In 2002 , Castle-Hughes made her debut in the film '' Whale Rider '' , in which she played the main role of Paikea Apirana ( Pai ) . Due to not having any previous acting experience , she went directly from her Auckland school classroom to the film set when the shoot began in New Zealand in late 2001 . Castle-Hughes received widespread critical acclaim for her performance , and in 2004 she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards . Although she did not win the Best Actress award ( it went to Charlize Theron for '' Monster '' ) , at age 13 she became the youngest person nominated in this category at the time and the second Polynesian actress , after Jocelyne LaGarde , to be nominated for an Oscar
76th Academy Awards
76th Academy Awards
Keisha Castle-Hughes