Disney Presents: The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Jump To: Our Review | Meet Odeya Rush
About the Film
Academy Award®–nominated writer/director Peter Hedges (“Dan in Real Life,” What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”) brings enchantment to the screen with “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” an inspiring, magical story about a happily married couple, Cindy and Jim Green (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton), who can’t wait to start a family but can only dream about what their child would be like. When young Timothy (CJ Adams) shows up on their doorstep one stormy night, Cindy and Jim—and their small town of Stanleyville—learn that sometimes the unexpected can bring some of life’s greatest gifts.
Premiere Images: Disney Gallery | EnterTeenment Gallery
Disney Gallery provided by Walt Disney Pictures, EnterTeenment Gallery images by Steven Brun and Tatiana Caceres
Trailer
Our Review
In the small town of Stanleyville, where they make pencils and life is quiet, a miracle is about to happen. A young couple, Jim and Cindy Green, are desperately trying to have a child. When all hope seems lost they dream up their perfect kid and bury their wishes in their garden. One stormy night they are awoken by a startling discovery. A young boy has shown up at their doorstep. Timothy has leaves on his feet and the face of an angel. And he is about to turn Jim and Cindy’s world upside down, touching many lives along the way.
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is a mixture of emotional turmoil turning to emotional joy, learning to be a parent and environmental responsibility. It is built to teach lessons, tug at your heart and make you believe in magic. Jim and Cindy know they want children but do they know if they’re ready to raise them? Timothy helps them find out. A young girl struggles with being different. Timothy helps her overcome her fear. The town of Stanleyville is about to lose its biggest factory unless they can find a new method of making pencils. Timothy helps them find a way. He touches every life he enters and he will certainly touch yours.
Meet Odeya Rush
Odeya Rush Lights Up the Big Screen in “The Odd Life of Timothy Green!”
She isn’t exactly the star of “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” but Odeya Rush playing the part of “Joni” will definitely leave an impression on you. Not only is the 15 year old extremely beautiful, she has the talent and sensitivity to warrant the onslaught of acting jobs that are bound to start heading her way.
In this sweet, Disney, family-oriented film, a boy name Timothy appears to want-to-be parents, Jim and Cindy Green. Thrilled to have a child, the couple doesn’t question his unusual beginnings and shower him with all the love they had been storing for a child of their own. Timothy befriends Joni, a beautiful loner with secrets of her own. The two form a strong friendship and change the other’s life forever.
Odeya gave us a call to tell us more about her life. The friendly and intelligent actress clued us in on her favorite day of filming, how she feels about her talented cast-mates, and the huge role that she will be playing next. “When I was four years old, a set of boy twins were born into our family and then a year later, we got another set of boy twins,” she begins when asked how she got her start in acting. “Basically, we had four babies at home. As a part of helping out my Mom with the boys, I had to keep them occupied. What I would do to keep them busy, when they were one or two, I would sit them on the steps, one sat on one step and then another on the step above it. I would perform in front of them. I would pretend I was the teacher at school, or one of the princesses that I‘d seen in movies, or I’d make up my own things. As they got older, they could contribute and be in my plays.”
Odeya would eventually take the acting a step further and began auditioning for parts in commercials and for guest-starring roles on television series. Soon she found herself on the set for a guest spot on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” She knew then that she was on the right track. “I wanted to keep doing it for the rest of my life! I had so much fun!”
Next came a guest spot on “Law and Order: SVU” where she held her own against the likes of Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay in an episode called “Branded.” Her next big break would come via her agent. “My agent sent me the script and told me about the film,” she says about the first time she heard about “The Odd Life of Timothy Green.” “I came and auditioned. Then I got a callback. Then I got another call back, then the screen test. Then I got the movie! That’s how it happened,” she recalls of landing the role of “Joni.”
“There was definitely an understanding,” she confirms of the character she would ultimately bring to life. “I completely know what Joni is going through. I know the feelings and the events she had to go through. A lot of it was just inserting things from my own personal life in to it.”
“I stuck mostly to the script and the way Peter described her,” she reasons about how she researched her character and collaborated with director Peter Hedges. “His writing was very descriptive so I know exactly what he wants and what he is looking for. But also, I was always really excited to add on see if there were any other things I could also bring to the role. I suggested that I run my fingers through the mud and put the leaves and things in my hair.”
The movie boasts a phenomenal cast that includes Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, and CJ Adams as Timothy. Odeya can’t stop raving about them. “They were like another family! They’re really sweet, compassionate, welcoming people… people that I loved spending time with off-screen and on-screen. They’re people I admire and people that are really easy to get along with. I was really glad that I got to work with them!”
She is quick with a response when posed the question, “Do you have a favorite scene in the movie?” “My favorite scene to film was the underwater scene, because I learned how to scuba dive while doing that.”
A lot of filming days were memorable, but some stand out more than others. “I think a magical moment on the set was… one of the lunches, Jennifer brought a band over. We were all sitting outside and the band started to play. People started getting up and dancing. Then Common and Lin-Maunel who were also in the film, they’re both rappers, they began to rap, just improv, it was so spontaneous, just right on the spot. They rapped about the film and about us. We all danced together!”
Dancing is one of the many things that Odeya lists as hobbies that fill her time when she is not acting. “I like to swim. I like to dance. I like to read. I like to write. I like to ride my bike. I love to spend time with family and friends.”
She is also donates her time to helping several charities. “There are multiple charities that I like to donate my time too. There’s this wonderful guy and he goes to the hospitals where cancer patients are and brings them drinks from Starbucks to all of them, just for free. He does it for them every week. There are charities for children’s research that I donate too, the homeless charities. Every time my school has some kind of drive, a food drive, a jean drive, I donate all of my old clothes; I never just throw them out. I donate books. I donate food… socks!
Speaking of donating socks… The Walt Disney Studios are partnering with Hanes to collect socks for the needy. To find out how you can participate, visit the movie’s official FaceBook page at: https://www.facebook.com/OddLifeMovie.
Next up for this young talent is the role of a lifetime. “I’m doing a film called ‘Mary, Mother of Christ,’ where I will be playing the title role, ‘Mary.’ It’s with Peter O’Toole and Ben Kingsley, so that’s very exciting.”
Playing “Mary” is pretty much her dream role. “I think I kind of just got my dream role playing Mary. That’s remarkable! I can’t ask for more!” She hopes more projects like this come her way. “I think projects more like ‘Mary’ that are similar, something that will stretch me and challenge me, something that I can devote a lot of my time too.”
She hopes aspiring actors and actresses will stay true to themselves, as well. “Don’t let anyone or anything bring you down. If you really, truly love it then go ahead and pursue it. If you believe in yourself I think everyone else will. Keep fighting!”
Odeya will keep auditioning and fighting for great parts like her role as “Joni” in the “Odd Life of Timothy Green.” “Go see the movie on August 15!” she says as our time with her comes to a close. We will be keeping an eye on this talent. It’s would be more difficult not to notice her.
For more on Odeya… follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/OdeyaRush1