Oakland University Professor Lights Up Big Screen In 'The Fault In Our Stars'

ROCHESTER (WWJ) - An Oakland University professor hits the big time this weekend as she landed a role in one of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer.

Milica "Mila" Govich landed a part in the blockbuster film "The Fault in Our Stars" -- based on a massively popular adolescence book.

"It's a small part, a small supporting role but important because it's one of the leading characters' moms," Govich told WWJ's Sandra McNeill. "These are two wonderful kids that meet in a cancer support group, they're teenagers."

Govich said she hadn't even heard of author John Green until she told her acting students at OU that she got the part.

"It's a beloved book to them so when I'm in the movie, the kids that I coach, they're like just blown away," she said.

Govich got her acting chops on Broadway in "Hello, Dolly!" before marrying and moving to Birmingham. Now, she relishes getting roles over other actors based in Los Angeles or New York.

"Oh, it does feel good when you go beat out these people, and I thought about spending time in a bigger market but there's something about being a big fish in a little pond," she said.

Govich hasn't yet seen the final product, but was assured she wouldn't end up on the cutting room floor.

"The director said it's great. He said that it got like a 95 percent screening of the preview audiences and everybody was sobbing and using Kleenex," she said.

"The Fault in Our Stars," featuring Golden Globe-nominated actress Shailene Woodley, opens in theaters on Friday.