Matilda star Mara Wilson is looking back on how Danny DeVito helped her through one of the most challenging moments for her family.
The 38-year-old actress recently reflected on making the iconic 1996 film during a panel at the Fanboy Expo. She especially remembered working with her “favorite” uncle, who directed and starred in the family movie.
“Matilda means the most to me because I had a lot to do. It was a big responsibility. I was the title character,” she said, per PEOPLE. “It was difficult at times, I was also going through a hard time, but as I told you, Danny DeVito did not literally adopt me — that’s a myth — but he did take very good care of my family.” There had been rumors that DeVito and his wife, Rhea Pearlman, had adopted Wilson after her mother was hospitalised.
When making Matilda, Wilson’s mother was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Suzie Wilson sadly died in April 1996, just three months before Matilda was released. Wilson was just 7 when she made the film, based on the 1988 children’s novel by Roald Dahl.
“[DeVito] really helped me and my family when we were going through something terrible. And they were very loving and kind, and I made so many lifelong friends on that,” she explained during the panel. “And yes, there were hard days, but there were also days where it felt like summer camp, and I am still friends with the people that I worked on it today.”
In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Wilson recalled how she “immediately felt a connection” with DeVito and that they “just understood each other.”
During a 2013 interview with Parade, Wilson also credited their love and support for helping her come to terms with the seriousness of her mom’s illness. “I remember feeling anxious when the movie wrapped, and it was really hard to go back to normal and dealing with my mom’s sickness,” she explained. “I definitely feel like having that family there, and having people willing to take care of us and help us out, made it easier.”
In 2021, she explained how hard it was to be a child star and the misconceptions that they are “spoiled entitled brats who have everything given to us.”
“There are long days, there are times spent away from family – I spent months away from my family. Right after my mother had died, I was living in other countries basically by myself,” she said during BBC Radio 4’s new podcast, Pieces of Britney, which looked at how Britney Spears and other famous women were treated in the limelight.
She added: “Maybe there was a nanny but without any family when I was a young child. What we are instead of young entitled brats is we are people pleasers.” Mara Wilson also appeared in Miracle on 34th Street and Mrs Doubtfire as a child.
After being a child star, Wilson took a 12-year hiatus from the industry. She recently returned, concentrating more on voice work, including podcasts and audiobooks.