Alabaster 13-year-old appears in Marvel + Disney series ‘Ironheart’

An actress hailing from Alabaster scored a role in a recently-released Disney+ show from Marvel Studios.

Alyse Elna Lewis, 13, portrayed the younger version of the main character of “Ironheart,” Riri Williams, who is played by actress Dominique Thorne.

Lewis, a student at Thompson Middle School in Alabaster, has appeared in a handful of other productions, including “Oracle,” “Atlanta,” and “Girlfriendship.”

Being such a young actress with multiple roles under her belt, you may expect that she has been acting her entire life — but that isn’t the case. 

“I started acting during COVID because, as a little kid, I always would remember lines from movies and sing different songs from movies. I just had it memorized, and my parents were like, ‘We should get her into acting.’”

Alyse Elna Lewis

During the pandemic, she began acting lessons, and soon enough, her coach referred her to an agent. 

The Marvel series was a larger production than she was used to, representing another leap in her acting career. 

“I was excited and nervous at the same time. I was like, ‘What if they don’t like what I’m doing? What if I’m not good? What if I forget instruction?’ But they made me feel so safe, and it was actually an amazing cast and amazing experience.”

“Ironheart” is a sequel to the film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in which prodigy inventor and MIT student Riri Williams unearths secrets that pit technology against magic. As she begins to find herself wrapped up with a mysterious man, Riri makes discoveries that bring danger and adventure into her life.

The series premiered June 24 and finished July 1, so you can catch all of “Ironheart” on Disney+ today.

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