Megan Stott leads Penelope as its titular character, marking a major milestone in the young actress' career.
The Netflix coming-of-age drama is Stott's first lead role in a major TV series or movie, as she takes on the part of a 16-year-old who leaves behind the big city to disconnect from the modern world and live amongst the wilderness.
All eight episodes of the Stott-led streaming series are available now on Netflix.
Meet Megan Stott - Biography Details (Age, Movie & TV FIlmmography & More)
Megan Stott Started Performing at Age 4
While Megan Stott may look young on-screen in Penelope, the 21-year-old has been acting for more than 15 years at this point.
The Netflix star, born May 24, 2003, started performing at four years old in her hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
In a conversation with Content Mode, Stott described her earliest memories of performing, saying that she "used to take books my parents read me and would make them into plays:"
"When I was about 4-5 years old, I used to take books my parents read me and would make them into plays. My brothers and I would perform the lines and images in the books. It was so much fun! I did this throughout my childhood and eventually, while taking vocal lessons, my coach felt I was also an actress and he had me do a few plays. Later, he took me to New York and LA and helped me find agents."
Stott says that she has been working as an actor professionally for "about five years" (via The Newsette), but things did not really take off until she was cast in Prime Video's Little Fires Everywhere:
"It’s been about five years. For a while, I didn’t really get anything… A few short films and student films. It was the moment when I said, 'Mom, I don’t want to [keep auditioning] and not get anything,' when I got a call about 'Little Fires Everywhere.'"
Megan Looks Up to Scarlett Johansson and Reese Witherspoon
Being a young actress working in Hollywood, Stott has several big names that she looks up to in the acting world.
The biggest of these influences are Scarlett Johansson and Reese Witherspoon, according to the Penelope actress (via Content Mode):
"I have many people I look up to in the acting industry. Some of them are Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Elisabeth Moss, Matt Damon and Bradley Cooper."
Stott got the chance to work with one of her heroes on the Prime Video mini-series Little Fires Everywhere, starring alongside Witherspoon for the entire show.
Talking about working with Witherspoon, Stott called the experience "such an iconic thing for [her]" (via V Magazine).
She pointed to some advice the Academy Award winner gave to her on set, telling the young actress that to connect with a character that may seem distant, "you just have to put yourself into the scene:"
"Reese…that was such an iconic thing for me. I was able to work with the one person I had dreamed about [working with] my entire life. [S]ometimes makes me cry because it is very true. If the character ever feels distant, you just have to put yourself into the scene and everything else will fall into place… that is acting."
In that same interview, Stott also mentioned working with her other Little Fires Everywhere co-star, Kerry Washington. She called Washington "a wonderful and inspirational woman," saying she told her to "bring your best to the table:"
"Kerry is such a wonderful and inspirational woman. My favorite lesson she taught me was that 'you have to bring your best to the table, whether you’re at home, acting with your friend, or acting in practice circles. Being able to do it when you’re not in coverage, always putting your best foot forward.'"
Megan Learned a Lot About Herself While Filming Penelope
As Megan Stott watched her character reconnect with nature and find herself in Netflix's Penelope series, she learned a bit about herself as well.
In an interview with In Creative Company promoting the series, Stotts revealed that she learned a lot about who she was working on the show.
She admitted, "It made me realize that in nature, and in everyday life, you have to be resourceful:"
"It made me realize that in nature, and in everyday life, you have to be resourceful. But that does not mean you have to be resourceful in the way that you rely on Google or the internet. You can be resourceful in your own mind and the activities that you do and you figure it out. That is what makes you stronger as a human being. It is figuring things out by yourself. You are not always going to have people to help you, or the internet to help you."
This reliance on the internet was something Stotts thought about while working on the series, pointing to situations where there may not be the luxuries of technology to help someone in a bind:
"Because there are situations like your phone dies, you do not have a computer, you do not have a book. There are moments like that that make you realize that you have to find that strength within yourself to be able to do the things that you want to do, because nobody is going to help you. You are your own soldier. You are your own person. You are your own hero is what my mom and I like to say."
She also remarked that the show helped her "really connect with nature and be a little bit more disconnected from [technology]:"
"I think it helps me to realize all of those things and be able to really connect with nature and be a little bit more disconnected from, I would not say society, but technology and the internet. I will use it when I need to, and, of course, I enjoy it and it is a part of my life, but it is definitely something that I know now that I do not need. I sometimes want it. I love scrolling on TikTok. I am definitely a doom scroller. So, it is okay guys."
Megan Will Next Star in Aftermath
Megan Stott will next star in the upcoming film, Aftermath, from director Patrick Lussier.
Stott joins the cast led by former Disney Channel star Dylan Sprouse and Scream VI actor Mason Gooding.
The film will see Stott play the little sister to Sprouse's Ranger Eric Daniels, a former marine who finds himself stuck in traffic during a terrorist takeover of Boston's Tobin Memorial Bridge.
The film is set to come to select theaters starting September 27.
How To Follow Megan Stott Online
Fans looking to keep up with Stott online can follow the Penelope star on Instagram (@itsmeganstott).
Penelope is now streaming on Netflix.
