ONTD

A far cry from Hannah Montana or iCarly, 16-year-old Chloë Grace Moretz-star of Kick-Ass 2 and Carrie-represents a new breed of disarmingly talented starlets garnering fans of all ages.
By Katie L. Connor

A Rising Starlet

Heaven help teenage girls! As if the cattiness, boy-craziness, and angst formerly reserved for noted passed in class or whispered phone calls weren't bad enough, now they're blasted across Twitter and Facebook. It's in this multi-platform existence that Chloë Grace Moretz, 16, emerges as a refreshing example of good old-fashioned youth. A prolific Instagrammer, Moretz fills her feed (more than 1,000 pictures and counting) with family photos-her entourage consists of her mom, with whom she lives in L.A., and four older brothers-inspirational quotes, music obsessions, and friends making goofy faces; in short, everything ever thumbtacked to the bulletin board in a minor's bedroom. If not for the occasional behind-the-scenes shot from a Hollywood back lot, you'd almost mistake the actress (of nearly 10 years) for your average teenage girl. Almost.

Imagine Kirsten Dunst had an iPhone during her Interview With the Vampire days, or Leelee Sobieski circa Eyes Wide Shut. Perhaps their shared images-maybe a pretty flower, a sunset-would belie their penchant for serious and seriously mature characters. So goes it with Moretz, famous for playing the all-too-real vampire in Let Me In, the wise-beyond-her-years kid sister in (500) Days of Summer, and the gun-wielding Hit-Girl who shocked audiences with her ballsy delivery of a certain expletive (rhymes with runt) in Kick-Ass.

In June, she slips back into the cape and mask for Kick-Ass 2. This time around, "She's really conflicting with her own emotions," Moretz says of the role that lander her on the radars of Hollywood heavyweights (see Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton, who cast her in Hugo and Dark Shadows, respectively).


Portraying Dark Characters

"Is she actually fighting crime for good, or is she just a murderer?" The film is in keeping with Moretz's track record of heady characters. Her first role, at 7, was the daughter of a prostitute on the TV series The Guardian. "I like doing dark material," she says, "which is interesting since I'm such the opposite person. I'm so light and happy. I have a good family and I'm loved." Occupying the lives of the emotionally disturbed can take its toll. To cope: "I'll watch the Disney channel. My family makes fun of me for it, but with the characters I do, I always use that as my upper."

There's no telling how many hours of Disney Moretz consumed in order to compensate for her psychologically jarring turn as Carrie White, Stephen King's telekinetic teen infamously doused in pig's blood on prom night. Die-hard fans of the 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek, fear not: "It's less of a remake and more of a retelling of the book," Moretz says of the movie, which hits theaters in October. Directed by Boys Don't Cry's Kimberly Peirce and costarring Julianne Moore as Carrie's mom, "It's a romantic-abusive love story between mother and daughter that, even if you had a fine life growing up, brings out every insecurity within you." Of playing opposite Moore: "She's one of my favorite people I've ever worked with," Moretz says, barely able to catch her breath. "And if I could do every single movie for the rest of my career with her, I would, because she's brilliant." Carrie marks Moretz's firt time playing a title character. As the haunting image of her bloodied face on the film's ad states: If you didn't already, now "you will know her name."