Masey McLain

Masey McLain (born January 6, 1994) is an American actress. Born and raised in south Georgia, she booked her first commercial at age 15 with the Jonas Brothers. McLain signed with a talent agency in Atlanta to pursue a career in acting when she was 15. Masey is known for her leading role in I'm Not Ashamed, the story of Rachel Scott at Columbine High School.^[1]

Early life

McLain was born in Vidalia, Georgia, the 3rd of 4 children born to Marty and Stephanie McLain.^[2] McLain grew up a pastor’s daughter, and attributes a lot of her love for the arts to her mom, who grew up a competitive dancer, singer, and choreographer. McLain’s love for performing began when her mom began to choreograph productions for the community at the church her dad was pastoring at. She began to love the magic in performing and the excellence her mom brought to productions to make them come alive. When McLain’s family moved to Atlanta, Georgia for her Dad to pastor a new church, McLain expressed her desire to be an actress to her parents, signed with a talent agency, and soon after booked her first commercial with Disney Channel where she had to sing for the Jonas Brothers.^[3] Throughout high school McLain continued to audition and book small guest roles in T.V. series, as well as book principal commercial work. McLain did her first lead role in a play when she was 15 years old, where she won Most Outstanding Actress in her region’s competition. McLain also started on the girl’s basketball team at her high-school, as well as ran cross-country and track. After high school, McLain went to college in the Atlanta area, where she studied communications and got involved leading worship at her church. With a musical background as well, McLain began getting more serious about music and writing, and performed in various coffee-houses and restaurants, such as Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta, Georgia. McLain made her first true mark in film when she played the lead role in her first feature film, I'm Not Ashamed.^[4]

In the Media

• "The acting. Honestly, I go into most faith-based films expecting to cringe over at least half of the performances. McClain is perfect as Rachel, and Ben Davies delivers as formerly-homeless Nate, whose dramatic arc is almost as key to the film as Rachel's, and just as authentic."^[5] on McLain's Performance in "I'm Not Ashamed"
• "...actress Masey McLain (in her first lead role) effortlessly conveys both the joy and insecurity endemic to being a Christian in a world where things frequently don’t go your way." Stated by Forbes on her performance in "I'm Not Ashamed"^[6]
• "And there is a saving grace here with newcomer Masey McLain. She is, undeniably, a terrific, warm and engaging performer...it gets you rooting that McLain cracks out of the “faith-based” ghetto and continues to work. The sky is the limit for her." According to The Guardian on McLain's performance in "I'm Not Ashamed"^[7]
• "Masey McLain delivers a strong performance in the lead." According to The Austin Chronicle on her performance in "I'm Not Ashamed"^[8]

Filmography

Film

Television

References