Lea Michele, 12, radiated star power long before millions heard her voice on FOX’s hit Glee. In the video above, Michele is being interviewed for a documentary later picked up by MTV’s The Seven.

She talks to cameras openly about her experiences on Broadway, explains that she’s still “a normal kid,” and remains poised and engaging throughout.

Documentary filmmakers Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker recall the young Lea Michele in brief asides, remarking that she had a “thousand-watt personality.”

“I can do anything and that’s how I kind of stay sane in this really tough, dog-eat-dog business,” she explains. It took 10 years, but the Emmy-nominated actress has managed to convince many that her words are true: she really can do anything.