Since we just left Valentine’s Day behind, it is time to binge one Netflix rom-com each day to remind ourselves that every day is Valentine’s Day when you are in love. To kick off this busy marathon, our first recommendation is Tall Girl 2, which is the sequel to 2019’s Netflix hit that recently premiered on the platform. To enjoy the movie more though, getting to know the cast better is an ultimate must as they are all young, talented actors who deserve all the hype!
Ava Michelle Cota: Journey from reality TV to Netflix
Ava Michelle has known her first movie with the name Tall Girl, but beyond her acting, she is a dancer who knows contemporary, ballet, jazz, and tap dances, as well as a model. Tall Girl isn’t the first project we’ve seen her on-screen. The 19-year-old young actress started appearing on the screens as a guest dancer of the ALDC “Select Team” in the 4th season of Dance Moms at a young age.
Afterward, she started to take a permanent role in the reality competition show Dance Mom, but she experienced intense bullying on the internet and was exposed to the body prejudices of sports. Ava, who had to leave Dance Moms, faced many obstacles due to her height, although she tried to audition for dance roles in Los Angeles. Having to leave her first love behind dancing, she started to try her luck by taking acting lessons this time.
Ava Michelle plays Jodi Kreyman in Tall Girl
Although she stepped into the industry as a guest actress in other series on her journey of self-discovery, she started to gain fame by giving life to the character of American Actress Jodi, who starred in Netflix’s Tall Girl, which was released on September 13, 2019. The young girl, who was bullied at a young age due to her height (height: 1.87m) in her own life, plays the leading role in the movie in which she plays a high school student who is the subject of ridicule.
We do not encounter many sequels in youth dramas, Tall Girl 2 was released on Netflix recently. In the second movie, which revolves around Jodi (Ava Michelle) trying to stand up to the bullying she faces because of her stature, we will watch her proudly stand up and accept herself. Jodi now finds herself among the popular kids at school, and we see that the girl who used to walk down the halls looking down is now giving high five to the other kids.
Griffin Gluck in Tall Girl
Griffin Gluck, who chases after his love and supports his beloved in every way despite all the impossibilities, and turns around to be noticed by Jodi, his character Jack Dunkleman in the movie both made the audience laugh and emotional. He also managed to leave us with question marks until the end of the movie about why he always carries a ‘milk crate’.
When we look at the Tall Girl Cast, Griffin Gluck, who started his acting career at a much younger age compared to the others, is an American teen actor who succeeded in becoming one of the young stars of Hollywood at the age of 6 and has tasted success at a young age with his 15 years of acting experience.
Griffin Gluck with his castmate Ava Michelle
We got to know the 21-year-old young actor Rafe Khatchadorian, a middle school student with a wide imagination, in the 2016 movie Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. With his remarkable acting in both TV shows and movies, he had the opportunity to take part in the same projects with big names in the entertainment industry such as James Franco, Adam Sandler, and Bryan Cranston.
The first movie ended when Dunkleman and Jodi’s love story rose above Jack’s iconic chest and gave the first kiss that he had perhaps dreamed of for years. It will be enjoyable to watch the extent of the relationship between the two in Tall Girl 2.
What You Need to Know About Tall Girl’s Harper: Sabrina Carpenter
We got to know Sabrina Carpenter, one of Disney’s child stars, for her role as Maya Hart in the sitcom comedy series “Girl Meets World”. She started her career by appearing in NBC’s drama series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” in 2011, where she guest-starred. The 22-year-old young actress has played both leading roles and supporting roles in 19 TV series and 7 movies so far. Sabrina also has a music career. She released her debut album, Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying, in 2014, and the song peaked at #16 on the US Heat chart. The artist, who is both a singer and songwriter, debuted at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her track “Skin” last year.
Sabrina Carpenter
Making her Netflix debut in Tall Girl, Sabrina plays the role of Jodi’s much shorter sister, Harper Kreyman, who is the beauty queen of both the house and the pageants. Harper, who gives the biggest support to Jodi in the movie, stands out as both her biggest supporter and a funny and entertaining character in her little sister’s journey of self-acceptance and discovery. It seems that we will watch the sister relationship, which matures towards the end of the first movie, in the second movie as a more balanced and giving advice to each other and even sharing.
Clara Wilsey as mean girl Kimmy Stitcher
Although 24-year-old Clara Wilsey made her debut in 2019 with a small role in the 5-season comedy series Ballers, she started her professional life as a model. She became famous with the release of the movie Tall Girl, and she plays Kimmy Stitcher, the most beautiful and bad girl in the school. We often see the rivalry and jealousy between Jodi and Kimmy extending from their childhood to their high school years. It’s also worth remembering that Kimmy is at the top of her list for bullying Jodi. We also see her in Tall Girl 2, directed by Emily Ting and released on February 11, 2022.
Clara Wilsey
Embarrassing dad on Tall Girl: Steve Zahn
Born in 1967, Steve Zahn has a long career in the television and film industry for 32 years. The American actor and comedian, whom we know for his role as Sammy Gray in the 1994 movie Reality Bites, is also known for his voice acting in The Good Dinosaur (2015), Escape from Planet Earth (2013), and Chicken Little (2005). Perhaps many of us saw him as a guest actor in the TV series Friends, and some know him from the cast of Where’d You Go Bernadette with Cate Blanchett, which he recently joined.
Steve Zahn is currently playing the role of Jodi and Harper’s father, Richie, in Tall Girl. He is a loving father, but even though he embarrasses his daughter by occasionally messing up his good intentions, they managed to make the audience feel the father-daughter relationship between Jodi and Richie. We will see the successful actor in Tall Girl 2. This time, we will watch together whether the father-daughter relationship will make us laugh or cry.
Steve Zahn
Steve Zahn is currently playing the role of Jodi and Harper’s father, Richie, in Tall Girl. He is a loving father, but even though he embarrasses his daughter by occasionally messing up his good intentions, they managed to make the audience feel the father-daughter relationship between Jodi and Richie. We will see the successful actor in Tall Girl 2. This time, we will watch together whether the father-daughter relationship will make us laugh or cry.
While seeing most of the original cast in Tall Girl 2, there are some new additions to the cast members. We will see Johanna Liauw, who plays Stig’s sister Stella, and Jan Luis Castellanos, whom we know from 13 Reasons Why, as Tommy, a potential rival for Jodi’s love, as new characters.
