Young star shines

With director Taika Waititi’s film Boy opening throughout Australia on August 26, The Age talks to 11-year-old lead James Rolleston about his first ever acting gig. Waititi had already chosen a lead for Boy, but when he met Rolleston, who had never even acted in a school play, he changed his mind. “It’s the only time I’ve ever acted,” Rolleston says. “I don’t know if it was hard, because it was my first time.” “He just launched himself into it, he was so enthusiastic about it,” adds Waititi, in Melbourne with Rolleston for a special preview screening. “It was awesome — he was just being himself.” Rolleston, who has been lauded for his poignant, funny performance, says he enjoyed the film-making experience, but isn’t quite ready for a thespian’s life just yet. “I like to do a bit of acting part-time, but I also want to get my own hunting show or maybe be a marine biologist,” he says. “I love the outdoors.” Boy has become the top-grossing New Zealand film ever, and has drawn comparisons with the films of American indie director Wes Anderson.