Page 4 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - January 25, 2023

4 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK JANUARY 25, 2023
Delighted about her role in the mermaid-inspired short film Ocean Child, MJoy Tuck is discovering that real life is sometimes better than fairy-“tails.”
ermaids descend- of Mermaidology & Neptun- but so much fun.” self in a career that’s spanned ed on the shores ism, Joy and her friends wel- Joy — who’s represent- short films, TV shows and of O‘ahu last year, come new mermaids to the ed by Kathy Muller Talent commercials. (To find her
and if you’ re worried about campus. & Modeling Agency here in full résumé, visit imdb.me/
missed opportunities to wit- ness such grandeur, don’t sweat it — there will be a chance to view these water nymphs soon enough. The aquatic troupe was part of the cast of Ocean Child, and they’ re excited to announce that the movie will start the Academy Awards qualify- ing film festival circuit next month.
Ocean Child was filmed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and on the white-sand shores of Kāhala Beach, where the real-life actress feels right at home.
Hawai‘i and Amsel, Eisen- stadt, Frazier & Hinojosa Inc. in Los Angeles — was part of Ocean Child’s original iteration, titled Wish Upon A Starfish (2017). The pro- ducers and writers redid that script and screenplay, a move that was met with much fan- fare. Already, Ocean Child has garnered recognition from the Los Angeles Film Awards, Milan Gold Awards, New York Movie Awards and Hollywood Gold Awards.
joytuck.) But even before that, adoptive parents Debbie and Larry noticed there was something special about their little girl.
Part of the pod is a mer- child named Joy, who fittingly enough is played by local girl Joy Tuck. In the underwater world of the fictional School
“I loved being a mermaid of course,” says the 12-year- old, who’s appeared in main- stream shows like General Hospital, Jane the Virgin and Henry Danger. “But I espe- cially loved being able to film so many beautiful shots here at Kāhala Beach. The drone footage of me swimming in a mermaid tail was challenging
Joy dove into the industry at age 6, quickly immersing her-
“She’s the youngest of four, and the only adopted child,” notes Debbie, who adds that she and Larry adopted a 5-day-old Joy from Laos while living abroad in South- east Asia. “She had her picture taken quite a lot. She used to dance on top of these straw mats while her dad played guitar.”
Debbie and Larry Tuck adopted Joy when she was just 5 days old.
PHOTO COURTESY DEBBIE TUCK
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