Celeste O’Connor is notably known by fans as Mattie Franklin in Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web. Before joining the superhero franchise, she was part of the 2021 movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife. With her limited filmography, the Kenyan-born star almost gave up on her ambition to become an actor.
She has always wanted to join Hollywood; even her mother encouraged her to follow her dreams, and no matter what happens, never get a nine-to-five office job.
Celeste O’Connor On Discovering She Booked Madame Web Role
Celeste O’Connor spoke with Madame Web co-star Sydney Sweeney via Interview Magazine for a tell-all session about how she landed the Marvel gig. Despite her mother telling her not to work in a cubicle, O’Connor still had a job at a marketing agency since she was not able to book any acting gigs at the time.
“I was doing my Excel spreadsheets and whatever. I never thought I’d be going into an office, Sydney. I tried to wear business casual and dress the part. I was so sad. I felt like I failed a little bit at my dream.”
In the middle of her busy corporate work, she got a call from her team telling her she booked Madame Web. O’Connor could not help but shed tears of joy.
“I went back into the office, everyone turned and looked at me. I had tears streaming down my face. They were like, ‘What happened to you, Celeste?’ I was like, ‘Guys, I didn’t tell you, but I’m also an actor. I just booked a Marvel movie.’ ”
In her interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 25-year-old star shared how she prepared for her role as Mattie Franklin. She revealed creating a diary for her character to help her get into the groove.
“From the beginning, I was like, ‘SJ [Clarkson], I have this idea for Mattie. I made a little journal and a diary as Mattie. Do you think this would happen in her backstory?’ ”
She recalled having her ideas welcomed by the director, who was very open to collaborating with her in order to tell the character’s story in a more impactful way.
Celeste O’Connor On Becoming A Producer
Apart from being an actress, Celeste O’Connor also wanted to become a producer. In one of her Instagram posts, she wrote:
“One of my dreams is to be a director and producer cause the thought of making my own movie is both terrifying and the most exciting thing of all time.”
In fact, she managed to turn this goal into a reality. Her company is called Pedestal which aims to provide a space for women to have creative autonomy. In the same conversation via Interview magazine, she stated: “The whole point is to empower, especially other Black women, and also just to make colorful s—t.”
After nearly giving up on her dreams of starring in movies to landing a Marvel film and building her own production company, O’Connor can definitely say she made it big.
Madame Web is still showing in theaters worldwide.
