Interview: Raffey Cassidy of “Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism”

Raffey Cassidy gives a performance of endless charm in “Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism,” following her breakthrough appearance in “Tomorrowland,” where she stole the film from the grown-up stars including George Clooney. I was thrilled to get a chance to interview her and can’t wait to see what she does next.

You wore some really crazy outfits in this movie. Which one was the most fun? Which one took the longest to get into?

The Hardwick House Orphanage look was probably the outfit I most enjoyed wearing. It was the costume where molly was really herself and the one I felt most comfortable in. It was also the outfit that took the longest to get into due to the amount of layers the outfit had. I did have fun ‘glamming up’ and wearing the fabulously glittery costumes for the fashion shoot scenes.

If you could hypnotize someone, who would you pick and what would you have them do?

I would hypnotize my parents because I could get them to let me stay up really late and get them to say ‘yes’ to all the things they normally say ‘no’ toJ I might also have a go at hypnotizing my teachers – but that could get me into lots of trouble I think!

Did you have to work hard to learn to sing badly?

Well I would like to say that I had to work hard to sing badly but unfortunately it came as pretty easily – sort of a natural talent. If I ever got stuck I could always get plenty of tips off my dad!

What was it like to work with the dog who played Petula?

It was so fun having the chance to work with a dog. There were actually two, George and Lola. They were very co-operative and smart. It was very interesting seeing the trainer working with them, able to communicate with an animal.

You have worked with some great actors. Did George Clooney play any of his famous pranks on you?

He did keep reminding my set tutor that it was time for school, which he thought was really funny (and so did I – sort of) but otherwise I got away lightly. I did witness a lot of pranks so being on set with him was always a lot of fun.

Did Leslie Manville, Emily Watson, or Celia Imrie give you any advice about acting?

It was more a case of watching and learning from them. I saw how professional they were and how they were still able to keep the set so relaxed and enjoy what they were doing. It was very cool to have the chance to be able to work with such amazing actresses and learn off them – so many in the same film.

What is the most important lesson Molly learns in the film?

Molly learns that family and friends are the most important thing that you could possibly have. She thinks that the grass is greener on the other side but she learns that actually it’s not at all. I think that that was a very important lesson for Molly. She also learns to have hope and that things usually can get better, even if you feel at the time that they won’t.

What did you and the other kids do for fun when you weren’t filming?

I had so much fun working with all the other children, we all really got along. After a long day of filming with the other children we would all go for a nice meal, it was great and fun we could all talk about the day that we had had. On set me and Jake, who played Roger, would mess around doing different accents – I do this a lot at home so it was nice to have someone to mess around with when I was filming.

Would you like to make another Molly movie?

I would absolutely love to make another Molly Moon and be part of all of the different adventures that she embarks on. I know the books and they are packed with lots of exciting Molly Moon adventures