Mckenna Grace is drawing a firm line around nudity and highly sexualized material as she chooses acting roles — and her long-term hope of playing a Disney princess is part of the reason.
Speaking with Cosmopolitan during the press tour for “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” Grace said she currently rejects projects that would require nudity or what she described as “very hypersexual” work.
“At this point, I definitely don’t do nudity or very hypersexual things,” Grace said when asked whether there were roles she would decline. “I respect anybody who can, but it’s terrifying to me. I don’t know if that’ll ever change.”
Grace also made clear that the boundary does not mean she limits herself exclusively to family-friendly stories. Pointing to one of her own darker screen moments, she added: “It’s not like I only do wholesome things — my character literally gets gutted by Ghostface in ‘Scream’ — but my dream is to try and be a Disney princess someday.”
That distinction places the emphasis on the kind of material Grace personally does not want to perform, rather than on avoiding violent or mature storytelling altogether. Her Disney ambition remains a dream, but it is already influencing the roles she is prepared to consider.
A Disney precedent
Grace’s position recalls a choice made by Amy Adams after she played Disney princess Giselle in 2007’s “Enchanted.” Adams later declined more risqué material as she sought to protect the character’s image for the young fans who connected with the movie. She ultimately returned as Giselle in the 2022 sequel “Disenchanted.”
Andy Samberg previously discussed one such decision on “The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers” podcast. He said Adams declined a sexually explicit “Saturday Night Live” song that would have paired the two performers as an elderly couple having a picnic. In the proposed sketch, one character was stung by a scorpion and, while dying, lamented that the couple had not explored more sexually during their lives.
According to Samberg, Adams thought the idea was funny but believed it was incompatible with how strongly young viewers identified her with “Enchanted.” He recalled her saying, “Little girls are so obsessed with ‘Enchanted’ right now. They will find this, and it will be scarring for them. I just can’t mix that right now.”
Grace is not the only actor to have publicly ruled out certain intimate material. Amanda Seyfried said at the Hamptons International Film Festival in September that she had passed on a television show because it would have required frequent sex scenes.
“Doesn’t matter [who it’s with] … I don’t wanna do it,” Seyfried said. “I’m uncomfortable with it. I’m not into it right now.” She left open the possibility that her view could change later, but added that she did not currently want to “deal with being naked with a stranger.”
ShowBiz Take
Grace’s comments matter because they offer a direct account of how an actor’s personal boundaries and career ambitions can intersect. She is not criticizing performers who accept nude or sexualized roles; in fact, she explicitly expressed respect for them. Instead, she is defining what she is comfortable doing and acknowledging that her position may or may not change.
Her remarks also resist a simple division between “wholesome” work and darker entertainment. Grace is comfortable citing the violent fate of her “Scream” character while separately identifying nudity and hypersexual material as areas she does not want to enter. The Disney princess goal gives that decision an additional career dimension, but Grace’s description of such scenes as terrifying makes clear that personal discomfort is central as well.
What Happens Next?
Grace’s immediate slate includes two prominent franchise projects. After most recently appearing on the big screen in “Scream 7,” she is playing Maysilee Donner in “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” which is scheduled to reach theaters Nov. 20.
She is also set to star as Daphne in Netflix’s live-action “Scooby-Doo” reboot series. Whether the Disney princess dream eventually becomes a screen role remains uncertain, but Grace has now made clear that the possibility is helping shape the career choices she makes today.