A visitor to Neverland

Rachel HURD-WOOD seems like a typical 13-year-old. She loves to shop, especially in a big department store in New York, though she simply can’t remember the name of it. She enjoys ice skating, canoeing and hanging in with her friends. And Hurd-Wood is attached to her tube of pink lip gloss as if it were an extra finger.

But what sets her apart from most girls her age -- besides a flawless peaches-and-cream complexion most women would kill for -- is that she’s starring in one of the big Christmas movies, “Peter Pan.” The British teenager is making her professional acting debut in P.J. Hogan’s live-action version of James M. Barrie’s childhood story as Wendy Darling, who lives with her two younger brothers, loving mother (Olivia Williams) and bespectacled, upright father (Jason Isaacs) in Victorian England. She mesmerizes her brothers with tales of pirates and sword fighting, and, unknown to her, lurking outside listening to her tales is Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter), a 10-year-old boy who has never grown up. Their famous saga unfolds the night Peter invites Wendy and her brothers to fly with him to the fantasy world, Neverland.

Hurd-Wood showed up for an open casting call in London and was chosen after four auditions. She was in town recently for a week of fun, adventure, the premiere of “Peter Pan,” meetings with directors and, of course, shopping.

Are you enjoying your stay in Los Angeles?

I love it! It’s fantastic. I really enjoyed going to the premiere in a stretch limo!

Were you a fan of the Barrie book before you got the role of Wendy?

Well, I had seen the Disney version hundreds of times. I loved it when I was a kid. I have seen “Peter Pan” on the stage, and I have seen “Hook.” I wasn’t obsessed with “Peter Pan,” but I did love the story when I was younger. As I got older, I liked it less and less. I tried to read it once, but I was really young and I didn’t get too much out of it because I wasn’t understanding it. When it came to the second or third audition, that’s when I read it again, and I loved the book, even though I didn’t understand it all.

Do you have any siblings?

I have one younger brother, Patrick. He’s 8. I understand how he is feeling. We are really close ... we fight all the time, but we have this deep connection.

Getting the role of Wendy without any real acting experience at an open casting call sounds almost like a fairy tale.

It started with a broken television. My grandparents had a broken TV set, so they got the repair guy to come along and fix it and he said: “You should have this extra channel. People in this area have this extra channel.” So they had him [install it]. Minutes after he was gone, they were watching the channel and saw this advert looking for a girl of a certain height, English rose and fair complexion, and it would be best if she was British. My grandparents said, “Rachel is like that.” They rang my mom. When I came home from school, my mother put me against the wall and measured me and smiled and said, “How would you like to audition for ‘Peter Pan,’ the film?” I said I would love to give it a go. I had been in a couple of school plays, but who hasn’t?

Why do you think the same actor plays Mr. Darling and Captain Hook?

I think all little girls have a special relationship with their father, and I think Wendy idolizes her father no matter what he’s like. But she doesn’t respect him because he is not brave. That’s why there is Captain Hook. He’s brave. He is the opposite of Mr. Darling.

Every child has a Neverland -- there was a line cut from the movie that said, “Neverland is what children see before they fall asleep.” I think everyone’s Neverland is different. Wendy’s Neverland is sword fighting and pirates. Because she is on the cusp of growing up, she is very attracted to Peter Pan, who is very brave.

Did you identify with Wendy?

It seemed almost completely like my Neverland because I got taken away to Neverland -- in Australia. I felt exactly the same way about things she did. I was completely on the edge of growing up.

Do you want to continue acting?

I would love to do more. There is no question, but I really have to think about schoolwork.

Isn’t it true you want to work with dolphins?

Oh, completely. My brother had a book with pictures of animals when he was born, and there was a dolphin in it, and I have liked them ever since. I have wanted to be a marine biologist since I was 8, and now I am thinking I want to be a marine biologist or dolphin trainer, anything to do with dolphins.

So you must excel in math and science at school.

I try. I can only do my best.

-- Susan King