After joining a local SA (supporting artists) group around the age of nine, a few weeks later, Mylee Soverall was asked to be a body double for the Channel 4 series Generation Z, for which she filmed for two weeks. Mylee booked her first professional acting role playing Khaliya in the comedy thriller feature film Bad Apples alongside Saoirse Ronan as Maria, Eddie Waller as Danny and Jaye Jacobs as her on-screen mother, and she is directed by Jonatan Etzler. As an actor, Mylee is part of Here For The Drama Academy (HFTD Academy) with acting coach Milly Zero, and in her free time, she swims competitively for City of Bristol six times a week and is ranked in the top 20 in Britain for freestyle and backstroke. Answering our questions, Mylee told us about playing Khaliya in comedy thriller feature film Bad Apples, being directed by Jonatan Etzler for her first professional acting role and how she got into the industry.

How did you feel finding out you’d booked the role of Khaliya in the comedy thriller feature film Bad Apples for your first professional acting role?

Me and my mum were in the car and she got a call through and it was the Fiona Weir casting team. They were talking about the workshop and how they really enjoyed meeting all of the children who auditioned, then they said they would like to offer me the part of Khaliya. I was so shocked and couldn’t believe it. They were on the phone for about 20 minutes going through all the procedures and I was just sat there with the biggest smile on my face asking my mum “did I get it?” so shocked the whole call and was so excited.

How did you prepare for your first day on set and did you have a process for learning your lines?

The casting team organised a bowling and pizza night with all the classroom cast and Saoirse (Ronan), which was so much fun, we also had quite a few rehearsal with Saoirse and Jonaton (Etzler) before we started filming so when I was on set the first day I didn’t feel nervous as I had gotten to know all the other cast really well and was so excited. It was just like going to a school for the first day with all my new friends I had met. I practised my lines a lot before being on set and I’m quite good at memorising lines.

How would you describe Khaliya and what was she like to play?

Khailya is quite shy and nervous but really kind. She was really fun to play because I hadn’t done any acting before and I feel she was quite similar to me. I loved playing her.

Can you tell us about Bad Apples and was there anything that particularly drew you to the film?

It’s about a boy called Danny who is really naughty in school and our teacher called Maria tries to make our classroom a place to learn and be a fun place but Danny is naughty in class, then he goes missing and Maria locks him in her basement at her house and we all think he has been suspended.

I love comedies so I thought it would be a really fun project to be involved in.

What was it like on set of Bad Apples and being directed by Jonatan Etzler?

I loved being on set, it was just like being at primary school.

Jonatan gave me good direction, when I was doing a scene he told me what to do and was great to work with.

Did you have any favourite scenes to film and what was it like filming with the rest of the cast, which includes Saoirse Ronan as Maria?

I had so many fun scenes to do but one of my favourite scene to film was when Eddie (Waller, who plays Danny) was drawing graffiti on the table of our classroom (I’m sat next to him in our classroom) and I had to look at him and I had to pretend to be super scared of him. He is such a great actor and he was really scary when he was playing his character so I found it quite easy to do.

Filming with the cast was so much fun, we had so much fun every day.

My favourite scene was with Saoirse, who played Maria. Before my scene with her, I got to spend some time with her one-to-one going through the scene and my lines and she gave me some really good tips for acting and then we practised the scene a few times. She was really lovely and we talked about how we both loved horses. Saoirse was a great teacher.

What are some of your stand-out highlights from playing Khaliya?

There are so many to choose from…

Acting with Jaye Jacobs, who played my mum. We did a scene in the playground when she was having a go at Maria (Saoirse) and it was great to be there with both great actors.

Doing a one-to-one scene with Saoirse (Maria) in the classroom.

Singing on stage with the class in front of the school for a big assembly. The whole cast and crew was there plus 100s of extras so that was a fun day.

Making friends and spending weeks having fun with all the cast.

What do you feel you learnt from working on the project?

I learnt that it takes multiple takes for scenes.

Who do you think will enjoy watching Bad Apples?

People that love dark comedies.

How did you get into acting and was it always something you wanted to do professionally?

When I was nine, I asked my mum if I could get into acting. We joined our local SA group in the area, and a few weeks later, I was asked to be a body double for Generation Z – the zombies Channel 4 series. My mum said if I enjoyed it she would look into getting an agent for me. I filmed for two weeks and I loved it so much. During that time, my mum saw an open casting for ‘good oranges’ and she applied for the lead role. Then a few weeks later they asked me to read for another two roles. Then a few months later, I was invited to a workshop for the day with Fiona Weir and a week later my mum got a call offering me the role.

Do you have any favourite films and TV shows to watch?

My favourite films are Harry Potter.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I swim competitively for City of Bristol six times a week and I have a horse called Milo, who I loan two times a week and do competitions when I can.

Have you been given any advice over your time as an actor so far that has stuck with you?

The best piece of advice I have been given is just to listen, and react as naturally to the scene as possible.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the acting industry?

I love meeting new friends and having fun acting and playing around with characters.

Do you have any projects coming up that you can share and what are you hoping the next year brings for you?

Not at the moment. I’m always auditioning so I’m hoping that the next perfect role for me will be out there soon.

I will keep working hard on my acting with Milly Zero from HFTD, who is my acting coach, and I would love to be in a TV series or film with horses.