Violet McGraw's Love Of American Girl Dolls Helped Fuel Her Performance In M3GAN

11-year-old Violet McGraw has already established herself in the horror genre — the actress first made a breakthrough with her performance in the Mike Flanagan-helmed Netflix series "The Haunting of Hill House," in which she played Young Nell. Her role placed her at the heart of the show's most tragic plot, the Bent-Neck Lady, and her performance drew praise from viewers and critics alike. McGraw (and her sister Madeleine) has continued to work in the genre, her newest film being Gerard Johnstone's "M3GAN," a horror tale about an AI doll going on a murderous rampage.

In the film, McGraw plays Cady, the orphaned niece of a robotics engineer whose well-intentioned efforts led her to build M3GAN. In an attempt to distract her niece from the death of her parents, she gifts Cady M3GAN, an animatronic doll that attends to her and keeps her company ... before her intelligence escalates to dangerous effect.

McGraw's performance is compelling and evocative, and the actress has revealed how her love for American Girl Dolls impacted her performance in the movie.

Sitting down with Variety for an interview, the young actress shared how her favorite toys growing up were American girl dolls. The Truly Me doll was her favorite — the toy could be made as lifelike as possible and could resemble her owner in appearance through personalized options. McGraw related to her character since they were both young girls and understood why Cady was so attached to M3GAN.

The actress said:

"Cady is a young little girl, and she's sad because she lost her parents. I still have my parents. But I think we have the same personality a little bit, because Cady becomes very close with M3GAN. I think I would also get really attached to M3GAN as well, because I'd think of her as my best friend and a sister to me. I feel like that's how we can relate a lot."

McGraw went over her love for playing with dolls, particularly the "American Girl dolls," since she had them while growing up with her sister. The actress got them as presents for Christmas each year, which is how she understood her character being able to see her own doll as family.

"I loved to play with dolls. I liked to play with the American Girl dolls a lot, because me and my sister got a bunch of sets. We put them all over this open space, and we made this whole little town like a beach. It was really cool, because for Christmas every single year, we would ask for a new set, so we could complete our town. I got a Truly Me doll, and a Truly Me doll is where you make it look like you. I got one, and I named it Violet, because she had my hair and we got the same clothes."

McGraw's talent is terrific and translates through every role she picks up — whether it's her ability to portray the young Eleanor in "Hill House" young Yelena Belova in Marvel's "Black Widow" or Cady in "M3GAN." Violet McGraw truly is an acting powerhouse in "M3GAN," as she will continue to be one in whatever project comes her way next!