Getting her chance in the spotlight

SACO — When Thornton Academy sophomore Alyssa McCourt went to see the premier of the movie “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” last week, she didn’t just see Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner on the big screen. She saw herself.

McCourt, 16, landed the role of Clarissa, the childhood friend of main character Jenny.

The Thornton Academy student appears in two scenes in the movie that flashback to Jenny’s past.

“It’s not a big role,” she said, but it was big enough to get her film credit and a listing on the Internet Movie Database.

The movie was McCourt’s first motion picture role. She has been acting since she was four, and when she was younger, she was involved in community and school theater groups. When she was 14, she signed on with an agent from New England Models Group in New Hampshire. The audition for “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” was her second audition.

The movie was filmed in Massachusetts in 2008, and she worked two days on the set, one day in February and one in April of that year.

She worked 12 to 14 hour days, with little down time, she said, but despite the long days, she enjoyed the work.

“I loved every minute of it,” she said. It was such a great experience, she said, to learn about acting and meet new people, including famous actors.

“Matthew McConaughey is so down to earth,” said McCourt. She said that although there have been rumors that McConaughey is rude, she found him to be the total opposite.

“He’s so friendly and so nice,” she said.

She also got the chance to meet actress Emma Stone, who she said was “an absolute doll.”

“She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met,” said McCourt.

Getting herself transformed for the role was a memorable experience. Before heading down to Massachusetts, she had to die her hair blonde for the role, to set her character, Clarissa, apart from the main character, who had a darker hair color.

Because her scene was set in the 1980s, her hair was curled and hair extensions were added to make her look like she had the big permed hair that was popular in the era.

McCourt also had to get her make-up done for the role and she said that spending time in the make-up trailer was “so fun.” The make up artists, she said, were fun, friendly and entertaining.

“You have four people on you doing make-up,” said McCourt.

On the set, McCourt received star treatment, which she said was a little strange, and took some getting used to.

She said somebody was always following her and other actors around, asking them if they wanted water or a snack. On a particularly cold day, a staff person came up from behind her and wrapped her in a blanket, and then pushed her in front of the line of people waiting to get inside.

“It’s a whole different world,” she said.

The extras, she said, were treated badly, and she felt guilty about being treated better than them.

“Everyone thinks I’m a star. But I’m not, I’m nothing ”¦ this is my first role,” she said.

McCourt has also been in a FairPoint commercial, and has been in an instructional video for Gillette Venus razors. She is enrolled in a theater class at Thornton Academy and is in the all girls Treble Choir. She currently does not participate in any local theater because the commitment would be difficult to juggle with her professional acting career.

She will, on occasion, get a call asking her to be at an audition in New York ”“ the next day. She said she sometimes has to miss school because of her work, but her teachers are very cooperative and allow her to make up missed work.

McCourt said she likes to act in comedies, particularly romantic comedies, because she said “you get to do a variety of emotions.”

She said that acting is something she plans to pursue as a career.

“It’s definitely my passion,” she said.

McCourt plans this summer to spend about a month in New York, to be closer to career opportunities. She also has a manager in Los Angeles, and in the future may spend time in California.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@gwi.net.

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