Marsai Martin Set To Become Hollywood's Youngest Executive Producer

Fourteen-year-old Marsai Martin who is best known for her role as Diane Johnson in the hit show Black-ish is set to become the youngest ever executive producer of a major Hollywood film with the debut of Universal Pictures’ Little on April 12.

She is one of the female lead along with two other actresses Regina Hall and Issa Rae.

“I look at her and I'm inspired. I think about how she's going to inspire so many people, including other young women. She went out there and did it. She's showing other people you can do it if you try,” Rae said about her young co-star in an interview.

Martin actually came up with the idea for the film when she was only 10, after watching a popular flick that does something similar, but in reverse.

In the movie, Marsai plays the role of bullying tech mogul Jordan, who struggles to adjust to middle-school life after magically becoming trapped in the body she had when she was 13 years old. Martin actually came up with the idea for the film when she was only 10 years old, after watching a popular flick that does something similar, but in reverse.

“One of my mom’s favourite movies growing up was Big starring Tom Hanks. I saw Big, and I said, ‘What if we do this in a different perspective, more of a modern take on what’s going on now, and make it a female empowerment movie, with an all-black woman cast,” she said on ">The View.

Martin used to act out scenes from Dreamgirls that is when her parents realised her passion for acting.  She also said, “I think it’s been in my blood for a long time."

“With Little, I was nervous in the beginning, so I was practicing the script over, and over, and over again until I actually got it right because, of course, this is my first feature film in something that I'm the EP on, so I wanted to have the opportunity to not be stressed out and just really learn without being stuck anyway,” the actress said.

Martini took to Twitter to share the trailer with her fans.

April 12th it’s on! #LittleMovie https://t.co/yf9rfSXdRB

— Marsai Martin (@marsaimartin) March 6, 2019

Martin hopes this milestone will inspire other young Black filmmakers and creative individuals to push their dreams forward.

“I am so excited for the magic I'll be able to create and produce with Universal. Mr. Cramer and Ms. Langley's commitment to investing in and uplifting diverse and young voices is both refreshing and important, and I'm happy to be a part of that legacy. My goal is to show young women and girls that our voices and ideas matter and you are never too young to dream BIG,” said Martini.

The young actress has already won two NAACP Image Awards and a Young Artist Award for her role as Diane Johnson on ABC’s Emmy-nominated Black-ish. She also made it to the list of TIME's 25 most influential teens in 2018.

Martin also hopes this milestone will inspire other young Black filmmakers and creative individuals to push their dreams forward.

Picture Credit: hotnewhiphop.com

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Sonakshi Goel is an intern with SheThePeople.TV