Remy McCoy, a student from West Hartford who attends Kingswood Oxford School, will appear in the Netflix show ‘Seven and Me.’

Submitted by Jackie Pisani, Kingswood Oxford School

Kingswood Oxford’s Remy McCoy ’20 of West Hartford is your typical 16-year-old girl who grapples with homework after school, plays soccer and likes to hang out with her friends.

Oh yeah, and she has a freelance agent, has signed with a manager, and will be appearing in the second season of the Netflix show Seven and Me as “Camilla,” the frenemy of the main character, in the next few months. Her experience gives an old take on the phrase “screen time.”

In the summer of 2017, McCoy spent three-and-a-half months in Paris filming a French production of a contemporary telling of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” It was a whirlwind affair as McCoy needed to replace an actress in the production. She read lines, filmed a scene with her acting coach and went to a call back in Brooklyn where she Facetimed with the producers and writers in France. While on a family vacation, McCoy learned that she was tapped for the part. Within two days of returning home from the trip, McCoy packed her bags, learned her lines and flew to Paris with her dad.

As soon as McCoy landed in Paris, the crew whisked her off to the studio for costume fittings and makeup. She said, “Honestly, it felt like a dream. I’m thinking, ‘No way is this happening.’ We lived in Montmartre in the most popping part of the city. On the weekends in Paris, we would walk the streets of this most beautiful city. It was unreal, and it still feels like a dream.”

While McCoy was in production, she missed two-and-a-half months of school and returned to KO in October. She muscled through her school work with a tutor on set and with the support of understanding KO faculty. “The teachers were kind and understood that this was an opportunity not to pass up. I followed the lessons on Google classrooms. I was always in contact through email. The tutor on set helped with the work. Everything was accessible. When I got back to school, everything flowed right into place. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be,” she said.

Participants in NYU ‘The New Studio’ program. Courtesy photo

McCoy continued her acting training by attending a month-long program at New York University’s The New Studio for rising juniors and seniors this past summer. Classes started at 10 a.m. with a yoga warm-up and the balance of the day offered workshops in vocal technique, ballet, and movement.

Initially, McCoy felt apprehensive about being surrounded by other very talented students, but by the second week, she gained her footing. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to keep up, but by the second and third week, I blossomed, had fun with it and let loose. By not caring as much, it made the entire experience a whole lot better for me,” she said.

McCoy understands that when she feels uncomfortable she realizes she is learning the most. She will continue to pursue acting and audition for parts. “I’ll keep plugging away, focusing on being a 16-year-old girl, playing soccer and hanging out with friends. I try not to take the rejection personally. There’s always the next time. It’s another opportunity for me to make it the best it can be,” she said.

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