Booboo Stewart surprises local actress

When Booboo Stewart came to Maricopa in early June for the premiere of his new short film “Running Deer,” 9-year-old Maricopa resident Abriana De Quarto was ready for him.

As he stepped onto the red carpet at the UltraStar Multi-tainment Center, Abriana ran up to the “Twilight” star and said he inspired her to get into acting. She asked Stewart to come to see her movie and handed him an invitation.

“It was amazing to me to see someone make an effort like this. It was really cool,” Stewart said. “She came right up to me and surprised me.”

Fast-forward to Abriana’s movie debut at UltraStar on Saturday. Her film, “The Godchildren,” premiered there with the cast and their families. Abriana was sure Stewart would ignore her request.

“Way to crush a child’s dream,” Abriana said to her mother Saturday morning. She had been told Stewart was too busy filming other movies to come to her movie.

With everyone piled into the theater, however, Stewart was hiding in the walkway to surprise Abriana. Before the screening, she was called to the front of the theater.

She stood still for a moment, burying her face in her hands trying not to cry at the sight of one of her idols coming to see her movie.

Once he came a little closer, all she could muster was a meek, “Thank you for coming.”

After hugging and introductions, Booboo sat next to Abriana.

“He inspired me to get into acting and he’s so well spoken,” she said. “I was so shocked and it is so cool he came.”

“I had thought about her a bit after she came up to me,” said Stewart before the movie. “I thought about how cool it was that she thought of me as an inspiration. It made me want to come back.

“Spielberg, you know, someone influenced him. Everyone has an influence and I’m hers,” Stewart said. “That’s cool. She put her heart into something. What if one day she becomes a big actress or director? I can get to work with her. That would be real cool.”