Rarely does a young talent grip audiences like Malia Baker has over the last few years.
andLifetime’s latest original movie, “Caught in His Web” (viaIMDb).
Baker stars opposite Alison Thornton and Emma Tremblay, while Detective Holland is played by Garcelle Beauvais.
It’s a true story, which is, on top of that, even more powerful.
Yeah, for sure.
In the film, you star opposite Alison Thornton and Emma Tremblay.
What was it like working with them and building this core group of protagonists?
Oh my God, those girls.
We have a group chat that we [use] on a regular basis.
I feel like after that film, we definitely have gotten close.
That was our first day meeting.
That was our first introduction and we were being thrown into the scene.
I have, yeah.
It’s a really cool thing to be able to have those connections from doing what you love.
There’s other films that have similar things with this one, but are completely different.
Like Emily Osment, Cyber Bully comes to mind.
For sure, yeah.
I understood when they changed the name for sure.
I feel like this one differs in such a complete and drastic way because these are three girls.
You don’t see the perspective of this one teenager going through this trial alone.
A lot of young girls are facing this nowadays.
I used to go to public school.
Did those help you prepare for this?
Those helped me prepare.
This is a real 2012 high schooler girl talking, okay."
“The Baby-Sitters Club” is, tonally, a little different from this film.
[Laughs] Yeah.
Just a little bit.
Yeah, it was definitely a change.
I hadn’t really worked on this environment before.
I did “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”
Definitely preparing me for the future.
Yeah, it’s interesting, actually.
What was her exact thoughts on this moment, [etc.
I feel like that question is endless and I can go off that for a hundred, thousand times.
Can you help me with that?"
With Canada Reads, I’ve always been a huge book nerd.
It’s definitely a new realm.
It’s terrifying, but it’s exciting at the same time.
I’ve been working with Girl Up and I’ve absolutely loved them.
Girl Up, she’s the first.
Those two are really close to my heart right now.
Being, also, a multiracial girl in today isn’t everything.
Is that also something you want to pursue in your career?
Do you write scripts?
Have those all different perspectives.
It really is, now that you put it that way.
It’s like being a small director from a two-minute play, to being in the Netflix show.
It’s definitely an internship of all sorts.
How has that been different for you?
Yeah, it’s definitely different.
With Netflix, everything releases right then and there.
With [traditional networks], they gradually build up.
We already have this fan base that will watch the same channels over time.
It’s really exciting.
I can’t wait for what it’ll be like when it actually releases.
It’s impacted so many people, because of Mary Anne’s relatability.
Oh my god, Alicia, she’s hilarious.
It was a really cute introduction to everything.
Why is reflecting these causes and progress on screen important to you?
I feel like it’s important to be in a way, that it’s the truth.
I remember first getting into the industry.
That’s such a different thing, because I want to be actor/Malia.
It’s definitely a different thing.
I’m not a very social person when it comes to social media.
Speaking of “Baby-Sitters Club,” Netflix has yet to officially renew it to the public.
Oh my gosh, everything.
I want them to do the hundreds of books that they’re there.
All I can say is just keep watching so we can do it.
With “The Baby-Sitters Club,” I think it would be …
I’m a cat person, I got to be honest.
Mary Anne has a cat in the books.
That’s my only dying wish.
I would love to have a kitten on set to play with.
For the rest of the girls, I think, forming these stories again and again.
That’s part of the magic of “BSC” for sure.
That’s a really good question.
I’m a Marvel fan, so anything in that universe would be so cool.
I love Greta Gerwig, Wes Anderson.
I don’t know who.
Alicia Keys would be really cool.
Are there any Marvel characters not yet in the MCU that you think you would want to play?
Oh, that’s a good question.
There’s this one old comic.
I forgot her name, but whoever it is, I could really be grateful either way.
I could be a hot dog grinder for all I care.
Yeah, for 2022, a lot of things are coming.
A lot of things are in the works, so definitely keep your eyes peeled.
From what’s announced, we have, what… Oh my God.
That one’s coming up.
That one sounds really exciting.
I was so excited for a really long time!
You must have worked with him right on the heels of “WandaVision,” right?
Is there anything else you could tease about what’s next for you?
I wish I could.
I wish I could even say that there’s anything big next for me.
