The 'amazing' 11-year-old Scot hailed 'a little star' by Brian Cox for her performance in Glenrothan
Brian Cox said he was fooled by Alexandra Wilkie’s American accent
Brian Cox has praised an “amazing” young Scottish actor who starred alongside him in new film Glenrothan - and says he wants to act in another film with her.
The comedy-drama, which is released in the UK and Ireland today, stars Cox and Alan Cumming, and focuses on themes of family, reconciliation and conflict as well as Scotch whisky.
Hamilton College pupil Alexandra Wilkie, 11, plays Sasha, the American granddaughter of Cumming’s character Donal, who is returning to his family’s whisky distillery in the Highlands after 40 years in the USA to reunite with his brother Sandy, played by Cox.
Hailing her performance in the film, Cox, who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Logan Roy in HBO’s smash hit Succession, said: “The wonderful Alexandra Wilkie - our little star. This girl is truly amazing.
“I want to do another film with Alexandra Wilkie because she is astounding. Everyone thinks she’s American but she’s actually a farmer’s daughter from Blantyre. She has a perfect American accent. You would absolutely never know she wasn’t a natural-born Yank.
“She is truly gifted and a joy to work with.”
Alexandra, who has been a member of the Spotlight Musical Theatre in Hamilton and the Karen Bordon Dance Academy in Burnbank since the age of five, said she had never heard of Brian Cox before she was cast in the film, which has seen her appear with Cox and Cumming on the red carpet at the film's premiere in Canada and accompany Cumming when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“It has been an amazing experience,” said Alexandra, who also featured in the remake of the BBC’s popular children’s series Balamory as Bonnie, the daughter of new vet Dr Ollie.
“To be honest I hadn’t heard of Brian Cox before this. But he was so welcoming and kind and so easy to talk to which was really helpful.
“Travelling to exciting places such as the film festivals in Toronto and Palm Springs was great and being in Hollywood was a dream come true. It’s the first time I had been to Los Angeles. I love to see new places and it’s even cooler when you get to go to a movie premiere there as well.”
She added: “I could never imagine I would ever get to go on a red carpet. I thought it was going to be quite scary but I had a lady helping me through all the photos and interviews. People were so kind to me and that helped me to relax and enjoy it.”
Alexandra said she hopes to continue her career in the coming years - both on screen and on stage.
She said: “I will hopefully get to do more movies and TV shows in the future but I would also like to carry on performing on stage as I really enjoy singing, dancing and acting. I have always loved to dance and through dance I got to do pantomime and it was the best thing ever.”
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