Octavia Spencer championed Diana Silvers for Ma role

Diana Silvers will be eternally grateful to Octavia Spencer for championing her for a role in Ma.

The actress is quickly becoming one to watch in Hollywood, having taken on the part of Hope in 2019 coming-of-age comedy Booksmart, and as Maggie opposite Octavia in Tate Taylor’s new horror film. Now, Diana has credited the Oscar-winning actress with helping her to win over producers and shared that she gets a little emotional whenever she thinks about the situation.

“At the (Ma) premiere party, I walked up to Octavia and was like, ‘You have no idea how grateful I am that you gave me this opportunity, and that you fought (on my behalf),’” she recalled in an interview with Refinery29. “She kept saying, ‘You earned it.’ But she took a chance on someone who had not done anything before. She’s someone I admire and respect, and I hope that one day I do that for someone else if I’m in that position.”

Diana briefly studied at New York University, but after a family emergency, was forced to return home to California. And she is amazed at the series of events that have led to her pursuing an acting career full time.

“The universe really just worked itself out in a very twisted strange way. I know I wouldn’t have made the callback for Ma if my father’s house had not burned down because I would have been in finals. My teachers would not have been chill with me leaving in the middle of my Medieval Magic final,” the 21-year-old smiled.

Diana is next set to appear in Tate’s next film, Eve, which also stars Jessica Chastain, Geena Davis, and John Malkovich.