Disclosure Day's Most Surprising Performance Has The Perfect Origin Story

This story contains major spoilers for "Disclosure Day," so proceed with caution.

Steven Spielberg's emotional "Disclosure Day" lets Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor take the lead roles in the suspenseful sci-fi thriller about secret government files concerning unidentified flying objects and extra-terrestrial life on Earth. 

O'Connor plays Daniel Kellner, a cybersecurity specialist who is threatening the release of the aforementioned alien information. His employer, a secret government organization called Wardex Corporation, is in hot pursuit. Wardex's leader, Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), believes humanity won't be able to handle the confirmation of alien life in the universe, and he'll do almost anything to stop Kellner from releasing the files.

Meanwhile, Emily Blunt plays Kansas City TV weather woman Margaret Fairchild, who suddenly started making strange clicking sounds during a live news broadcast and has somehow become unsettlingly psychic and intuitive. She's not only able to read a person's mind, but can also see through their eyes when she concentrates hard enough, not to mention being able to speak foreign languages that she previously didn't know. Needless to say, it's all rather confusing and overwhelming for her.

O'Connor and Blunt are undeniably driving the story, with the convergence of their characters resulting in a powerful third act that finally sees the release of irrefutable evidence of alien life on Earth. Each actor gives a riveting performance, especially when Daniel and Margaret discover the truth about their past, each having been abducted by aliens when they were children and imprinted with knowledge and skills that they only recently began to utilize and understand. However, the film's climax includes a surprising supporting turn from an actress who nearly steals the entire disclosure day sequence. Her name is Courtney Grace, and before becoming an actress, she had the perfect job to prepare her for this mesmerizing performance.

Despite a few close calls with Wardex, Daniel has managed to hold onto all the UFO and alien files, and Margaret has connected him her Kansas City news affiliate to upload and release all the information to the public, including videos with footage of living extra-terrestrials. After an initial power struggle (literally, as Wardex tries to cut electricity to the news station), the news network releases all of the files, and they've connected to all the national news stations to broadcast around the world.

Since this is a movie from Universal Pictures (who has been trying to poach directors from Warner Bros. and Paramount), and NBCUniversal is their parent company, it's an NBC national news channel that gets the initial spotlight when the time comes for news to react to the footage. That's where Courtney Grace (seen above) enters as the NBC anchor live on the air covering World War III, which has been unfolding in the background throughout the entirety of "Disclosure Day."

As various videos of UFOs and alien life are played live on television, Grace reacts to the footage in real time. Her performance is stirring, and it's an integral element in creating the sense of awe and wonder that Spielberg executes throughout this sequence. Yes, seeing the footage itself is mesmerizing, even though it's faked the movie. But Grace's performance makes it all feel real, behaving exactly like a news anchor who is seeing these images for the first time. 

Grace's unnamed character keeps her composure on camera but can't help but be occasionally breathless, speechless, and astonished as each new video shows more of the aliens that the government has been hiding since as far back as the infamous Roswell incident in 1947.

You might recognize Courtney Grace from her turn as Courtney Sinclair in the Netflix series "Sweet Magnolias" (seen above), but before she became an actress, Grace was a real television reporter, producer, and anchor. In fact, some of the earlier roles in Grace's acting career also saw her playing journalists and TV news hosts in the likes of "Tulsa King," "Murdaugh: Death in the Family," and Sydney Sweeney's 2026 box office bomb "Christy." The fact that Grace gets to throw it back to her roots with a brief but memorable performance in a Steven Spielberg's "Disclosure Day" is incredibly impressive.

Grace posted on Instagram the day "Disclosure Day" was released in theaters and wrote this:

"There are certain moments in life that feel almost impossible to put into words. This is one of them.

Steven Spielberg, thank you for your trust, your kindness, and for reminding us all that wonder and hope will always have a place in storytelling. To have been invited into this story is an honor I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

[David Koepp], from the moment I read *that* scene, your words grabbed hold of my soul and never let go. Thank you for that gift.

And to everyone who has taken a moment of their day to reach out and express how this movie has impacted them... know that your words have moved me just as deeply and will remain with me for a very, very long time.

With all the gratitude in my heart... thank you."

You can see Courtney Grace's excellent performance in "Disclosure Day," playing in theaters everywhere now.