Madeleine McGraw

Filming with Clint Eastwood

Madeleine McGraw was born in 2008 in San Jose, California. She started working in commercials and modeling before turning five, because her brothers were already caught up in the casting circuit. There was no artistic epiphany or major family drama at the start. She simply came across well on camera, and talent agencies spotted her early.

In 2014, she played the daughter of Bradley Cooper in American Sniper. It was a brief role, but it taught her the pace of a big-budget set under the direction of Clint Eastwood. The director rarely repeats takes, and McGraw quickly learned not to flub her lines to avoid delays in production.

And the industry took notice.

In 2018, she stepped into the role of the young Hope van Dyne in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Marvel tends to chew up supporting names, but she held her own in the flashback scenes. Disney saw potential in her voice and gave her the role of Bonnie in Toy Story 4 during 2019. She replaced the original actress because the earlier girl had grown too old and her vocal tone no longer fit the toy character.

The Impact of a Toy Phone

The shift in global perception happened in 2021 with the release of The Black Phone. Scott Derrickson was looking for someone who could toss out insults naturally and pray to God with the same intensity on screen. McGraw landed the role of Gwen, and the film grossed over $160 million on a budget of just 18.

But it wasn't all commercial horror or genre films. In 2021 she also began the series Secrets of Sulphur Springs for Disney Channel, where she shot three seasons in Louisiana. It's a test of physical endurance, with strict schedules due to U.S. child labor laws. She played Zoey Campbell across 27 episodes before the network canceled the project.

Child acting shoots are all about pure logistics.

In 2023, she appeared in The Mandela Effect Phenomenon and continued to work on suspense projects that make the most of her ability to convey tension without overacting. After all, success for an actor of this profile depends on not burning their image in low-quality productions during their teenage years. So her team began selecting scripts more carefully after the impact of Blumhouse.

In 2024, her return was confirmed for the sequel to The Black Phone, slated for 2025. C. Robert Cargill's script again features the original cast to expand Joe Hill's short story. Filming was scheduled for fall 2024 in Toronto, with an eight-week production plan and a higher budget than the first film.