December 25th 2023.
Becca Maguire played Saffron in 2009’s Nativity. Now aged 23, Becca is best known for her role in the Christmas classic film.
The movie boasts a star-studded cast including Martin Freeman, Alan Carr, Jason Watkins, David Tennant, and Joanna Page. Directed by Debbie Isitt, the musical comedy follows a primary school teacher who tells a white lie about Hollywood coming to see his class’ nativity, which spreads like wildfire.
Becca was originally cast for Nativity after signing up to an agency through her local drama school. At 8 years old, Becca starred alongside these A-list stars and her life was changed forever. She has since described the job as ‘very fun’, but admits it’s ‘cringe’ to look back on.
The movie was shot over the six-week summer holidays at a school in Coventry, Warwickshire. Becca also flew off to Los Angeles for two weeks to film extra footage with her co-star Michael McAuley.
Becca has now graduated in history of art, and she is worlds away from the little girl who played Saffron. Even though her family forces her to watch her performance on Christmas Day, Becca says it isn’t her favorite Christmas film.
‘I find it quite cringe,’ she told MailOnline. ‘My favourite Christmas film is Love Actually.’
Becca never expected Nativity to reach the heights it did. She said she was ‘quite nervous’ at the time, especially being in front of so many producers and directors. She also revealed a secret from set that the kids weren’t given lines, to make their acting more ‘natural’ - and it worked!
Nowadays, Becca is free to go about her life with a level of anonymity. She doesn’t get recognised from the movie, but when someone does realise she’s Saffron from Nativity, they always have something hilarious to say.
So, while Becca may no longer get recognised, she’ll always be Saffron to us! What’s your favourite Christmas movie?
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
