A student at Junction Road’s Shaolin Temple has earned new fame with her breakout role in Netflix’s Enola Holmes 2 starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill.
The film’s cast also includes Harry Potter stars Helena Bonham Carter and David Thewlis, as well as Sam Claflin and Louis Partridge.
Serrana Su-Ling Bliss plays Bessie Chapman, a factory girl who approaches young Enola played by Brown, to help find her missing sister Sarah, played by Hannah Dodd.
“During filming, [Brown] had her pet rabbit and poodle in her tent, and I would play with them. Her boyfriend Jake [Bongiovi] was also there a lot, and we sometimes played UNO together,” Bliss said.
In an interview with Islington Now, the young actor recalled meeting “these huge stars” on set, adding that she “loved hanging out with” Brown.
Bliss recounted other memorable moments from her time filming Enola Holmes 2, including speaking to Cavill about his costumes in The Witcher, and getting acting tips from Thewlis.
“I also had my 12th birthday on set,” she said, adding, “It was so much fun, and they sang me ‘Happy Birthday’ on set.”
Bliss, who lives in Haringay with her family, has been training at the UK’s only Shaolin Chan Buddhist Temple, near Tufnell Park station, for nearly seven years.
“Actually, the reason I started kung-fu was because I saw the animated film Kung-Fu Panda, and I loved how Master Shifu made the flower blossom,” Bliss said.
“I said to my mom, I want to learn kung-fu so I can make a flower bloom.”
Bliss told Islington Now that she got her first acting gig – in a commercial for Lawn Tennis Association – through doing martial arts.
“In the advertisement, I start out playing tennis but then transform into a ninja with a tennis racquet and do some martial arts moves,” she said.
Bliss, now 13, said she feels “very lucky to be able to train” at the Temple, with Grandmaster Shifu Yanzi.
“I think it’s a very unique, rare community. It’s given me so much confidence, and the instructors have been such amazing?mentors,” she added.
Bliss made her acting debut as Sharon Nicholas in Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar-nominated Belfast, which was released last year.
She is also part of the child dance ensemble cast in Matilda the Movie, which released in UK cinemas on 25 November.
