Nancy Holt of Western Springs doesn’t have the opportunity to see her granddaughter Thea as often as she might wish. This is of course partly because the doting grandparents never get enough of their grandchildren, and partly because Thea lives in California. The last time, however, that Holt did get to see Thea’s sweet face, it was in a very big way. The 10-year-old had the role of Lilybet in the recently released film “The Last Sin Eater,” directed by Michael Landon Jr.

“It’s been thrilling for us to see her on the big screen. Movies for me still have a certain amount of glamour and the odds of someone being chosen for any role are just not in your favor,” Holt said.

Holt said that Thea, whose stage name is Thea Rose, has been appearing in print ads and television commercials since about the age of 5. Thea has also had a few television appearances, including “Reba,” “NCIS” and “Yes, Dear.”

“Her appearance in ‘Reba’ was the one that I especially liked, Holt said. “Reba was stroking her ponytail and I thought, ‘oh goodness, that’s what I do.’”

Holt said Thea played the role of one of Reba’s daughters in a flashback scene.

“She was little girl and had run away,” Holt said. “It was cute.”

In “NCIS” Thea played a young girl whose father had been murdered. Holt said Thea was in several scenes in that show. And in “Yes, Dear” Thea played the role of one of the kids’ girlfriends.

Thea has also appeared previously on the big screen, in a brief appearance in “Kill Bill Volume 2.” “She had a very, very small role. But I learned that if you have a speaking part, you are in the credits. She plays Uma Thurman’s character when she was a little girl in school. The teacher’s taking roll call and Thea answers, ‘here.’ It was very brief but it was a thrilling thing wading through the credits to see her name,” Holt said.

“The most exciting thing though was her role in ‘The Last Sin Eater,’ which was just released,” Holt said. The movie, set in 19th Century Appalachian mountains, is based on the Christian book by Francine Rivers.

 “In the movie, she plays an apparition or angel. Only the main character saw her and talked to her,” Holt said. “She’s a cute little girl. She looks sweet and innocent and in this role she was a little angel and looked like a little angel,” Holt said. She is eagerly anticipating the DVD, which is expected to be released before Easter.

Holt said that Thea doesn’t really think of her acting experience as being extraordinary.

“This is just what she does. Some kids do Scouts, she does this,” Holt said.

Thea goes to an average of one or two auditions each week, Holt said. Because she lives in Los Angeles County, Holt added, “There are a lot of people who do this type of thing. In L.A. there are a lot of people in commercials or who have had parts in movies. It’s not as uncommon as it is here. She doesn’t think ‘wow,’ like we do.”