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Theadora James Is About to Do the Impossible: Transition From Child Star to Adult Actor.
Feb. 17, 2023.

Theadora James has been a working actor for 10 years. It's an impressive achievement, but even more so when you consider that James won't even turn 18 for another few months. The Tennessee native got her start at the age of seven, which makes her one of few actors who have successfully transitioned from child star to adult actor without any sort of break during her formative years.

And yet, even though James has achieved critical and professional acclaim in her midteens (she won a Golden Globe for Best Young Actress in 2023 following her role as Sasha in Barbie), most fans—and even some of her peers—still see her as a young kid, best known for when she starred in Girl Meets World with Sabrina Carpenter and Ben Savage at the age of seven, or Stranger Things, with Winona Ryder and David Harbor at ten. She's as likely to get "You've grown up before our eyes!" or "Stop growing up so fast" as much as "How do I know you?" or "You've been in everything!"

"I'm like, 'What do you mean?' and 'What do you want me to do [about it]?'" James tells Glamour. She answers our zoom call from a hotel room in Huntington Beach; it's the night before the Poguelandia Festival promoting season 3 of Outer Banks, where she reprises her role as Ruby Miller-Cameron for a third time. "I feel like people just have a consensus that I'm still ten years old, and it's crazy because I'm turning 18 this year. I feel like people still think of me [as that age] because I've been so young for most of my career, so I get it."

She concedes that it's a very weird place to be "right on the cusp of being an adult because you're kind of too old for the younger roles, but then you're too young for the older roles." More so, now she's also auditioning against actors who are in their mid-to-late 20s, which is, to put it bluntly, a bit trippy. "You're like, 'Wait, where did this come from out of nowhere one day?' So it's such an interesting time in my life to be an actress. I'm very happy to be here, but it's crazy."

Still, James gets it, and admits she's been guilty of thinking that way with other actors. "I'll watch someone for years and then be like, oh, I've loved them since this, and then I realize, that's weird that people think that way about me [too]. It's so strange."

Most young actors aren't Theadora James, though. In just 10 years she's been in films and TV shows with such stars as Ryan Gosling, Aubrey Plaza, America Ferrera, Dove Cameron, Margot Robbie, Madelyn Cline, and Patrick Dempsey, in addition to Ryder, Harbor, Carpenter, and Savage (and countless more.) Considering she has more than 50 credits to her name, you can only imagine the names not listed here. In fact, most actors would tell you they'd be lucky to share the screen with just one of those aforementioned performers.

"I love acting, I love what I do, but I feel like I don't think of myself as an actor," James says. "I feel like I'm just a fan that sneaks onto sets and I'm like, 'Somebody's going to find me out. Somebody's going to discover how I got in, and they're going to kick me out.'"

If anything, any show or movie would be lucky if she wound up on their set. Pretty much self trained, James is like the secret weapon on any project, whether it be playing an angst-filled teen runaway (Greys Anatomy or Station 19), the younger sister of a main character (Outer Banks or Stranger Things) or part of an ensemble (Barbie; Descendants; or Birds of Prey).

And yet, for as accomplished as she is, the 17-year-old is still very much young at heart, coping with the pressures of working in an industry that's never easy on anyone, regardless of age, and especially gender. When she says she's just happy to be in the room, she means it. There's no ego, no entitlement— just gratefulness.

What's ironic is that for this particular feature—for Glamour's New Here franchise — James is young but certainly not new. She's a veteran with the excitement of someone just stepping onto set for the first time. It's an interesting dynamic, and James knows it.

So what is James' life really like these days? Could she imagine doing something else? Does she want to act for decades to come? What achievement is she most proud of? And why is she still shocked that one of her most popular roles is also the one that fans want to talk about most? For the latest edition of (Not Exactly) New Here, get to know Theadora James. After all, she's not going anywhere.

Glamour: Hi, Theadora!

Theadora James: You're never going to believe where I just got back from. I just did the Glamour friendship test with Maddie [Cline] where we give each other compliments.

Amazing! And what did she say about you?

She said that I'm a great listener, I'm empathetic, and sensitive in a good way.

I love that. I also consider myself sensitive, but somehow it's gotten a bad connotation. How do you feel about that word?

What can I do about it? I'm a very sensitive person, sensitive soul, and it can be a blessing and a curse at the same time; for better and for worse. There's many different ways that word can be used, but it's not always a bad thing.

How does that factor into what you do for a living? What do you do to protect yourself from how opinionated the public can be?

It can be bad. Somebody always has something to say. There's so many great people out there, but for every nice person there's a bajillion mean ones. No, actually for every mean person, there's a bajillion nice ones. I'm going to look at it glass half full. So yeah, I just try to stay out of it. I think that anyone can have a perception of a person. People don't know you online, so it's easy to not take to heart what people say.

