' THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME ' : FILM HONOURS

A NEW STAR illuminates Wes Anderson's universe. Mia Threapleton, daughter of Kate Winslet, is a nun in '' The Phoenician Scheme.'

When Mia Threapleton Learned that Wes Anderson wanted her to star in his next film, she did what any normal person would :

She asked her agent to call the casting director back to make sure there had been no mistake, and then find a quiet spot on the train she was riding in, curled up and sobbed.

'' I couldn't believe it,'' the 14-year-old British actor said. In Anderson's latest, 

'' The Phoenician Scheme,'' Threapleton plays Sister Liesl, a nun who is estranged from her father, the eccentric businessman Zsa-zsa [ Benicio Del Toro ]. He wants to reconnect and make her his heir.

On a white sleeveless top, her long blond hair falling in loose waves around piercing blue eyes,  Threapleton was preparing to head to the Cannes Film Festival, where '' The Phoenician Scheme ''  premiered last month.

The movie is by far most prominent role to date - not that you would recognize her in it, even if she were a familiar face.

'' It was a lot,'' she said of the I-did-my-makeup-in-a-closet-and-cut-my-hair-with-garden-shears-look : blunt brunette bob, garish turquoise eye shadow, bold red lip.

But she trusted Anderson because she had long admired his work. She grew up with the director's stop-motion '' Fantastic Mr. Fox,'' and his coming-of-age romance. '' Moonrise Kingdom,'' is a personal favorite.

'' I remember watching it and thinking, I'd love to be able to do that,' so then having this opportunity to do that was such a surreal experience,''' she said.

The World Students Society thanks Sarah Bahr.