Slumberland’s Marlow Barkley never thought that her first feature film would be with Jason Momoa. “This is crazy that it’s my first movie and it’s such a big one, especially with Jason. It was definitely a crazy experience,” she recently told Tudum. The 14-year-old actor had only done voice-over work before, as well as two seasons of the ABC comedy Single Parents. So, when the opportunity came to audition for director Francis Lawrence’s family adventure film, Barkley knew she had to jump on it.

“I read the script after my second callback, and I immediately was like, ‘I would watch this even if I’m not in it.’ I loved the character, Nemo. It was everything that I would’ve wanted to do and more,” she shared. It might seem daunting to go after your first feature film, but as Barkley’s audition tape shows, the young actor wasn’t afraid to put Momoa’s character, Flip, in his place.

In this Tudum exclusive, Marlow brings the headstrong Nemo to life as her character meets Flip for the first time. Slumberland follows the duo as they traverse through dreams and flee nightmares, hoping to reunite Nemo with her late father. As the film explores Nemo’s journey through grief, it was imperative to find a young actor who could embody those emotions — and Barkley had no trouble getting the waterworks going in her audition tape.

“We got so, so, so lucky with her. She’s so talented,” Lawrence said of Barkley. “Your worry is you’ve got this kid at the core of your movie who hasn’t really been in features, so you aren’t really positive of what they’re capable of — but she was just fantastic.”

Slumberland is now streaming.