Melissa McCarthy’s kid stars in Thunder Force, McCarthy’s new Netflix comedy series that premiered earlier, and she is simply hilarious.
McCarthy’s husband, Ben Falcone, wrote and directed the film Thunder Force, which stars McCarthy and Octavia Spencer as two separated best friends who form an unusual superhero team. But, before we get to that, the film begins with a sweet scene in which McCarthy and Spencer’s characters, Lydia and Emily, become friends.
The two first became friends because of their shared hate for a bully at school (played by actor Bria D. Singleton). Lydia stands up for Emily, and her words and demeanour are a dead ringer for McCarthy’s tough-girl attitude on screen.
“Get in that dumpster,” she demands the bully, brandishing a branch at him. “Because that’s where the rubbish goes,” says the narrator.
This, along with the rest of young Lydia’s line delivery, screams “young Melissa McCarthy.” It’s very charming, and it’s thanks to the fact that the actress portraying young Lydia is none other than McCarthy’s daughter, Vivian Falcone.
Yes. Lydia’s 12-year-old version is played by Vivian Falcone, McCarthy and Falcone’s real-life 12-year-old daughter. (At a later point, we meet Lydia as a teenager, played by actress Mia Kaplan.)
Falcone and McCarthy “kept Vivian out of acting but she’s quite good at it,” he stated in an interview with the Thunder Force press notes. Vivian is a dead ringer for Melissa at that age, and we wanted someone to play a twelve-year-old Lydia. She’s like her mother in that she can stay in the situation and then you can pitch her alternative ways the action could go based on what you think would be a little funnier or different — and she can make those changes. She’s only twelve years old.”
McCarthy’s younger daughter, Georgette Falcone, was also featured in a scenario where McCarthy throws a bus, possibly in an effort to be a fair father. “I thought having a youngster say, ‘That lady threw a bus,’ would be a funny way to express it, so we decided to let Georgie do it.” And she performed an outstanding job.”
Falcone has used his children in his films before, and this isn’t the first occasion. In the 2016 comedy The Boss, Vivian plays a younger version of her mother.
However, it’s difficult to disagree with Falcone’s evaluation of his daughter’s abilities after seeing the young Falcone flourish on TV. Her mother’s skill has certainly been passed down to her. Here’s to a whole new era of hilariousness!