Aryana Engineer (born March 6, 2001) is a Canadian actress who made her debut in the 2009 horror film Orphan, as a little girl named Max, alongside Vera Farmiga.
Engineer was born partially deaf on March 6, 2001, in British Columbia, Canada.
2007
In 2007, she was discovered when she was spotted using sign language with her mother.
2009
The neighbour (Brenda Campbell) who discovered her was an agent, who suggested Aryana for the role of five-year-old Maxine "Max" Coleman in the film Orphan (2009).
The neighbour knew the producers were searching for a blond-haired girl who knew how to sign, and decided to take action.
In the Orphan script, Max Coleman was described as "unimaginably cute".
When director Jaume Collet-Serra saw that Aryana had the ability "while crying, to perform a scene -- to immediately go from there still keeping this emotion", he knew she was the one for the part.
According to Collet-Serra, Aryana didn't understand what was going on during the making of Orphan and thought it was all a game.
2010
After the release of Orphan, Aryana took part in a commercial for the 2010 Winter Olympics that was being held in Canada.
She also represented Canada with her brother at the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony, welcoming viewers using sign language.
2012
In 2012 she starred, alongside Milla Jovovich, as Becky in Resident Evil: Retribution, the fifth film in the franchise.
In September 2012, Resident Evil: Retribution was released to the public.
In the film, Aryana plays a deaf girl named Becky who builds a mother-daughter relationship with the main character Alice (Milla Jovovich).
