Alisha Weir on being Matilda: ‘I burst into tears because I just couldn’t believe it’

Meet the Irish teenager who's landed the lead role in one of the year’s most-anticipated movies.

Alisha Weir stars as the titular character in Matilda: The Musical

Remember the name – Alisha Weir. The young actress was picked by producers to star opposite Emma Thompson and Stephen Graham in Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical following a wide search for the film’s young lead.

Praise has been high for the 13-year-old Dubliner in what is her first major movie role, but Alisha is already building on her dream casting – she recently completed another film opposite Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman.