Aiden Longworth is just like any other 12-year-old: he reads Archie comics and Calvin and Hobbes, likes hanging out with his friends, and no, he is not looking forward to school starting this week: “Because school is not as fun as summer,” he says matter-of-factly.
Oh, and he also happens to be the star of a fresh new movie opening this week.
The young Vancouver actor is the lead in The 9th Life of Louis Drax, a psychological thriller based on the best-selling page-turner by Liz Jenson. Aiden plays Louis, “the amazing accident-prone boy,” who barely survives a catastrophic fall on his ninth birthday. Police investigate the whereabouts of prime suspect Peter (Aaron Paul), Louis’ father, who is nowhere to be found, while mom Natalie (Sarah Gadon) maintains a vigil at the hospital.
“My mom says I’m an angel,” Louis tell us.
The only person who can coax information from a comatose Louis is famed neurologist Dr. Allan Pascal (Jamie Dornan), who will go on a strange journey before film’s end in order to discover the truth about what happened to his young patient. When he’s not taking long walks in the hospital garden with Natalie, that is.
“We’re not supposed to use the word miracle… but this might call for an exception,” says Dr. Pascal of Louis. “You don’t know my son,” replies Natalie.
Pieces of Louis’ history come in flashbacks, of injuries and hospital stays and happier times with his dad. Aiden is in almost every scene, and much of the emotional tension of the film rests on his shoulders. The crying was the hardest part, says Aiden. “I had never done that before but my acting teacher Beverley Elliott told me just to be Louis … to imagine that I was really Louis. It’s tough to turn it on, but easy to turn off.”
There are plenty of underwater shots, too, as Louis explores his supernatural, subconscious “ninth life”: “I wasn’t the best swimmer,” Aiden says, “I could kind of swim but they gave me lessons. And I learned to scuba dive, which was cool.”
But Louis has some attitude, not to mention some very sadistic pet-owner behaviour; that definitely wouldn’t fly at home where Aiden lives with mom and dad, an older brother and younger sister, and a dog. “I wasn’t attitude-y after work,” Aiden insists. When I mention that I hope he’s better to his dog than Louis is with his hamsters, Aiden laughs: “I’m a lot better than Louis! I’m not mean.”
Aiden is used to shooting in his hometown (A Christmas Story 2, Supernatural, The X-Files) and being surrounded by adults when he’s on set. Oliver Platt, Barbara Hershey and
Molly Parker also star in Alexandre Aja’s (Horns, The Hills Have Eyes) film. The adults are really friendly, though “sometimes I wish that there was a kid around, sometimes they’re too tired to play.”
His friends aren’t fazed by his success, Aiden says, “they don’t treat me much differently because I was friends with them before I was an actor.” And none of them can see such a grown-up movie or even read the new edition of Jensen’s book, which has Aiden’s face on the cover.
Aiden has plans to continue acting when he grows up: “It’s so much fun… being totally different people, having different lifestyles on set.” Plus, “that feeling of success when you get a role.”
But until then, the young actor has got to make it through seventh grade. There is one bright spot, Aiden’s favourite subject: “Drama!”
