Priya-Rose Brookwell stars as Charlie Little in the new release of feature film GROW alongside Golda Rosheuvel as her on-screen aunt Dinah and Nick Frost as Arlo, and Priya was directed by John McPhail and attended the red carpet premiere event at the Edinburgh Film Festival in August. For her first TV role, Priya played Young Becky (Safia Oakley-Green) in Series 2 of The Lazarus Project, and has worked on a number of commercials. Since 2024, Priya has been Wimbledon’s Youngest Reporter and has filmed with tennis players including Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Alex De Minaur, Katie Boulter, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic. Previously, Priya was a presenter for the Lionesses/Barclay’s Women’s Super League, and has recently filmed a sketch with Rio Ferdinand for the World Cup draw. We caught up with Priya about starring as Charlie Little in feature film GROW, having her first TV role as Young Becky (Safia Oakley-Green) in The Lazarus Project and being Wimbledon’s Youngest Reporter.

In the new release of feature film GROW, you star as Charlie Little, how did you feel finding out you’d booked the leading role?

I felt super excited and really happy, and very grateful – I’m very lucky to audition for many roles but most of the time the answer is a no, so it was incredible to hear that I’d booked the role of Charlie. It was my first leading role in a feature film.

Can you tell us about GROW and how would you describe your character Charlie?

GROW is a family comedy that is heartwarming and joyful. It’s about Charlie Little, who seems to have a superpower with plants. She uses this to try and grow the largest pumpkin for the town’s competition, however, she hits a few road bumps on the way.

Charlie is pretty sassy when you first meet her, she doesn’t have a lot of trust in people and is a little bit lost, but once she moves in with her aunt, she starts to change.

What was Charlie like to play and did you have any favourite scenes to film?

Charlie was a really fun character to play. I really love her character growth. She’s very different to me when you first meet her – she’s sassy, rebellious and quite mischievous, but as the movie goes on and she changes to be very loyal, determined and loving, that’s more like who I am in real life.

If I had to choose a favourite scene, I think I’d go for either the Halloween scenes with Golda (Rosheuvel), or the naming the pumpkin scene because it was so funny and lots of improvised names, including Hieronymus.

What do you remember from your first day working on the project and how did you find the experience on set?

The first day was just really exciting because I got to meet a lot of people and it was just exciting to get started. It was amazing to get into my costume after Robert (the costume designer) had put his own stamp on Charlie’s iconic jacket, and I loved her shoes as well. There are actually a couple of hidden meanings on what she wore, for example, the embroidery of ’76’ on the arm is the amount of letters in Charlie Little.

How was it working alongside Golda Rosheuvel as your on-screen aunt Dinah, Nick Frost as Arlo and with the rest of the cast, and being directed by John McPhail?

Working with Golda was like a daily workshop, I feel so lucky that I got to spend every day with her – she is an amazing actress, so kind, funny and very loving. We got so close on set and I feel like we will be friends forever.

Nick is, again, a brilliant actor. He loves to improvise, which is one of my favourite acting styles, but I did have to be really prepared to not crack up in a scene with him because I never knew what he was going to say.

John was one of the best directors I have ever worked with. He was so relaxed and open to all the cast members’ ideas and gave everyone an open space to do their thing.

What are some of your stand-out memories from your time filming for GROW?

I have so many incredible memories from filming GROW. One that really stands out to me is when we were filming the final scenes, and it was just me left to wrap, but Golda stayed on set to watch me finish my final scene, and just as they called cut, there was a lovely huge rainbow in the sky. That felt really magical and I cried a lot 😂

What was it like attending the world premiere red carpet event at the 2025 Edinburgh International Film Festival in August and how was it seeing the completed film for the first time?

I was slightly nervous about the red carpet, but it was absolutely magical and something I will never forget, and I was lucky enough to have Golda by my side the whole time. Watching the film for the first time was probably the most incredible experience I’ve ever had so far in this industry. To see it all put together in a final edit like that was just unreal. It was a bit difficult the first time to watch myself on such a big screen, but it got easier the more times I watched it.

You have been involved with many short films including Bluewaspman as Charlotte, Multi-Storey as Katie, In the Dark as Daisy and Astray as May, can you tell us about some of them?

