News of the World Newcomer Helena Zengel, 12, Is the Surprise Princess of Awards Season

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Helena Zengel's debut in Hollywood was a standout like no other.

The 12-year-old actress has scored Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for her debut film News of the World, opposite acting giant Tom Hanks.

Born and raised in Berlin, Zengel stars as a German orphan in the Paul Greengrass-directed film. Hanks' character, Captain Kyle Kidd, sets out to return the girl to her blood relatives after she's spent four years living as the adopted daughter of the Kiowa tribe in 1870 Texas.

The young star began acting at the age of 5 when she appeared in a music video for the German band Abby.

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Universal Pictures / Everett

Her first film role came at the age of 8 for the German drama Die Tochter (The Daughter). In 2019, she starred in the drama System Crasher, for which she won the German Film Prize, the German equivalent of the Oscar. The film also caught the attention of Greengrass, who invited her to audition for News of the World.

"Acting is actually normal for me," she told Deadline. "I never had acting classes or anything, so it's just something natural I like to do."

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The actress told PEOPLE earlier this month that she bonded with Hanks, even receiving helpful advice from him for her budding career.

"Show up on time, know your lines, and be kind to everybody," she said.

As for the Oscar buzz she's been generating, Zengel said, "I guess I can call myself an actress."