Dafne Keen was only 11 years old when she filmed Logan. At that age, most children spend their days dealing with homework, friends and curfews that seem a little unfair. But not Keen. She was already attending Hollywood wrap parties where people offered her cocaine.
The actress revealed the experience during an appearance on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast. Keen said people offered her the drug when she was between 11 and 13 years old. Thankfully, she refused.
“I was getting offered coke at wrap parties,” she said.
Now that is not an amusing story about Hollywood being wild. It is a story about adults offering drugs to a child. And the fact that it happened more than once suggests that somebody should have been asking very serious questions.
Keen became internationally recognised after playing Laura, also known as X-23, opposite Hugh Jackman in Logan. She delivered a brilliant performance as a young mutant who could fight with the aggression of Wolverine while still feeling like a frightened child. But away from the cameras, that is all she was, a child.
According to Variety, witnessing that behaviour at such a young age left Keen with very little interest in drugs or heavy drinking. She said she has never consumed enough alcohol to experience a hangover. As a teenager, she would sometimes claim that she had already taken something simply to stop other people from pressuring her. It worked, but you have to question why a child should even need a strategy.
We’ve all seen Hollywood celebrating young performers when their films succeed. Hollywood invites them to premieres, places them on magazine covers and expects them to speak to journalists like adults. But they forget that fame does not provide a child the ability to navigate adult environments safely.
That responsibility belongs to the adults around them.
Keen praised Hugh Jackman for protecting her while they made Logan. She described him as a parental figure who ensured that nobody abused her working hours. He also tried to keep her away from tensions behind the scenes and made sure she enjoyed her time on set. That is such a commendable act and shows exactly why young actors need people who take their protection seriously.
Jackman should not appear extraordinary simply because he recognised that an 11-year-old required care. The people responsible for a production should make that standard practice. The protection should continue long after the director says “cut” and especially when everyone arrives at the wrap party.
I’m sure it is rather strange for young actors to be earning money, working long hours and sometimes carrying enormous productions on their shoulders. All without the life experience needed to understand every situation around them. And you know what? Adults may praise their maturity, but that compliment can quickly become an excuse to forget their age.
Keen merely spoke of the incidents where she was offered cocaine, she did not identify the people involved or the productions that hosted the parties. So without evidence, blame cannot be attached to any individuals. But her account clearly exposes the type of environment she encountered. And don’t be fooled into thinking that a child saying no is enough proof that the system worked. The only thing that it proves is that the child protected herself when adults failed to do it.
Keen continued building a successful career through His Dark Materials, The Acolyte and Deadpool & Wolverine. She will also play Artemis in the third season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It is really refreshing to see a child that has emerged from those early experiences as an adult with a strong understanding of her own boundaries. But as we know, not every child actor will feel confident enough to refuse, and they should never have to rely on confidence alone.
Hollywood likes to call young performers talented beyond their years. It must stop using that talent as an excuse to treat them as though they have already grown up.
