Linda Manz (August 20, 1961 â€" August 14, 2020) was an American
actress. Making her film debut in 1978, she was mainly active until
1997. She was noted for her roles in Days of Heaven (1978), Out of the
Blue (1980), and Gummo (1997).Linda Manz was born in Manhattan, to
Sophie E. Manz and never knew her father. Growing up in Upper
Manhattan Manz had a troubled childhood and a difficult relationship
with her mother which led to her running away from home frequently and
attending several schools. Manz told People magazine in 1979 that
“For a long time, I was always asking people to adopt me†. She was
initially indifferent to acting but, as she later explained in 2011,
it was her mother, a cleaner at the World Trade Center, who "had an
idea of me being in movies". Her mother insisted that Manz attend a
showbiz academy that taught acting and dancing.It was while she was at
the showbiz academy that a teacher told her that the casting director
Barbara L. Claman was looking for streetwise kids to appear in a new
Hollywood film. Manz turned up unannounced at Claman’s office,
“smoking and looking all of 10 years old†but according to Claman
“she had that special quality we wanted.†This introduction
eventually lead in 1976 to Manz being selected at the age of 15 by
Terrence Malick to act in his second film, Days of Heaven, as a
streetwise orphan who joins her older brother and his lover when they
flee Chicago in 1916, and find work, then refuge, with a wealthy Texas
farmer. The film was released in 1978 due to its lengthy editing.
Manz's part was initially smaller, but Malick was so impressed by her
that he made a last-minute decision to have her provide an unscripted,
improvised narration. Manz told interviewers, years later, that, “I
just watched the movie and rambled on,†and that, “They took
whatever dialogue they liked.†She received excellent reviews, with
critic Roger Ebert saying, “Her voice sounds utterly authentic; it
seems beyond performance.â€
actress. Making her film debut in 1978, she was mainly active until
1997. She was noted for her roles in Days of Heaven (1978), Out of the
Blue (1980), and Gummo (1997).Linda Manz was born in Manhattan, to
Sophie E. Manz and never knew her father. Growing up in Upper
Manhattan Manz had a troubled childhood and a difficult relationship
with her mother which led to her running away from home frequently and
attending several schools. Manz told People magazine in 1979 that
“For a long time, I was always asking people to adopt me†. She was
initially indifferent to acting but, as she later explained in 2011,
it was her mother, a cleaner at the World Trade Center, who "had an
idea of me being in movies". Her mother insisted that Manz attend a
showbiz academy that taught acting and dancing.It was while she was at
the showbiz academy that a teacher told her that the casting director
Barbara L. Claman was looking for streetwise kids to appear in a new
Hollywood film. Manz turned up unannounced at Claman’s office,
“smoking and looking all of 10 years old†but according to Claman
“she had that special quality we wanted.†This introduction
eventually lead in 1976 to Manz being selected at the age of 15 by
Terrence Malick to act in his second film, Days of Heaven, as a
streetwise orphan who joins her older brother and his lover when they
flee Chicago in 1916, and find work, then refuge, with a wealthy Texas
farmer. The film was released in 1978 due to its lengthy editing.
Manz's part was initially smaller, but Malick was so impressed by her
that he made a last-minute decision to have her provide an unscripted,
improvised narration. Manz told interviewers, years later, that, “I
just watched the movie and rambled on,†and that, “They took
whatever dialogue they liked.†She received excellent reviews, with
critic Roger Ebert saying, “Her voice sounds utterly authentic; it
seems beyond performance.â€
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