I had the pleasure of seeing Australia tonight, with my sister. I must say that when we got out of the theater and started talking about the movie, one thing we absolutely agreed upon was how much we enjoyed the performance of the boy who portrayed Nullah. Everything from his acting, to narration, to his hauntingly beautiful voice when he sings (I can't find any information saying it isn't him, so I assume he did that as well) is really captivating! His name is Brandon Walters and from what I gather, he is only twelve years old (I'm finding conflicting information online, but that is what most sources say. He is still a few years older than I actually would have estimated for his tiny size). It took a decent internet search to find anything on him, as this his is big debut, but I have a feeling there will be more to come very soon!
Very big things are expected from this little package in the future and Baz Luhrmann seems to be his main supporter. This Australian Herald Sun article uses the phrase "plucked from obscurity" when describing how Brandon was cast for the role and the UK Times Online reported about how he and Luhrmann bonded over the course of the casting and filming. A lot was also mentioned, in various articles, about how well Walters seems to have connected with Nicole Kidman. The term "maternal instinct" was used multiple times in describing her behavior around him at press conferences and public appearances. It doesn't surprise me at all, as the performances these two put on felt very genuine and mutually affectionate. This interview with Kidman explains their connection in a bit more detail.
There was just something about watching Brandon that made me very happy. He brought a certain brightness and presence to the screen that I feel might have been lacking without him there. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy any other performance or any other aspect of the film, I just feel like Brandon's role made the film extra special in helping Luhrmann to create that dreamlike note with the audience. I found this article in my search that states that at the age of seven, Walters overcame Leukemia. Again, I'm not sure of the details because there is so little information about him, but assuming this is a true statement, it could be said that perhaps this remarkable personal triumph accounts for that feeling of Walters' genuine optimism and true belief in that "somewhere over the rainbow" mentality. Regardless of why, the fact is that he does bring this charm to the screen and I would recommend going to see Australia so you may be introduced to this young actor!
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