Fans took notice of Imogen Faith Reid's performance as Natalia Grace in Hulu's Good American Family.
The new streaming drama is based on the true story of two parents (Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo and The Morning Show actor Mark Duplass) adopting a young girl (Imogen Faith Reid) with dwarfism; however, after some time with her new family, questions start to arise if this adopted daughter truly is the child she says she is.
Natalia Grace Actor Imogen Faith Reid Biography Details
Imogen Faith Reid: Age, Height, & More Explained
Imogen Faith Reid is a working actor from the United Kingdom born in May 1997. The 27-year-old was diagnosed with dwarfism (like her Good American Family character), standing 4-feet, 3-inches tall.
According to her resume, outside of acting, she also has shown to be a skilled singer and dancer.
Good American Family Is Imogen's First Major Role
While Imogen Faith Reid has been acting for some time, Good American Family marks the star's first major role.
Most of her previous acting work was as a double on significant productions, including Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and Netflix's The Witcher, Season 3.
Talking about her work on the series, Reid told Gold Derby "I saw the self-tape [request] through my agent and I thought, 'Well, I'm not going to get that,'" but after getting the role it washed over her how much of "an incredible moment" it was for her:
"I saw the self-tape [request] through my agent and I thought, 'Well, I'm not going to get that. But, whoever gets it — slay. After four recalls, I got the job and it was just such an incredible moment. When researching the story, I was so fascinated by it. As a little person, I just felt like I know what it's like to be judged in everyday life and going through those daily struggles of being small. I thought, 'Yeah, I can take this on.' And I did!"
Imogen Has Dwarfism, but Not the Same Type as Natalia Grace
Like her Good American Family character, Imogen Faith Reid has dwarfism but not the same time as Natalia.
Her co-star Mark Duplass (who fans may recognize from Netflix's Goliath) praised the actress for demonstrating this different impairment in her performance, using "all these different movements" that she does not naturally have as a part of her every day. He compared it to "not speaking in her native dialect" (via Gold Derby):
"What she won't say is she's not speaking in her native dialect. The type of dwarfism that Natalia has is different than Imogen. She has to figure out all these different movements — she has a movement coach. She's doing all of these things in her first speaking role. This is something you shouldn't do until you're 70 f--king years old and she just knocked it out of the park."
Imogen Wanted To Play Natalia as Sympathetic
Something Reid brought into her performance as Natalia in Good American Family was wanting to play her as sympathetic.
In the series, she plays a child with dwarfism who is adopted by a new family. However, once embedded with her new family, evidence begins to mount she may not be exactly who she said she was.
Reid broke down her performance in the Hulu series in a conversation with TV Insider, putting a focus on her character's feelings of "struggle" and "abandonment" while being portrayed as "manipulative" from the outside:
"As Natalia, my version is very manipulative and always one step ahead and things like that. And we move onto my POV where we see her struggle, the abandonment, and I think that was, as an actor, fun to play with both."
"The first four episodes were so much fun, and I just unleashed that image, just ready to come out … my villain era," she continued, adding that she prefers Natalia's "heartbreaking" point of view:
"I mean, the first four episodes were so much fun, and I just unleashed that image, just ready to come out … my villain era. It was so much fun to play, but I do prefer Natalia’s point of view because it was so heartbreaking, and that’s a nuanced story. It’s hard to get to the truth."
Imogen Felt Mentored by Ellen Pompeo
With Good American Family being one of Imogen Faith Reid's first major roles, she used her time working alongside names like Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass to absorb as much knowledge from her co-stars as she could.
She felt like Pompeo mentored her during their time on set, with the veteran actress taking Reid under her wing. Reid told Entertainment Tonight that Pompeo was an "amazing person to work alongside and "taught [her] so much:"
"When I found out Ellen [Pompeo] was playing my mom, I freaked out. What an amazing person to work alongside. I mean, she taught me so much. She gave me so much advice, saying things like 'You have a voice' and stuff. Stuff like that is really important to hear when it is your first role, and she was a real mentor for me. And Mark [Duplass] is such a lovely human. He is always such a kind human."
How To Follow Imogen Faith Reid Online
Fans can follow Imogen Faith Reid on Instagram.
Good American Family is streaming on Hulu.
