Dec. 04--Tavi Gevinson and Michael Cera, who co-starred in a 2014 Steppenwolf production of "This Is Our Youth" that was later mounted on Broadway, have been cast in a new ensemble drama about relationships called "Human People."
The film "follows a variety of New York characters navigating unexpected problems and their relationships during the course of a single day," with a cast that includes Isiah Whitlock Jr., Michaela Watkins and "Broad City's" Abbi Jacobson.
Though Gevinson, who grew up in Oak Park, first achieved fame as a young fashion blogger and the creator of Rookie magazine (all before graduating high school), she has been pursuing a career in acting over the last two years.
Tribune theater critic Chris Jones described her work last year at Steppenwolf as a "remarkably assured and luminous performance from a young actress-tastemaker ... who listens intently and mixes quite the under-age cocktail of surety and vulnerability, evokes more of a knowing, grounded young performer who understands, Natalie Portman-like, the importance of controlling content and driving ideas.
"She may well prove to be a very big star," he added. "Most of the elements are there, even if she as yet can only go so far, being days out of high school. Gevinson seems like an old soul even if she has barely been on a stage."
nmetz@tribpub.com
