Who Plays M3GAN & How Much Of Her Was Special Effects?

It takes a village to play M3GAN.

2023 started with a bang thanks to "M3GAN," a viral horror sensation from the minds of Akela Cooper and James Wan. Even before its early January release, "M3GAN" became the subject of memes thanks to its slick marketing campaign, insane premise, and footage of M3GAN breaking out in dance. The film follows the titular, artificial-intelligence-powered doll M3GAN, who is brought into the world to care for a young child (Violet McGraw). The two immediately became attached, to the point where M3GAN goes berzerk, doing anything to protect the kid — including murder.  

"M3GAN" quickly became a financial juggernaut, grossing north of $180 million at the global box office, making it one of the most profitable films of the year thanks to its sleek, sub-$15 million budget. What made the Universal Pictures project such a success was how unabashedly confident it was in its chaotic execution. "['M3GAN'] has a self-awareness of what the audience wants to see from a child robot killing machine but ensures that mindfulness never rises to the surface," wrote Looper critic Alistair Ryder in a positive review of the film.

While kudos certainly need to be hurled at Cooper, Wan, and director Gerard Johnstone, a large part of what makes "M3GAN" work is the performance of the titular character. A team of visual effects artists, puppeteers, and performers helped bring M3GAN to life, making the character's creation a true team effort. Key portions of the films utilized puppets for M3GAN, while other shots, particularly those involving M3GAN's sick dance moves, required an actress to step into the role of the doll. Amie Donald, a celebrated dancer, physically played M3GAN in the film. And to make M3GAN sound as nefarious as possible, Jenna Davis was brought on board be the doll's voice.

When audiences see M3GAN physically move around, they're looking at Amie Donald most of the time. Seeing as the role of M3GAN requires considerable flexibility, especially when the character is dancing or killing (or both), it makes sense that the team behind the horror flick went after a young star to occupy the role. Being a dancer, Donald was able to bring the flexibility and looseness necessary for the role, especially in the third act when M3GAN's physicality is needed to convey just how powerful the doll is. 

While speaking with ComingSoon.net, Donald about up about how she's been dancing since the age of five, making her a veteran performer. "[Dancing has] been a big part of my life and I've gone around the world representing New Zealand [...] I was so happy that I got to incorporate some of my dancing in the movie," Donald shared. 

What many might not realize is that the film's dancing sequence wasn't in the script. During her chat with the outlet, Donald recounted how director Gerard Johnstone approached the dancer and asked her if she could come up with choreography for the now iconic scene. "And one day me and my dance teacher, we went down to the studio and we put together a couple of different dances," Donald said. She continued by saying that the duo provided Johnstone with several different options for the sequence. "It was really funny because it was never in the script, but it's such a big part of the movie," Donald added. 

While Donald's physicality and prowess as a dancer are a huge part of M3GAN's success as a horror icon, praise also has to be given to the character's voice. 

Every horror icon has a compelling star behind it. For M3GAN, it's the deadly duo of Amie Donald and Jenna Davis. The latter, best known for appearing in Disney's "Raven's Home," is the voice behind M3GAN. Some fans might even know Davis as one of the girls from the viral Penny Nickel Dime video. How did Davis prep for M3GAN, 2023's first horror legend? "I didn't really take inspo from horror characters, I just brought her to life on my own," Davis candidly told Paper Magazine. For Davis, taking on the role of M3GAN was more than just a simple gig. With the film's immense popularity, the rising star couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the attention the film received. "I don't think anyone expected it to blow up like it did, but I'm so grateful that it did, and I'm so excited that people love it," Davis shared. "It's just so surreal." 

What's equally surreal is how Davis is also responsible for singing as M3GAN, which makes sense considering the multi-hyphenate creative has a few songs under her belt, namely 2022's "1963." While chatting with the outlet, Davis opened up about how singing as the character was a considerable challenge as she received unusual respect from the film's creative team. "Funny enough, they wanted me to sing worse," Davis remembered. "I'm singing and they're like, 'Jenna, we need this to sound more like Elmo, more like kids' silliness.' That was fun to play around with, but I've never in my life been told to sing worse." 

Seeing as a sequel to the film is already under production — it's aptly titled "M3GAN 2.0" — audiences can likely expect Davis to return as the killing and dancing machine. 

Amie Donald and Jenna Davis aren't the only individuals behind M3GAN. To truly bring M3GAN to life, a team of special effects creatives and puppeteers were brought on board. How does Donald's performance factor into this? Supervising puppeteer Adrien Morot told Variety that a decision was made early on to ensure that all medium shots featured Donald, not puppets. Because M3GAN is a doll — one who looks realistic but still slightly off, it was decided that the creatives would use both puppets and Donald's talents to make M3GAN as creepy as possible. Using a hybrid model would make M3GAN inviting, considering the character looks and acts like a pre-teen.  

Morot explained to the outlet that a number of puppets were built, each with their own unique abilities and quirks. "We had some of the head moving, eyes moving, the moving torso, and there were a couple that were capable of a full computerized range of movements," the puppeteer revealed. When M3GAN is seen walking or dancing, Donald is wearing the mask, embodying the role of the doll. Moirot added that "if need be, [Donald would] be then animated to have lip movement or the eyes moving." 

Seeing as so many major Hollywood productions continue to rely on CGI to create unique and out-of-this-world characters, it's fascinating how "M3GAN" employed and married both practical effects with computer-generated imagery to create a surreal horror icon that audiences will be talking about for decades.