Girl, 7, acts alongside major stars

Ballerina. Firefighter. Movie star. Doctor. Pro football player.
These are just some of the things children want to be when they grow up, and one local girl may be on her way to a career at her dream job.
Ava Brasseaux, of Eunice, said, “I want to be a movie star.”
The 7-year-old appeared in her first movie alongside movie stars Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell in the movie, “Daddy’s Home,” which came out Christmas Eve.
Brasseaux, the daughter of Ramsey and Kristi Brasseaux of Eunice, is signed with Impact Modeling and Talent Agency in New Orleans. The child began modeling for Huggalugs, a children’s clothing line sold by catalog, when she was 18 months old. Pose, a modeling magazine, named Brasseaux one of its 35 Dazzling Faces of 2015. Ava has also been featured in commercials for Stage, and she has also participated in been in New Orleans Fashion Week and Baton Rouge Fashion Week.
Last fall, Kristi received a message from Ava’s agent regarding extras begin needed for a movie that was filming in New Orleans. Photos of Ava were then sent to the filmmakers, and the girl received a call back to come to the set to see if she would be used as an extra in the film.
“I thought it would only be for one scene, but we got called back for three more days after that and for another scene,” Kristi said. “I didn’t know if she would like it. When we left, she asked me, ‘Why didn’t I get to talk? I didn’t want to tell anyone she was going to be in the film until it came out because sometimes scenes get cut.”
Ava filmed her scenes in October and December of last year, and the scenes she filmed were for a Bible school and a daddy-daughter dance.
“Dancing at the daddy-daughter dance was fun,” Ava said.
The mother said, “The last night she filmed, there were 200 extras. She was all excited that she was picked to sit at one of the main child character’s table during the dance. I think the thing she likes most about acting is getting to skip school.”
One of the men who played Ava’s dad in the movie was French, Kristi said.
The child said, “He told me ‘Bonjour,’ and I told him I didn’t know what that meant.”
Since wrapping her first movie, Ava, a student at Eunice Elementary, has also auditioned for a television show.
“We went to Baton Rouge to film her audition,” Kristi said. “If she is selected, we’ll have to go to Georgia to film.”