San Antonio native Emery Kaler has something in common with Oscar winners Tom Hanks (Apollo 13), Julia Roberts (Flatliners) and Meryl Streep (The River Wild). She, too, is only one degree away from actor Kevin Bacon.
Kaler, who now lives in Boerne, made her big-screen debut in the horror-comedy Family Movie, which recently premiered at the 2026 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in Austin. In the film, she plays Young Ula, the daughter of Bacon’s character, Jack Smith. Jack is a B-movie director who likes to cast his own family in his low-budget slashers. Things take a darker turn, however, when they come across a real dead body on set.
While Kaler plays the child version of Ula, Bacon’s real-life daughter, Sosie Bacon (Smile), plays her as an adult. Actress Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Kevin’s real-life wife, also stars in the film as Jack’s wife. Kevin and Kyra co-directed the film.
“[Kevin] was really nice and sweet,” Kaler, 9, told MySA during a recent interview. “I got to play pretend on camera with him. I have maybe five lines.”
Kaler only started auditioning for roles a couple of years ago. She credits her grandparents for sparking her interest in movies by showing her Home Alone and Back to the Future.
To land the role in Family Movie, her father, John, recorded her audition and sent it to the casting director.
“Emery is a quick learner,” John Kaler said to MySA. “When she got this opportunity, she hit the ground running. Once we were on set, it was like she had already been there before. She was a natural.”
At only 9 years old, Kaler hasn’t seen many horror movies, although she did see the original Ghostbusters recently. While there are a few scary scenes, it never gets as bloody as Family Movie.
Without giving too much away, Kaler said her role includes a violent scene, which gave her the opportunity to work with special effects coordinator Bob Trevino, best known for collaborating with filmmaker and San Antonio native Robert Rodriguez on movies like Machete, Spy Kids: Armageddon and Alita: Battle Angel. She leaned on Sedgwick to help her get through the scene a few times.
“She comforted me and told me it was just pretend,” Kaler said. “It was very fun.”
Kaler also found the movie premiere at SXSW memorable. She walked the red carpet with the cast and took photos. Kevin gave her a T-shirt of the movie to wear.
“I was excited,” she said. “I’ve never seen myself in a movie before.”
Until her next big movie break, Kaler will likely spend time enjoying some of her favorite things in San Antonio, like going to SeaWorld. Her favorite animal is the axolotl. She doesn’t have one as a pet, but she does have a dog named Crockett.
“He’s an Australian Shepherd,” she said. “We named him after [Texas musician] Charley Crockett.”