Who plays Suzy Bishop in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom?

Kara Hayward plays Suzy Bishop in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. Suzy is the imaginative young girl who runs away with Sam Shakusky after the two children fall in love.

Suzy lives on the fictional New Penzance island with her parents and younger brothers. She is introduced as an avid reader who carries binoculars and imagines herself as a powerful character in the stories she reads. Her emotional intensity and independence drive the film’s central escape plot.

Hayward was a newcomer when she played Suzy. She acts opposite Jared Gilman, who plays Sam, and the pair’s performances form the heart of the 2012 film. The adult cast includes Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton.

The character is sometimes confused with Suzy’s mother, Laura Bishop, played by McDormand. Suzy is the child at the centre of the story, while Laura is one of the adults searching for the runaway pair.