Irish-Canadian actress Amybeth McNulty has been cast in the new Netflix series Anne, based on the classic novel Anne of Green Gables.
After an extensive global casting search, which saw over 1,889 girls being auditioned for the role, the Irish-born actress was cast as Anne Shirley. She initially auditioned for the series online from her home in Donegal.
McNulty, who previously starred in the RTÉ drama Clean Break, will appear alongside Geraldine James and R.H. Thomson in the eight-part show for Netflix and Canada's CBC broadcasting corporation.
Amybeth McNulty in Clean Break
The actress read the Anne Green of Gables books when she was nine and says she shares many personality traits with the titular heroine.
"She has so much love for the world, which I think I share with her", McNulty told CBC News. "And her curiosity about everything, how she can be so fierce and so bold but so gentle and so loving."
The show's executive producer, Moira Walley-Beckett, said: "Amybeth is a wonderful and sensitive actress who embodies all of Anne’s qualities. She’s soulful and inquisitive, mercurial and passionate.
"Her ability to convey pain and joy is breathtaking. Amybeth is Anne for a new generation."
BREAKING: meet @amybethmcnulty, new Anne in CBC/Netflix Anne of Green Gables series. I went on set!https://t.co/tKTtaTVStk #cbcent
— Deana Sumanac (@deanasumanac) October 21, 2016
Anne is a coming-of-age story set in the late 1890s about young orphaned girl Anne Shirley, who is mistakenly sent to live with an aging sister and brother. Over time, the young Anne changes their lives and the entire small town in which they live with her unique spirit, imagination and intellect.
McNulty has been acting since the age of six. Her previous roles include the film Morgan and the TV series Agatha Raisin and The Sparticle Mystery.
