We met Sohphie Nélisse, the young rising Canadian Star who plays Liesel Meminger in the movie “The Book Thief” opposite Geoffrey Rush. This is the French-Canadian teen’s second major film role, her debut performance was in the Canadian film, “Monsieur Lazhar” for which she was awarded a Genie for Best Supporting Actress (The Geminis and the Genies have since amalgamated to become the Canadian Screen Awards). Her performance in “The Book Thief” has also received a number of awards, a Satellite Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role from the Phoenix Film Critics Society, and a Spotlight Award at the Hollywood Film Festival.

The young starlet does an impressive job holding her own alongside well established Hollywood talent, Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. No small task as her role in “The Book Thief” required her character to have a German accent. Based on the best selling novel, “The Book Thief” tells the story of a young girl living in Germany during WWII, who steals books to prevent them from being burned by the Nazi’s. “The Book Thief” was also nominated for both and Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Score.

–Astrid Handling

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