so intensely.”

Her audition with Waititi for Klara And The Sun — adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian science-fiction novel about a sickly child and her solar-powered AF (Artificial Friend) — was a similarly rich experience, having been called at very short notice to read the sides. “I’d forgotten my lines, and Taika was, like, ‘Just improvise.’ He wanted a kind of weirdness and playfulness. And because I was so nervous, I think I managed to deliver that energy. It was very spontaneous.”

For The Listeners — based on Jordan Tannahill’s 2021 novel about a teacher tormented by a continuous humming noise — Tharia found herself exploring yet more new ground as daughter to Hall’s protagonist. “I can do awkward, pensive — that comes quite naturally to me,” she explains. “In this, my character is an absolute firecracker, very distrusting and grappling for control. To play a character that is so confrontational was exciting.”

Taking control may indeed be in Tharia’s future. Having spent her earlier teenage years with London’s Brixton Youth Theatre and Burnt Orange Theatre Company, she has already written her first play following a week-long writing residency at the Royal Court. “I’m really interested in theatre,” she explains, “and writing is definitely something I want to explore more.”

Contact: Maddi Bonura, Independent Talent 

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