A Newcastle teen has made his acting debut in the new Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe based on author Trent Dalton's novel.
Isaac Strutt-Stevens, 14, plays a terminally ill cancer patient called Christopher who meets Eli Bell (Felix Cameron) in hospital and conspires to help him escape. Street-smart Eli lives in suburban Brisbane with his recovering drug-addict mother Frankie (Phoebe Tonkin), his heroin-dealing stepdad Lyle (Travis Fimmel) and his older brother Gus (Lee Tiger Halley). Eli has a prison pen pal Alex (Adam Briggs) and is learning life lessons from his babysitter Slim Halliday (Bryan Brown), who is also a convicted murderer.
"My Mum saw a post on Facebook from a casting agency looking for someone to play a role in a Netflix series," Isaac told the Newcastle Herald.
"We didn't know what it was but she thought I looked like what they were asking for and I thought it would be fun to apply so we did.
"After a few months we hadn't heard back and forgot about it. I didn't mind because I hadn't done any acting before and there would have been hundreds of applications.
"But then one day they got back to us asking me to audition. Another wait. And then the call. That's when it got a bit exciting."
Isaac filmed scenes with Bryan Brown, Kate Box and Felix ("He was the best and we became good mates").
"My director Jocelyn Moorhouse was so nice and funny and helped me through the scenes," Isaac continued.
"Bryan was really nice and made me feel comfortable on my first day on set, telling me about what was going to happen, asking how I was going and giving me a wink just before the camera rolled.
"I was also pretty nervous because I had to shave my hair off, which took a long time to grow back!"
The Cardiff High student says he hopes to do more acting and, while not a fan of school, is looking forward to studying photography and woodwork because it combines two of his favourite hobbies: "building things and filming things". He also enjoys bike riding and making short films about his billy cart ("an all-terrain bush basher" built by his uncle).
Isaac's mother, Jennifer, is one half of the highly regarded creative team that is The Strutt Sisters, alongside her twin sister Catherine.
"We're all proud and excited to see the next generation of our family of artists and musicians 'strutt' his stuff on film," she said.
"The role came at a time where he needed something positive in his life. I was with him on set every day and he gave it everything he had.
"He was a write-off at the end of each day but he loved it, and the experience has set in him something he can be proud of and aim for more of in the future."
