Anthony Edwards honors 1990s child actor with Legacy Award

"I still can't believe... I'm so excited that it's your favorite movie," Wilson said.

Oct 7, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) controls the ball against the Indiana Pacers during the second quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images | Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

In a late addition to his inaugural Believe That Awards, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has added a Legacy Award to the famed actress from his favorite all-time movie.

What's his favorite film of all time? Matilda, the 1996 comedy starring Mara Wilson and Danny Devito, who also co-produced and directed the movie. Wilson received the Legacy Award from Edwards.

Wilson, 38, was 9 years old when Matilda was released in August of 1996. She also played prominent roles in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and the Miracle on 34th Street (1994) remake. Here's how part of Edwards' conversation with Wilson went...

Edwards: I'm your biggest fan. That's all I gotta say.

Wilson: I'm so happy to meet you.

Edwards: Nice to meet you, too. This is crazy. When you was doing the magic tricks in Matilda, did you really feel like you were doing it on your own or did you know it was in the movie?

Wilson: I knew it was pretend, but sometimes there were things that I didn't understand how they were happening and it did almost feel like magic.

Edwards: For you to be so young and have an imagination like that and to be able to do that at such a young age, I think that's what I admired the most.

Wilson: Thank you. I do think I had a big imagination, and we kind of had to. This was back in the day when we were using special effects, where we had things on strings and pulls, so we had to ignore the strings and the pulls. But every now and then, I remember like, in the cereal scene, the milk popped open by itself. I remember thinking, 'How do they do that?' That did feel like magic.

Edwards told Wilson about his 1-year-old daughter and how he's going to make sure she knows the "ins and outs" of Matilda when she's older.

"That makes me so happy," Wilson said. "I never would've thought of that when I was making the movie 30 years ago."

Their chat also revealed an interesting coincidence, as Wilson disclosed that her mother is from Minneapolis. Wilson lost her mother to breast cancer in April of 1996, just months before Matilda was released.

in 2023, Edwards was documented as saying Matilda is his favorite movie because "women are powerful," and Matilda was a "very powerful little girl at such a young age.