Here’s The Advice Bette Midler Gave The Young Actress Playing Teenage Winifred In ‘Hocus Pocus 2’
If you haven’t yet watched Hocus Pocus 2 — Well, what are you waiting for?!?
The much anticipated sequel to the OG Hocus Pocus is now streaming on Disney+, and it just might be my new Halloween obsession.
One of my absolute favorite things about the Hocus Pocus sequel is the fact that we get a glimpse of our favorite Sanderson sisters when they were young.
And, let me tell you, those young actresses NAIL the roles of their older counterparts to a tee!
Taylor Paige Henderson, the teenage girl who plays young Winifred, really got into her role.
In fact, she got a bit of acting advice from Bette Midler, herself, on how to bring the persona that is Winnie Sanderson to life in a big way.
Bette said to embody the character more than I think is necessary. Bigger is always better with her.
Taylor Paige Henderson
To prepare to play young Winifred, Taylor watched Hocus Pocus over and over again, to really learn all the mannerisms and quirky bits of the character.
When you watch the [first] movie, that’s something that you notice about Winifred — that weird thing she’s doing with her hands with her fingers by her face. I thought it was really important to add that in because obviously she does it a lot.
Taylor Paige Henderson
Bette told Taylor that she had to play up all those weird, perhaps a little eccentric movements, to really embody the character and bring it to life.
She said to use what Winifred has to be the character — the hair, the hands, the teeth.
Taylor Paige Henderson
Winnie is always moving. She’s everywhere all the time. She’s up in everyone’s business. She loves her sisters so much. So, I really focused on that because I think that was really important.
Taylor Paige Henderson
Bette’s advice worked!! She totally transformed herself into the persona of the larger than life Winifred Sanderson.
Another thing that helped Taylor become Winifred was putting in those signature teeth. I didn’t even realize they were fake!
Oh my God! When I put the teeth in for the first time that helped me so much to become her better.
Taylor Paige Henderson
Young Winnie came to life once I put them in for the first time. It was fun to play with the character from there!
Taylor Paige Henderson
Well, all the preparation, advice — and those teeth — WORKED!! Taylor did a FANTABULOUS job at bringing the young Winifred character to life.
You can catch Taylor as young Winifred in Hocus Pocus 2, streaming on Disney+ right now.
