On the Verge: Daniah De Villiers from ‘Mia and the White Lion’

Welcome to “On the Verge,” a new feature from Casting Networks highlighting up-and-coming actors on the verge of a breakthrough career moment.

When French director Gilles de Maistre began casting for the lead role of a young girl to star opposite a real-life lion in the feature film “Mia and the White Lion,” he knew it was not only imperative to find the right child for the role but also that her parents would be open to a rather unconventional production.

He wanted to shoot in Africa and have his production overseen by Kevin Richardson—famously known as “The Lion Whisperer.” De Maistre and Richardson decided that the only way to shoot a project of this kind was without the use of CG lions. Instead, they wanted their protagonist to develop a real bond with one of Richardson’s cubs and have their friendship grow in real life and chronicle it within a fictional plot. The process would take three years, would be shot in four stages and use the same lion. The child’s parents would have to be open to the idea of their little girl growing up alongside these majestic—though potentially dangerous—creatures.

De Maistre saw more than 300 kids for the role. One of them was 11-year-old Cape Town resident Daniah De Villiers, who’s now 16.

“It was a really long audition process,” De Villiers tells Casting Networks. “They chose 11 kids for the callback and flew us to the lion park to meet Kevin to see how we behaved around his lions.”

It was at that callback that De Villiers realized how much she wanted the role.

“When I met those lions, I was sold,” she says. “I’ve always loved animals and nature, but I didn’t know anything about lions. When I met Thor [the lion cub who plays Charlie], I fell in love with him instantly. I knew right there I wanted to do this film. When would a person ever get a chance to live in the bush with lions for three years?”

It took another six months for the filmmakers to make their final casting choice. De Villiers won the role in part because during the call back, when she came head to head with a lion cub, she did not use her hands as the other children did but her head. Though this was purely instinctual on De Villiers part, the move was enough to convince Richardson that the little girl was the right choice to take on such a project.

“Mia and the White Lion” was shot in South Africa at the Welgedacht Reserve, 25 miles outside Pretoria. De Villiers began by interacting with six cubs who grew up together during production, including Thor.

“Three times a week I was giving them meat, cleaning enclosures, picking up poop. It was a really hands-on experience and such a humbling one,” says De Villiers, who also had to switch to homeschooling in order to work on the project. “It was also really hard work because lions go through phases like humans to—toddler, teenager, etc.—and you need to adjust to that. There is a challenge with each age. Kevin taught me everything I know about lions today.”

Safety was the number one priority on set, and only three people were allowed to interact with the lions: Richardson, De Villiers and co-star Ryan Mac Lennan, who plays Mia’s younger brother.

“I’m really lucky to have parents who allowed me to do this for three years,” she says. “They saw how much I loved the lions and how much the lions loved me. I feel very to honored to have had this experience because it changed me. I never knew I could love fall in love with a lion as much as I did.”

After production wrapped, De Villiers said it took some time to adjust to city life again, to the constant traffic noise and to waking up in the mornings without the sight of giraffes casually strolling around. Though it’s been two years since the project ended, De Villiers still visits her beloved Thor on Richardson’s reserve, where the six lions from the production remain together.

So, does Thor remember her?

“Oh yes!” she recalls. “When I go back to visit, it’s like no time has passed. Thor and I talk. He’s always like, ‘Rawr, rawr, rawr.’

De Villiers bursts out laughing at her own imitation of the talkative Thor, but then her tone grows more serious. “It’s not like, ‘I’m done with the project so I’m done with lions.’ I’ve developed such a big love for them that I feel the need to share the message of what’s happening with lions today, especially in South Africa [i.e., poaching, trophy hunting]. For me, it’s about creating awareness now.”

The experience, she feels, has also made her a better actor. “It taught me how to be around animals. Not pretending but being. They sense what you’re feeling. With this film, I didn’t need to act. It was real. The love that my character Mia has for Charlie, I grew to have for Thor. That’s what makes this film so unique. The relationship you see on screen is real.”