Boy with dwarfism who pleaded with children not to mistreat him will appear in a Hollywood film.
Quaden Bayles, the Indigenous youngster with dwarfism whose struggle with bullying captivated the globe, is poised to star in the upcoming Mad Max film.
The now-11-year-old will have a minor role in George Miller’s next film Furiosa, a prequel to his 2015 post-apocalyptic action sensation Fury Road.
Quaden’s venture into Hollywood after a successful stint on Instagram, where he has 288,000 followers and can earn up to $2,600 each sponsored post.
Hugh Jackman is one of Quaden’s numerous celebrity supporters, and he recently met with Indigenous rap artist The Kid Laroi.
The Queensland child was already set to participate as an extra in Miller’s next film, Three Thousand Years of Longing, featuring Idris Ilba and Tilda Swinton.
Yet Miller has also cast Quaden in Furiosa, which will be released in 2024 and will star Anya Taylor-Joy.
Furiosa, the fifth installment in the Max Max series, which started in 1979 with Mel Gibson as the main character, will also feature Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke.
It will recount the origin tale of Fury Road’s terrifying protagonist Furiosa, who was played by Charlize Theron in the previous film.
Miller told Good Weekend how he was compelled to cast Quaden when his mom, Yarraka Bayles, uploaded a sad video of her kid on Facebook in February 2020.
Quaden, who was born with achondroplasia, was shown in the video weeping hysterically and asking for a knife to murder himself after being tormented at school.
Ms Bayles begins the five-minute video by saying that she just picked up her kid from school, observed a bullying event, called the principle, and she wants individuals to understand that this is the impact bullying has. This is what bullying accomplishes.
Could you please enlighten your children, families, and friends? All it takes is one more incidence.and people wonder why youngsters are killing themselves, she stated.
They try to be as optimistic and powerful as possible, just sharing the positives; however this is how bullying impacts a nine-year-old child, she continued.
The viral video attracted the attention of celebrities from all over the world, who rallied behind Quaden and his family in their battle against bullying.
‘Quaden, you are stronger than you know, mate,’ remarked Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman in a video released on Twitter. And, whatever happens, you’ve got a buddy in me.’
The Wolverine star then urged his followers to “please be friendly to one another.”
Miller was also disturbed by the footage and, according to Good Weekend, was outraged by News Corp writer Miranda Devine’s allegation that Ms Bayles may have taught Quaden.
Devine, who repeatedly claimed the video was a hoax, subsequently apologized and struck a deal with the Bayles family before going to Federal Court.
Quaden had not been acting, according to Miller, who educated and worked as a doctor before becoming an Oscar-winning director.
‘What the heck would she know about that?’ he said of Devine’s remarks to Good Weekend. ‘That truly energized me.’
Before Devine’s apologies, Miller had requested Quaden to star in Three Thousand Years of Longing, a dark fantasy picture.
Miller told the magazine that it was good for them and it was good for him. And he did such an excellent job that he has a little part in Furiosa.
Ms Bayles uploaded Quaden’s original video in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of bullying.
She stated at the time that while she would have liked to keep such a traumatic event secret, she felt she had no alternative but to make it public.
The video was released in the same month. Quaden captained the NRL’s Indigenous All-Stars squad against the Maori Kiwis of New Zealand at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.
He was seen alongside Aboriginal rugby league players Johnathan Thurston, Latrell Mitchell, and Cody Walker.
US comedian Brad Williams raised over $700,000 for Quaden via a GoFundMe campaign to bring the mom and boy to Disneyland, however the money was donated to charity.
Quaden was Google’s top ‘trending youngster’ in Australia by the end of 2020, with more users looking for his name than anybody under the age of 18.
Quaden is now well-known on Instagram and has a successful TikTok account.
Quaden’s Instagram account, which is handled by his family, is used to market numerous products in addition to giving inspirational anti-bullying messages.
Quaden may earn up to $2,600 each sponsored post on Instagram, according to Instagram Money Calculator.
Three Thousand Years of Longing garnered a six-minute standing ovation from the crowd during its international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
It will be released in Australia on September 1st.
