Storm Reid is opening up about both the praise and backlash she received upon being cast as Meg in "A Wrinkle in Time."
Back in 2018, the 17-year-old played the young heroine in the Ava DuVernay-directed movie. The film, about a girl who on a quest to save her father as well as all of space and time, was based on Madeleine L'Engle's classic 1962 book of the same name.
"Some people had problems with me playing Meg because they'd loved her as a Caucasian girl for so long," Reid, who is Black, told InStyle. "They were uncomfortable to have that shift, but the only way to create change in our world is through people willing to be uncomfortable."
While this was one side of things she experienced, there was another reality for the young actress.
"When the film came out, little girls would come up to me and say, 'Thank you for allowing me to see a girl who looks like me save the world,'" she recalled. "That's when I realized my career was bigger than myself."
Reid -- who has also starred in "12 Years a Slave," "When They See Us" and "Euphoria" -- said there's an "intentional" reason behind choosing all the projects throughout her career thus far.
"I see each one as an opportunity to have a progressive conversation and represent people and situations that are underrepresented," she explained. "Young girls deserve to see themselves on screen. Because how can you feel like you're able to succeed when you don't see yourself succeeding?"
Another bonus of starring in "A Wrinkle in Time" was Reid being able to find mentors in her co-stars -- Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling -- and DuVernay.
"It's a blessing to have amazing women like [them] in my corner championing me," she gushed. "I try to make them proud, but I know I'm not always going to do or say everything the right way. I'm not perfect, but the goal shouldn't be for me to be perfect."