Draft:Autumn Best

Autumn Best is an American actress, singer, and writer. She played the role of Mildred on 4400 and will appear as Amy in the upcoming film Woman of the Hour, directed by Anna Kendrick. Her character, Amy, is based on the true story of Monique Hoyt, one of Rodney Alcala's victims.

Career

At the age of 4, Best began acting in stage plays, though she later expanded to television and film. In 2019, Best played Willow in the pre-Broadway workshop of Fly More Than You Fall, a new musical in New York, which was ultimately halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Willow, Best was awarded the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical award through the Annual National Youth Arts Awards. Best was accepted into the Broadway Studio Program through the New York University Tisch School of Arts, but chose to pursue filming of 4400 through The CW in Chicago, Illinois instead of enrolling. Best was announced in the cast of Woman of the Hour in October of 2022, and the film is set to release in 2024 on Netflix.

Critics' Reception

Following Woman of the Hour's success at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, the movie was purchased by Netflix and attracted the attention of media critics. Best's performance as Amy in Woman of the Hour was praised by the New York Post's entertainment critic, Johnny Oleksinski, who wrote "the women [in the film] are all committed, but best is Autumn Best as a young runaway who ends up driving with Alcala along a desert highway." Mashable's Film Editor, Kristy Puchko, writes, "to the credit of Autumn Best, while her pugnacious runaway is thinly sketched on the page, her screen presence is undeniably mesmerizing. You root for her even as the movie gives you every reason to think hope is pointless." Lovia Gyarkye, Arts and Culture Critic for The Hollywood Reporter, describes Best as "excellent."

Best received further praise from Rotten Tomatoes Top Critic and Critics Choice Association member Meagan Navarro, who wrote for Bloody Disgusting that "the film ultimately belongs to Autumn Best, who plays a young teen runaway who finds herself unwittingly ensnared by the killer. It’s Best’s potent portrayal of the trusting teen and subsequent violence endured that stays with you. Kendrick knows it, too; the actor-turned-director steps aside to let Best deliver a cathartic sucker punch that breaks your heart as much as it assures that Best is destined for stardom."

Personal Life

Best was raised in Utah, and credits her interest in performance with early childhood exposure to concerts, specifically the Celebrity Concert Series. She attended Tuacahn High School for the Arts, where she served as Co-Vice President in 2021. In addition to working on various stage productions, Best worked as a shoe store employee while living in Utah. She relocated to Chicago in 2021 to begin filming 4400. Best currently resides in New York.

Disability and Advocacy

Best was born with a limb difference, in her own words she "was born with only a thumb on [her] left hand." She has been outspoken about disability representation in film and media, joining a multitude of disabled actors in criticizing the 2020 remake of Roald Dahl's The Witches for its portrayal of limb differences. Specifically, the film was criticized for furthering stigma against individuals with ectrodactyly, and disability broadly. Of the film, Best commented "People in power have tried to dehumanize us since the beginning of time. We know better than that. Get behind the script! Get behind the camera! Demand your seat at the table and speak up!"

Of her first pre-Broadway workshop, Best wrote of her experience playing a disabled character, "It was cool as a disabled person to play a role about believing that you're broken and that you can't do something because you're not like everybody else -- and then realizing that you do have the power. Fly More Than You Fall taught me that there is a place for me in this industry. There is a place for me to do this work, and I just have to keep trying." Best has also spoken about how her limb difference has uniquely affected her experience as a musician, utilizing physical therapy and a custom brace to learn the violin.