Picking Pocahontas

By Rebecca Winters

If her director's knack for ushering in new talent is any guide, Q'ORIANKA KILCHER'S face is one worth watching. Kilcher, 14, plays Pocahontas in Terrence Malick's The New World, now filming in Britain. Malick gave first big breaks to Richard Gere, in 1978's Days of Heaven, and James Caviezel, in 1998's The Thin Red Line. An aspiring singer, Kilcher had her only previous film role in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, as a little choir member. The Peruvian Indian sang a blues tune at her screen test for Malick. "She had the innocence of the young Pocahontas and the gravitas to play her as an adult," says producer Sarah Green. We're sure that maturity will come in handy when shooting scenes with the film's John Smith--perpetual pup Colin Farrell.