Callan McAuliffe is going to the roaring 20s in the film adaption of The Great Gatsby.
The 16-year-old Australian actor will be playing a young Jay Gatsby in the Baz Luhrman directed feature, Collider reports. Leonardo DiCaprio has the role of older Jay.
The Great Gatsby follows the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when, The New York Times remarked, “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,†it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s that resonates with the power of myth.
The 16-year-old Aussie actor was just named the Youth Ambassador for the Wolf Connection, which is a charity established to help underprivileged teens in the greater Los Angeles Area. Working rescued wolf dogs, teenagers partake in programs with trained staff to reach toward a better life.
The formal announcement came over the weekend, where Callan was on hand for a sunset walk with a few friends and canine animals in the mountains of California, including Teo Altero, founder and CEO of Wolf Connection.
Callan recently completed the volunteer program, and will be aiding at special at-risk programs at Wolf Connection and outreach programs at select schools in Southern California.
Callan McAuliffe reunites with his I Am Number Four costar Teresa Palmer as they attend Australians in Film’s 2011 Breakthrough Awards held at the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills on Tuesday night (June 7).
JJJ recently chatted with Callan, 16, about the possibility of a sequel to the movie and just what would happen to Sam. “I’m not sure, I’m hoping Sam would still be alive (laughs),” he shared.
And what about that flirting with Number Six? “I’m hoping Sam is just there annoying her. I’m up for that. But as far as ‘The Power of Six’ being made into a movie, I’m not sure. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
We know you’re all itching to read the second book of the series, “The Power of Six,” but until it hits book shelves, we know the new I Am Number Four Bluray and DVD will hold you over.
Alex on training for the movie: “I spent months preparing for the stunts in the movie. It was a really physical role, but it was also a lot of fun. We practiced and practiced and practiced – but it was still a very nerve-wracking experience. I loved every minute of it. I jumped off a cliff backwards too, which was pretty cool. I’d never done that before. It took seven takes from different angles and luckily there were no injuries. I came close, though. My head nearly hit the rock at one point. The cliff was 60 feet high and it was extremely memorable. You know what? I’m a big kid at heart. Not many guys get to experience what I’ve experienced. I get to run around a movie set with guns and I get to jump off cliffs. It’s amazing. I had the time of my life shooting the movie.”
Dianna on the similarities between her and her character: “I think so. I really love the character of Sarah because there are a lot of similarities to how I was at school. Sarah loves photography, and so do I. I really started to get into it at school. I have about 10 cameras now and they all have different purposes.”
Callan on the effects used: “That was pretty cool because you have the green screen and that sort of stuff and you have to act and bounce off something that’s not actually there. It can be kind of tough sometimes not having an actor to react to. I much prefer working with an actual actor beside me, but it was great fun. While you are filming, you never really know how it’s going to turn out in terms of the green screen but when I saw the final results on screen it blew me away.”
Pick up I Am Number Four TODAY and check out some bloopers below!
There’s less than a week before I Am Number Four hits shelves on Bluray and DVD and JJJ caught up with Callan McAuliffe to chat about his favorite scenes, what legacy he wants and working with the lovely leading ladies.
Check out what the 16-year-old actor had to say:
On starring alongside Teresa Palmer and Dianna Agron: “Dianna is just so wonderful. She’s indescribable. She’s warm and really pleasant to be around. Of course, Teresa, being Australian, really gets my sense of humor and it was great to have her around. She’s great. They’re both great.”
On what legacy he wishes he had: “I just want to fly. I don’t need super speed or super strength, just flying. That would be awesome. I would fly until I got tired (laughs), maybe to Africa.”
On his absolute, favorite scene to film: “The coolest part to film was…the thing I was looking to forward the most was shooting someone. There was a 12-gauge shot gun inside a plastic mold and I really got to shot this alien with it. I shoot at them and then they go off on a ship, so to see that on screen was really cool.”
Check out a deleted scene from the Bluray combo pack below and come back for more from Callan tomorrow!
Some fans will make scrapbooks, others will make fan-sites, but Callan McAuliffe‘s fans make him cakes!
The 16-year-old Aussie actor shared, “My favorite is that they’re making me cakes! It’s really based on my Twitter followers. So when I reach 7,000, 8,000, 9,000, someone has made a cake and sent me a picture of it. It’s actually pretty cool. They’ll put my name on it and then the number of followers. I’m not sure if it’s store bought and then they just write on it, or if it’s a cake they really made, but they’re awesome.”
Another thing that he loves about his fans: The penguin pictures! “The penguin is my favorite animal so whenever anyone will see a penguin — a toy or not — they’ll take a picture and post it on twitter.”
Callan also answered all those prom asks that were left in our question post. Unfortunately, he has to say no. “I’m a little booked up at the moment. Thank you all for asking though!”
Stay tuned for more of our Q&A with Callan — all this week. The I Am Number Four Bluray and DVD hit shelves on May 24th!
