Grace Van Patten Is Just Getting Started; Get to Know the Nine Perfect Strangers Star

Van Patten grew up surrounded by Hollywood talent, but it's James Gandolfini whom she credits for getting her into acting. "I have a memory of seeing Jimmy Gandolfini start the scene as this big, beautiful, soulful teddy bear and then just shape-shift into an absolute monster," she recalled to Vogue, referencing her days on The Sopranos. "I remember being so in awe and thinking, How did he do that? I was fascinated by the idea of transformation and realised early on that's what I wanted to do."

In 2017, Van Patten took to the stage for the first time since high school in Hamish Linklater's Off-Broadway play Whirligig. Nerves aside, she fell in love with stage acting: "[It] is something that makes me feel so fulfiled because it takes so much discipline," she told Vogue. At first, she was nervous she'd get bored having to relive the same character night after night, but her experience turned out to be quite the opposite."It's like doing a different show every night with the same character. I'm dying to do another play as soon as it's possible, even though they terrify me," Van Patten said.

In a recent interview with Glamour, Van Patten opened up about her close relationship to Camp Boggy Creek, a camp for kids with terminal illnesses that her grandfather helped start back in the '60s. She's been volunteering there for as long as she can remember and describes it as a "beautiful" experience. "[The camp] gives these kids a life-changing experience. They go and hide all the medical equipment and make these kids feel safe and feel normal for the amount of time they're there," she said, adding, "Hopefully I'll be able to reach some more people about it."