In 2021, North Carolina’s film industries saw an all-time high of $416 million spent on movie and television productions filmed in the state. Movie-making is primarily taking place in cities such as Wilmington and Greensboro, among other locations. As mentioned on the governornc.com website, these productions have created “more than 25,000 job opportunities for North Carolina’s highly skilled film professionals and background talent.” One of these talented folks lives right here in the town of Apex!
Meet Mackenzie Hicks, a 12-year-old actress who lives in Apex with her parents and 4 year old brother, Maxwell since 2006. She is in the Amazon Prime series called “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” which premiered on June 17 of this year. She stars as the main character—Isabel “Belly” Conklin (the story’s narrator and protagonist)—in flashbacks when she is younger. The show has a massive fan following, especially in North Carolina, as the author, Jenny Han (who is also the author of the massive hit “To All the Boys” on Netflix) is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill. The book was published in 2009.
The show was filmed in Wilmington. Mackenzie spent a few weeks on the coast, first working with a stunt coordinator to learn how to do the famous “belly flop,” which marks the beginning of summer in the story, and then to do the actual filming. Mackenzie, who was not really friendly to water and had only learned survival swimming before the show was filmed, had to replicate what the older actors did in their scenes. This included being thrown into a pool and swimming laps under the moonlight. In the book, the main character is described as a strong swimmer. Mackenzie practiced the stunt three times with the other actors, and they filmed it in just one take.
Mackenzie and her family were vacationing at the beach when she got the audition call from her agents, Terri Dollar and Julie ter Avest of KU Talent, who thought Mackenzie looked like the main character of the show who was already cast, Lola Tung. (They were right!) At that time, the family was staying in a cramped rental apartment and Mackenzie was sharing a small bedroom with her four female cousins. To do the audition, Mackenzie’s family had to locate and acquire a ring light (they’d left the one they had at home) then “kick everyone out” of the bedroom so that they could tape the required scene, the words for which Mackenzie had to quickly memorize.
Once the audition tape was finished, it was submitted online and Mackenzie said the extended family then had “a good day at the beach.” About three weeks later, she found out she was being considered for the role and a week after that, she learned that she had gotten it! When the filming took place, Mackenzie had to miss her first two weeks of middle school and, since the show hadn’t yet premiered on Amazon, she couldn’t tell anyone about what she had done on set, although word started to get out that she was going to be on a show.
Mackenzie was well prepared for this audition, having worked hard for many years to build up her acting skills. Her mother, Lisa Hicks (who has a degree in music and plays the piano, and also taught public speaking at NC State University as a graduate student), taught Mackenzie to sing and had involved her in beauty pageants since she was a baby. At age five, Mackenzie started taking theater, acting, and dance classes, and she even tried out aerial silks and circus-style hula hoop. These days, she takes acting classes, voice lessons and dance classes four times a week! She is proficient in ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop, the latter two being her favorites.
Being on the Amazon show as the young “Belly” is not Mackenzie’s first acting experience. She has been involved in a number of musical theater productions, such as Oliver, Annie, Gypsy, and the Adventures of Peter Rabbit and Friends, and has been in a few commercials, including one for the fast-food restaurant Bojangles (a rap music video with Tia Corine!). She’s done many auditions, but getting into “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and playing the role of “Belly” is quite special to her, because it is her first television show and she gets to represent Asian Americans.
Mackenzie and her mom drove to Wilmington for the filming about a month after she’d found out she had the role. She had a great time on the show’s set and said it was “an amazing experience.” She felt safe and well taken care of (there was even a stand-in available specifically for her. She enjoyed being with the other young actors and the older kids, too, who she said were very kind and made a point of talking with and supporting the younger kids. They became “best friends.” Some of them came from Texas while others were from other parts of North Carolina. When they weren’t needed on set, Mackenzie and her mom enjoyed showing them around the town.
Now that the show is out (including all of the episodes for the season), Mackenzie and her mom are enjoying watching how the show is being received by the viewing public. It premiered nationally as the #1 show on Amazon and appears to be gaining popularity. When Lisa Hicks announced her daughter’s involvement in the show on Instagram, she said the post first got about 50 to 100 likes. This quickly changed to over 5,000 and then to more than 12,300 likes! And the numbers keep climbing higher—what fun!
Even before the show premiered, it was renewed for a second season. When asked if she would act again in the role of young “Belly” if she was asked to do so, Mackenzie said “totally!” She continues to audition and the show served as a springboard for more lead roles. She is appreciative for the opportunities the show has given her, and the experience along the way.
Mackenzie loves being involved in these theatrical activities and has worked hard to get to where she is now, but, as her mother said, “This is only the beginning, not the highlight of her life.” Mackenzie has lots of activities that she cares about and in which she is involved, and she looks forward to all that life has to offer from here on. We look forward to finding out what she does next and wish her much success, satisfaction, and happiness in everything that she chooses to take on. Follow her adventures on instagram @mackenzieahicks.
