Wrinkle in Time’s Deric McCabe Didn’t Know Who Oprah Was Before Filming

A Wrinkle in Time is a children’s film, which means that much of it rests on the performances of its young stars. This includes nine-year-old Deric McCabe, who portrays wunderkind Charles Wallace Murry in the film. Newcomer McCabe is a real scene-stealer, holding his own against scene partners like Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Zach Galifianakis as he and his older sister cross space-time to find their missing father.

Den of Geek had a chance to talk to McCabe during a recent press event. Was he nervous when he found out he would be acting opposite Oprah? It turns out, it wasn’t too much of an issue…

“My parents, before, they were like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re gonna get to work with Oprah Winfrey,'” recounts McCabe. “And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, right? Right? Who is she and what does she do? I have no idea who Oprah is.’ … At the end, I noticed she had her own talk show, so I was like, ‘Oh, well, she’s a big name apparently.'”

McCabe was only eight when he filmed the movie, which means The Oprah Winfrey Show has been off the air since he was three. Now that McCabe knows Oprah, what does he think? “She’s amazing,” said McCabe.

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After a worldwide search where casting saw thousands of kids worldwide (literally) in over 7 months, @dericmccabe booked a leading role in Disney's upcoming film, "A Wrinkle in Time" as Charles Wallace. Directed by @directher – he'll be working alongside @oprah @reesewitherspoon @mindykaling @stormreid @levizmiller (to name a few) SCOOP: @directher is the FIRST African American female director to direct a film with over a $100 million dollar budget. Ava Duvernay is absolutely amazing! Her talent, strong work ethic, genius, and grace puts her where she deserves to be. I'm in awe every time I'm in her presence. #selma #13th MORE SCOOP: Amongst the many headlines surrounding this film, Deric will be playing the mixed race lead character. Deric worked hard for this: hours of auditions, callbacks, meeting, interviews… 17 page, 5 page, 3 page, 21 page scripts to learn overnight…while continuing to spend time with family, do his regular chores, and excel in school. He prayed, remained patient, and was persistent. Thankful and Blessed. 🙏🏽 #GODisgood #dreamsdocometrue #americandream #familybusiness #business #diversity #love #peace #filipino #thankful #blessed #boss #humbled #wrinkle #AWIT #disney #disneyfam #allthewayup

A post shared by Deric McCabe (@dericmccabe) on Nov 1, 2016 at 5:01pm PDT

McCabe’s co-star, 15-year-old Levi Miller (Calvin O’Keefe), didn’t need anyone to explain who Oprah Winfrey was before filming A Wrinkle in Time. 

“I have two older sisters and my mom, so, women have always been a massive inspiration for me,” said Miller. “When I was 11, I did an interview for Ralph Lauren, and they asked me if I could have dinner with anyone, it would be Oprah, like I said, because she’s such an inspirational person. For me, for everyone on the Earth, really, she’s incredible.”

Like McCabe, Miller’s Calvin gets to travel through space-time through portals called tesseracts with Oprah’s Mrs. Which. He also got to go over Oprah’s house for dinner.

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I would like to share with you all the reason I look emotional in this photo. I was privileged to have dinner with Oprah. It was incredible to speak about life and experiences with someone who has been an inspiration for me for years. It was truly a dream come true.

A post shared by Levi Miller (@levizmiller) on Feb 19, 2017 at 10:38pm PST

“Being able to meet her and really have dinner with her and some photos, that was surreal,” said Miller, “because she was so down to Earth and such a kind person, and so incredible to talk to. It was really an experience.”

A Wrinkle in Time opens in theaters on March 9th.