Born in 2004 in Houma, LA, Wallis was the youngest of four children of Venjie Wallis, Sr. and Qulyndriea Wallis, a middle school teacher. Wallis, nicknamed "Nazy," had never so much as considered acting before her audition for "Beasts of the Southern Wild," but decided to seize the opportunity to attend a casting call being held near her hometown in Terrebonne Parrish. Just five at the time of the audition, Wallis claimed she was the minimum required age of six. Writer-director Behn Zeitlin had originally written the film's protagonist, Hushpuppy, as an 11-year-old, certain that he would be unable to find an actor younger than that who could carry the film's poetic, insightful narration.
Zeitlin was instantly taken with Wallis' audition, however, claiming that she had impressed him with her strong will and her sense of right and wrong when she refused to follow his direction to throw a prop at a fellow actor because "it isn't right to throw things at people you don't know." Physically tiny yet somehow indomitable, naïve yet wise beyond her years, Wallis beat out 4,000 other girls to win the role, and Zeitlin not only reduced Hushpuppy's age to reflect Wallis', he also infused the character with her resilience. "Beasts of the Southern Wild" won acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival for its story of an impoverished Louisiana enclave facing down a storm of Biblical proportions. Despite the critical and popular praise, as well as early Oscar buzz for her performance, Wallis insisted that her next project would be maintaining her honor roll status at her elementary school.
By John Crye