I love doing short films because quite often the crew is pretty small, which means you can interact with people more. I started out doing a lot of student short films, which has really helped me in this industry as people had a lot of time to explain the importance of camera angles, sound, continuity and lots of other things, so it was a really good learning experience that I’m really grateful for. Plus, I got to work with so many great people.

What was it like filming for your first TV role of Young Becky (Safia Oakley-Green) in Series 2 of The Lazarus Project?

Wow ok, The Lazarus Project really did change my perspective on acting in an amazing way! I’d mainly done shorts and commercials before booking The Lazarus Project, so it was a completely different set and the first time experiencing stunts, green screen, ‘explosions’, fake fires – it was so surreal but made me love acting even more.

I also took some fake glass home from an ‘explosion’ because it was so cool, almost like the material of a bouncy ball, rubbery!

Plus, the cast was just amazing. I worked a lot with Vinette Robinson, who played my mum, and she was just brilliant! Also, I loved Paapa (Essiedu) and Safia so much, they were so much fun to be around.

Since 2024, you have been Wimbledon’s Youngest Reporter, what do you enjoy most about being a presenter at the tournament and what is the event like to attend?

I really enjoy interacting with the players and getting to know them, I’m basically best friends with Carlos (Alcaraz) now 😂 I’ve also learnt so much about tennis. I’ve worked with the production crew (Whisper TV) of Wimbledon for four years now and I’m so grateful for the amazing opportunities that they have given me over the years.

The first year of doing Wimbledon, I just did the press weekend, so it wasn’t open to the public, but this year I did the press weekend and also the weekend in the middle of the tournament to catch up with how the players were doing – that was a very different but great experience with all the crowds at the venue.

What was it like meeting and filming with tennis players such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Alex De Minaur, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, and do you have any favourite highlights from Wimbledon that you can share?

Honestly, every tennis player I have met so far has just been brilliant. They played silly games that I had, they did TikToks with me, we made handshakes, took funny pictures, and I even did a meditation session with João Fonseca, which was really funny. Carlos Alcaraz is one of my favourites because he’s so nice and down to earth, I also loved our handshake.

You were previously a presenter for The Lionesses/Barclays Women’s Super League, how was this?

I was really young doing these. It was really fun, and my first ever time doing presenting work was with the Barclays Women’s Super League – I met and interviewed Mary Earps, Bunny Shaw, Taylor Hinds and Maz Pacheco, who were all so lovely so made the interviews go really well. I was so excited and happy to be called back to interview the Lionesses ahead of their Euro win!

Having also filmed for numerous commercials, what are they like to work on and can you say about some of the ones you’ve been part of?

I have been lucky to do a fair few commercials in the past – Jammie Dodgers, Purina pet food, Parkdean Resorts, Voltaren, and a few more. Commercials are really fast-paced, so you audition, recall and are on set in such a short space of time, which I do enjoy, but I prefer TV and film where you can spend more time with cast and crew and get to know people more.

Where does your love of acting and presenting come from and how did you get started in both?

With the acting side, I fell in love with TV and film at a very young age. I loved watching BTS on YouTube of things that I liked to watch and ‘the making of…’ I’m still the same now but my love has just grown more and more. I really hope to make a lifetime career exploring hundreds of different characters. The presenting was something I basically stumbled into after an audition and I’ve loved it ever since.

What are some of your favourite films and TV shows to watch?

Films – I love musical films such as Wicked, the recorded version of Hamilton and Les Misérables. I love Moana – she reminds me of myself, and Brave. The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, Step Up, Grown Ups – I could go on forever!

TV shows are probably my absolute favourite and I have so many but I will just name a few favourites – Wednesday, Stranger Things, The Vampire Diaries, Weak Hero, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Wheel of Time – and so much more!

How do you like to spend your time away from acting?

Gymnastics – and lots of it! I’m a competitive gymnast and part of a squad, so I train for 17 hours in women’s artistic and three hours in tumble each week. I also dance, and I train in modern, acro and lyrical.

Do you have any upcoming projects that you can tell us about and what are you hoping the next few months bring for you?

I’ve recently done a sketch with Rio Ferdinand for the World Cup draw, which was on the BBC recently. I’ve also done some interviews with New Zealand’s All Blacks, which will hopefully be released soon.

I’m hoping the new year will bring me lots of new opportunities on some amazing new sets.

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