"Jersey Girl" is California native Raquel Castro's first feature film.
In the film, she plays Gertie, the precocious daughter of a fired public relations executive (Ben Affleck), who is torn between raising her in the suburbs and moving her to the city so he can get his demanding job back.
Question: So what do you think of the movie-star life?
Answer: It's fun. Sometimes I get tired of answering all the questions about it.
Question: Were Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler easy to work with?
Answer: Yes, they all helped me relax.
Question: You got to play Jennifer Lopez's daughter. Did you spend any time with her?
Answer: Yeah, I got to meet her at the rehearsal, and also at Ben's birthday party. Sometimes she came to visit him on set. It felt really exciting to play her daughter.
Question: Did she give you any acting tips?
Answer: Hmmmm . . . no, not really.
Question: You had a lot of emotional scenes. How did you make yourself that sad and mad?
Answer: Well, I thought about my grandpa because he died. And I thought about my dog because I don't have him anymore. He didn't die, but it is a really sad story. So I thought of that. Those fighting scenes were really hard to do. I really didn't want to fight with Ben. I had to think in my head that it is just acting. I had to do the scenes a couple times, so I just thought of my dog and my grandpa.
Question: Ben looks like a lot of fun to work with.
Answer: Yeah. All of us singing together was funny. And once Ben burned his butt! He didn't know that the stove was on (for a scene), he was supposed to be cooking and he leaned back and he burned his butt! (Breaks into giggles.)
Question: What do you like to do when you aren't working?
Answer: I like science class because you get to do all kinds of different experiments. My favorite is when you pour this stuff in water and you put a little bit of soap. A lady came in and showed us that, it looks so fun to do. I also like arts and crafts. I make candles and I make goo — I learned that in camp. I draw pictures, too.
Question: Do you see acting in your life forever?
Answer: Definitely. I definitely want to be like Jennifer Lopez and Liv Tyler and Carmen from "Spy Kids" and Julia Roberts. I just did an audition for another movie, and the lady said I'm her top choice, so I'm waiting to find out if I get it.
Question: What have people told you about "Jersey Girl?"
Answer: People have told me they loved this movie a lot and that I did a really great job.