Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making of “Akeelah and the Bee”

In your career have you had low points

And just like her character, Keke Palmer has her own brand of intelligence. When asked what message she took from the film, she explained what she learned by participating in the movie. She said the takeaway is that despite how your circumstances might make you feel like certain goals are unattainable, if you forget the obstacles for a minute, you’ll be able to achieve your goals.

“When I auditioned for Akeelah, in the first audition I was a little bit afraid because I saw girls in there that I had seen on tv before. I was like ‘man, I might as well just walk out of here now because I’m just a newcomer.’ But when I went into the room, I kind of just had to let all of that go and I went in and I was myself. I did the lines the best that I could and I kept getting callbacks and callbacks. And I as I kept getting closer I think that’s, you know like Akeelah, as she started to get further in the Spelling Bee, she started to realize, ‘well hey, maybe I am good enough if I’m getting this far. And that’s what I thought, ‘well hey, I’m good if I’m getting this far.”