Who Plays Charlie in ‘Firestarter’? Ryan Kiera Armstrong Gives Drew Barrymore a Run for Her Money

By Anna Menta
Published May 14, 2022, 10:00 a.m. ET

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Firestarter (2022)

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Drew Barrymore

Long before she was kicking ass in Charlie’s Angels or forgetting her life in 50 First Dates, Drew Barrymore was lighting people on fire with her mind in the 1984 movie adaptation of Firestarter, a Stephen King horror story about a little girl with pyrokinetic abilities. While it wasn’t her first movie role as a child actor—that honor belongs to Altered States, followed by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial—it was certainly her biggest role to date and cemented the name “Drew Barrymore” in the public’s mind.

Therefore, the 2022 reboot of Firestarter, which opened in theaters and began streaming on Peacock today, is undoubtedly a huge opportunity for any young actor. After all, Charlie—the 11-year-old girl burdened with the power to set fire to anything and anyone she wants—is the movie. So far, this reboot, which was directed by Keith Thomas and written by Scott Teems, hasn’t been very critically well-received, but most critics agree on one thing: Ryan Kiera Armstrong delivers a top-notch performance as Charlie. Charlie’s anguish, her guilt, her grief, and most of all, her rage, are etched onto every inch of Armstrong’s face. Even where there is no emotion in the script, Armstrong manages to find it.

If you hadn’t heard of her before this film, you’ll certainly know of her after Firestarter. Here’s what to know about Ryan Kiera Armstrong, the star of Firestarter (2022).

FIRESTARTER, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, 2022.
Photo: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

WHO PLAYS CHARLIE IN THE NEW FIRESTARTER MOVIE?

In the 2022 Firestarter, Charlie is played by 12-year-old Canadian actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong. The daughter of Canadian actor Dean Armstrong—who you may know as Blake from Queer as Folk—the younger Armstrong has been acting professionally since 2017, since she had her debut TV role as Minnie May Barry in the Canadian series Anne with an E. Since then she has been in several major films and shows, including playing Zoe in The Art of Racing in the Rain, Victoria Fuller in IT Chapter Two, young Antonia in Black Widow, and Alma in American Horror Story: Double Feature.

Basically, this girl has a more impressive resume at 12 than I do at 29. Coming up, Armstrong will be starring alongside Nicolas Cage in The Old Way, a western drama; as well as in the coming-of-age film Wildflowers, with Kiernan Shipka and Jean Smart.

She’s not quite the next Drew Barrymore yet, but she’s certainly well on her way. Keep your eye on this one—she’s going places.