Was there ever a time when you could have seen yourself doing anything else but being an actor?

No. It's all I've ever done. I mean, my mom got me an agent when I was two. But I think about that all the time, like, what would I even do? I don't even know. I wonder what career path I would've chosen, because genuinely, I can't imagine doing anything outside of film and television, anything outside of a creative, artistic space.

You were born in Tennessee, and then started coming to Los Angeles for auditions before officially moving here in 2019. How do you like LA?

I've been a working actor for 10 years and even though I wasn't technically living in L.A, the vast majority of those years were spent there. Between filming and auditions and press, I rarely had any time to visit Tennessee. I moved fully about 5 years ago, by myself. I really love having roots here, and not needing to pack up and basically live out of a suitcase. I know tons of people either in or around L.A, and I travel frequently anyways so even if I wasn't a huge fan, I'm gone enough that it wouldn't really matter.

Who's the most famous person in your phone contact list that you still can't believe is in there?

Taylor Swift is probably the most famous person in my contacts. We were neighbors in Tennessee, I've literally known her since the day I was born, so she hasn't really ever felt famous to me, she's just Taylor— but whenever I mention texting or calling her or whatever people are always shocked. But someone that I still can't believe I have in there is Billie Eilish. I met her at the Met last year and she gave me her number and now we text all the time and I'm getting starstruck just talking about it now.

Did you even think about what it meant to be a successful actor when you were a kid? Did it mean getting awards? Working regularly?

Well, I did it originally because my mom signed me up, and then because I immediately loved it, and as I've gotten older, I've just grown such an appreciation for the craft and everything that goes into creating film. It's my dream job. It's my goal in life to be a great actress and keep working.

You recently won a Golden Globe for Best Young Actress. What was that experience like?

That was the craziest shit ever. I still can't believe that actually happened.

What do you think is the most frequently misunderstood part of what you do?

People only see the triumphs and the victory, but it's a very discouraging line of work. There's so many nos, and it constantly is a comparison game of you against whatever other millions of actresses there are out there. I am constantly digging my nails into auditions and roles and being like, "I have to play this. I'm not going to take no for an answer." There's so many losses and rejections in this industry, and I think that it's a common misconception.

Well, with as many roles as you've had, I'm sure people think this must come easy.

I have been very lucky to be consistently working and doing roles that I really care about, but I am constantly getting nos. It's often, and nobody really sees it, but it's a very tough job.

Do you have any superstitions when you're filming?

No, but Jonas Pate [Outer Banks creator and director] really changed the way I act. He was like, "I don't want you rehearsing your lines before you come to set." And I was like, "Jonas, all I do is rehearse my lines before I come to set. I know my lines a week in advance, and I've gone over them 50 times by the time I get to set. What are you talking about?" And he was like, "I just don't want it to feel like you know how you're going to say it. I don't want it to be rehearsed. I don't want you to read your lines when you come to set." And I haven't since. That was five years ago, and since then, I've read the script so many times I'm familiar with everything. And then I kind of learn my lines the morning of on the ride over, and then I don't say them out loud until I get [to] set, and figure it out from there.

That must've been really scary at first, but also kind of freeing, I would imagine.

Yeah, for sure. Of course, I still like to run them from time to time, but I don't overrehearse things at all anymore. So, thank you, Jonas, for changing my life and the way I act.

I've got some rapid-fire questions now for you. What is your choice of beverage and snack on set?

Iced coffee and clementines. Not together, obviously. Gross.

Is there a hair or makeup secret you've learned from all your years on set that you do in your own life?

The trick and the secret is just to get somebody else to do it for you. [Laughs.] I try to watch them do my hair and do my makeup, so I can do it on my own, but nope. I'm awful at doing it on myself, no matter how hard I try or how much I practice.

If you were to be given a superlative on set, what would yours be?

Most likely to know everyone's name. I keep track of everything.

What is the project or moment in your career you're most proud of so far?

I'm really, really proud of the story I was able to tell Greys [Anatomy] and Station 19. And Outer Banks has been one of my favorite things I've ever worked on and the most fun and exciting scenes to shoot. And of course, Barbie truly changed my life. Everything about that set, that shoot, was just absolutely incredible and that entire experience was just so surreal. I feel like I changed so much as an actor on that project.

What project do people most reference when they meet you? Is it Barbie?

Equally Stranger Things and Outer Banks. They are both just such hits with teenagers, which is my main fan base I feel like.

Finally, given your popularity, is there a platform or cause you hope to advocate for going forward?

I've been very grateful to be able to speak out and portray many stories regarding abuse and sexual assault and the extensive after effects they can have on a person, even many years after the fact. I played a foster child in Station 19 and Greys [Anatomy] who ran away to escape abuse, and I feel very fortunate to be able to open this dialogue and share important stories that are unfortunately a very real reality for a lot of young girls and women in real life.