Acting has always been a part of actress Ali Skovbye’s life. Ali has been acting for so long she can barely remember the exact moment that inspired her to become an actress; although, she attributed it to her older sister, Tiera Skovbye (Riverdale), who was acting at the time. Ali followed her sister’s footsteps and landed her first big film at the age of 12 on One Christmas Eve, which really made her appreciate and care for the craft more.

The young actress stars as Emma in the upcoming film Breakthrough, which is a based off the true story of 14-year old boy who is presumed dead for over an hour, but through his mother’s prayers he makes an amazing recovery. Ali acts alongside Chrissy Metz (“This Is Us”) who portrays the boy’s mother.

In this exclusive interview, Ali opens up about being a normal teenager, her interest in modeling, traveling and volleyball, as well as her dream role of being able to play a Disney princess on the big screen.

Tell me a little bit about yourself?

My name is Ali Skovbye I’m 16 years old and I live in Vancouver BC. Im currently a Junior in High school and I’ve been acting since I was 5 years old. Although I was born in Canada I’m of Swedish decent and all of my extended family still lives there and in Denmark. I’m a normal kid who hates school but absolutely loves acting. I love travelling, modelling, playing volleyball, my family & friends, the colour red but most importantly my dog Otis.

Is there a moment that inspired you to pursue film acting? 

There was no specific moment that inspired me since I started when I was so little. My older sister started acting and since I was the younger sister I wanted to do everything that she was doing so I followed in her footsteps shortly after. I did a movie when I was 12 called One Christmas Eve it was the biggest movie I had done at the time and the largest role. It was my first time filming something outside of Vancouver for a long period of time and I had one of the most amazing times of my life on that shoot. I think how much I love and care for the craft was showed to me a lot clearer during that shoot and I knew I wanted to continue doing this for a long time.

You act in the upcoming film Breakthrough, can you tell me a bit about the film and the character you play? 

My new Film Breakthrough is a true story based off of a book that was written by a women named Joyce Smith. The story is about a 14 year old boy John Smith who falls through a frozen lake in Missouri and is presumed dead for over an hour. The story follows his amazing recovery and his mothers prayers that bring him back to life. I play Emma one of John’s best friends who helps start fundraisers and make facebook pages to raise awareness about John when he’s in the hospital. Emma was actually best friends with John in real life, and I owe my part in this movie to her.

What experience have you had as an actress that you’ll never forget? 

One experience I’ve had that I will never forget was at a fan meet up for a TV show that I’m on called When Calls The Heart. At the end of every season we do a meet and great which we call “The Hearties Family Reunion”. I’ve said this story a few times because it was so special to me. My character in the show Becky was in a wheelchair for 4 episodes and a girl came up to me and said “I just wanted to let you know that I was in a wheelchair at the same time Becky was and she really helped me to have the strength and motivation to get better and get out of my wheelchair just like she did.” Which was hands down the best thing to hear, I couldn’t even comprehend it.

What is your dream role?

My dream role would be to play a Disney Princess. Growing up I loved watching all of the princess movies and my favourites were and still are Arielle and Belle. I seriously think it would be the coolest thing ever to get to portray such an important iconic figure to so many.

What do you like to do in your days off?

On my days off which aren’t very often, I like to hang out with my friends. They are my favourite people in the world and no matter how I’m feeling they turn any day into a good one. I love playing volleyball and I love travelling. Whenever I have time off I try and go somewhere new and explore a different part of the world. 

What are you watching right now? 

Currently I am watching Gossip Girl, The Good Place, Friends (which I’ve seen fully 5 times and will never stop watching) and Sex Education.

What’s next for you?

I did a Feature called “The Corruption of Divine Providence” and the release date is still to be determined. Its about a young 16 year old girl (me) Jeanne Seraphin who is Stigmatic. She gets kidnapped, gets pregnant and deals with the harsh realities that her choices have in her little religious town. So keep your eyes pealed for that!

If you’re going to be a book, what book will you be and why? 

If I were to be a book I would still be on the first chapter of a mystery novel because I keep to myself a lot of the time which can come off as being very mysterious and it takes me FOREVER to finish reading books since I’m so busy so i’d definitely still be on the first chapter.

If you had the chance to support any charity/organization/person, what/ who would it be and why? 

I would support the SPCA because I absolutely adore all animals. I rescued my dog from a shelter in LA earlier this September and I love him more than anything. My sister also adopted a dog in LA and I think that there is so many dogs and animals that are in shelters that need homes. If your looking to get a dog go to a shelter! They have a much harder life there, then at pet shops. The less dogs off the streets and out of shelters the better:)

See Ali as Emma in the movie, Breakthrough in theaters April 17th.