Dress by Prabal Gurung.

ISABELLE FUHRMAN

Listening to Isabelle Fuhrman talk about her puppies is a little bit like taking a trip back to teenagedom yourself. “They’re snuggling up against me right now and they are sooooo cute!” she squeals, dropping the phone for a second to cuddle with her pair of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels on her bed. “They’re like my babies; I just love them.” The enthusiasm is so contagious, it’s tempting to gush right along with her.

Then again, the fourteen-year-old actress is enthusiastic about everything—besides her dogs, she’s obsessed with clothes, astrology, and even chemistry class—and it’s easy to forget that this is the same girl whose breakout role came in her nightmarish turn in the 2009 horror film Orphan. Fuhrman stars as Esther, a nine-year-old with a foggy past and a killer glare who does everything she can to make the lives of her adoptive parents (played by Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard) total hell. The film enjoyed commercial success and earned the young star critical praise for her creepily realistic performance.

But if you ask Fuhrman, who says she’s not a big fan of scary movies herself, the film is more fun than frightening. “Esther was the scariest character, and you can’t really be scared of yourself, you know?” she remarks. “The first time I saw it I couldn’t stop smiling because I was like, ‘I look so weird!’ Now I’ve seen Orphan so many times because my friends are all too scared to see it by themselves.”

Although already twelve years old when she made the film, the Atlanta native has been acting for most of her life. The self-described goofball and her older sister Madeline grew up performing skits for family and friends. “I always joke that my sister was my first director,” she says. “Actually just today I found this old home video of me performing, and my sister keeps interrupting me, saying, ‘No, no,’ and making me change things.”

These living room plays led to scoring an agent at age eight and subsequently persuading her mom to let her move to Los Angeles by eight-and-a-half. How’d she do it at such a young age? “I’m just really convincing, I guess!” she laughs. What was intended to be a one-month stint in California turned into a permanent move, thanks to guest roles on television shows like Justice, Ghost Whisperer, and the Tonight Show.

This year it’s safe to say Fuhrman will officially become a household name with the first installment of The Hunger Games, the movie adaptation of the 2008 young adult trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The books have a huge following amongst teenagers and older readers alike—just try to find someone who hasn’t heard of them—and Fuhrman herself says she liked the novels long before she was cast. “It’s such a beautiful book and I love the story; I think I read the first one thirteen times!” she says in complete seriousness. “When I found out I got the part I was sitting in a café with my mom, and I literally burst out into tears, I was so happy.”

Fuhrman plays Clove, a tribute from District 2 who participates in the 74th Hunger Games alongside Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). The filming took place last year in Asheville, North Carolina, and according to Fuhrman, the large cast bonded immediately despite their wide age differences. “I wasn’t sure how we were going to get along because we were all such different ages, but we ended up hanging out all the time,” she says. “We still keep in touch.”

With its major following of diehard fans, The Hunger Games is already being hailed as the next Twilight saga. Fuhrman says the big-screen adaptation lives up to the high expectations. “I think it’s a good thing that people are so into it. I’m such a big fan of the book, and being on set watching it all come to life…well, it was exactly like how I’d imagined it.”

Fuhrman says her long-term goal is to explore different aspects of the film industry, and she’s already getting a jump-start. Next up, she’s starring in the indie drama The Healer in addition to producing two projects, one of which is a modern revamp of the classic A Little Princess. “I was going to play Sara, but I grew out of it, so now we need to find someone for the part,” she says. She’s also producing a project for Disney, and eventually hopes to direct someday.

For now, though, Fuhrman’s to-do list consists of school—she had just finished exams when we spoke in December—and picking out a dress for the Hunger Games première. Her favorite designers include Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Opening Ceremony, and Versace. While it’s easy to forget she’s still fourteen, her endearing teenage-ness creeps back in just in time to remind you. “I wore a Versus dress the other day, but I haven’t worn actual Versace yet because my mom says I’m too young,” she explains. The only consolation? “I can finally wear high heels, so I’ve been wearing them nonstop!”

The Hunger Games is out tomorrow from Lionsgate.

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Dress by Alexander Wang.nBracelet by Natalie Frigo.

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