Name: Rain Spencer
Notable past credits: She starred as best-friend-from-home Taylor in “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” In 2022 Spencer made her film debut in “Good Girl Jane,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival; she won an award for best performance at the festival.
Sundance project: Coming-of-age film “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” set in New Zealand in 2006. Spencer stars as the object of affection for Sid, an impressionable teenager played by newcomer Ani Palmer.
“ It was really fun watching Ani’s face going down the carpet, and relive what it’s like doing your first [film],” says Spencer, quickly adding that she also still feels new to the film world. “But your very first one is such an experience, so it’s so cool to relive that through her.”
“Big Girls Don’t Cry” was also an opportunity for Spencer to relive her teenage years. The actress stars as Freya, the American friend of Sid’s older sister who comes to stay with the family in New Zealand during a school break.
Rain Spencer
Lexie Moreland/WWD
“[Writer-director Paloma Schneideman] did such a good job at creating these well-rounded characters that I just feel so much empathy for,” Spencer says. “Ultimately, I felt so much empathy for my 14-year-old self. Even the kids that are so mean are just doing the best that they can. You’re surviving at 14.”
Big Girls Don’t Cry” marks Spencer’s first Sundance — and second film festival — and she was busy taking it all in. “ I feel sleepy in the best way,” she says, the morning after the film’s premiere. “I’m total whirlwind craziness in the best way right now.”
Spencer arrived at the festival straight from a full day of rehearsal for her next project. The actress is starring onstage in “Dad’s Leg,” a new dark comedic play written and directed by Zach Shields that will debut in February in L.A. “It’s about these two sisters. The dad is losing his leg because he’s an alcoholic, and the sisters are fighting over who gets his leg,” says Spencer, describing the tone of the production as “funny and heartbreaking.”
”I started in theater, so it’s the root of acting [for me],” she adds. “And then I have a couple things this year. Don’t know what I can say — filming some stuff this year that I’m excited for, and it’s all gonna be great.”
Rain Spencer
Lexie Moreland