Odette Yustman in “Cloverfield”
At five feet ten inches with brunette hair and brown eyes, Odette’s features are that of a model – indeed, Odette started her professional career in show business as a model before turning to acting full time. While not a child actress, she did make her screen debut at the age of five in the Schwarzenegger comedy “Kindergarten Cop” in 1990. But it was not until after high school and following her brief stint as a model that Odette returned to the screen – this time in more prominent roles. She was Arielle Casta for the entire six episode run of “South Beach” in 2006, the short-lived UPN show that also starred Vanessa Williams. Odette took another stab at TV drama in 2007 as part of the cast of “October Road,” the ABC drama with Tom Berenger in which she played Aubrey.
Odette’s apprenticeship as a supporting actress translated onto the big screen as well. She has parts in “The Holiday,” “Transformers,” and “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.” Odette, whose career seems similar to those of Zoe Saldana or Ali Larter in that each year she gradually receives more exposure, is set to have a breakout project by the end of the decade. With “Cloverfield,” the apocalyptic sci-fi New York adventure in which Odette is the star, could be the breakthrough she has been striving to reach.
Check out lovely Odette in GQ.
Odette on the Screen
You’ll be hard pressed to recognize her as a five year old, but that’s Odette as Rosa in “Kindergarten Cop.” Two minor mid-90s films, “Remembrance” and the Greg Kinnear vehicle “Dear God” followed. While the show “South Beach” was cancelled after six episodes, it garnered Odette attention and work. Bit parts in “The Holiday” and “Transformers” coincided with her gig on “October Road” for TV. She appears in the John C. Reilly film “Walk Hard” and the thriller “Cloverfield” with Michael Stahl-David.
Odette Says
On choosing to see one person:
“If I had to meet one person again it would be my elementary school crush. It was so mutual.”