Ariana Greenblatt Has “Changed In Every Way” Since Filming Borderlands

Even though Ariana Greenblatt has the film repertoire of a seasoned pro, she’s only 16. “I have felt like an adult for a while, and I’m incredibly aware that I’m not, and my parents are very aware that I’m not,” jokes the actor, who lives with her family in Los Angeles.

After starring in Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle (2016) and playing Young Gamora in Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War (2018), her breakout role came in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023), as the angsty daughter of America Ferrera’s character.

She plays a similarly sassy Tiny Tina in Borderlands, the big-screen adaptation of the popular 2009 video game, out Aug. 9. In the film, Cate Blanchett’s Lilith returns to her home planet on a special mission, aided by an army of eclectic personalities, including Greenblatt’s defiant character.

“If someone tells me to do something, I instantly don’t ever want to do it, even if it’s the right thing for me,” she says over Zoom, understanding her characters’ rebellious streaks.

She filmed Borderlands back in 2021, when she was just 13, and the film marked her first brush with A-list stars, like Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis. (Barbie filmed more than a year later.) “My wig was so uncomfortable, so Jamie would massage my head on set,” she says of her co-star. “She was very motherly and always made me feel safe and secure.”

While she identified with the explosives-loving Tina while filming Borderlands, she feels differently three years later. “As I get older, I drift away from being like her. I love fire, but I don’t blow people up,” says the actor, who’s entering her senior year of high school.

“Watching the movie back, my personal side is so embarrassed, but it was perfect for the time, and I was having fun,” she says. “I definitely feel like I’ve changed in every way, but it’s cool to have a time capsule of my life.”

Learn more about Greenblatt in the Bustle Booth below.

In the Bustle Booth

What’s your coffee order?

I don’t love coffee, but I love a good matcha latte and jasmine tea.

What are the saved weather locations on your phone?

I have NYC, London, and L.A.

What’s your sign?

Virgo!

Favorite overused movie quote?

“I wrote you every day for a year” from The Notebook or “Why so serious?” from The Dark Knight.

What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?

Tangled, Little Mermaid 1 and 2, all of the Barbie movies, Amazing World of Gumball, Phineas and Ferb, and the Tinker Bell movies.

What’s one movie or TV show you’re currently obsessed with?

Waves and The Bear.

Who is your celeb idol?

Honestly, everyone who was my idol became my friend, which is unreal.

If you had to be on a reality TV show, what would it be?

Vanderpump Rules, but I want to be a fly on the wall.

Go-to karaoke song?

Recently, Hamilton songs, older Justin Bieber songs.

What’s something that’s inspiring you lately?

The desire to always better myself.

What is something you would want people to say about you?

That I’m a good friend and that I’m funny.