Today we’re taking a look at three young actors who are all from New Zealand, and for whom this project with Amazon could prove the magic touch, to get their careers off to a flying start.
Ian Blackburn is an 18-year-old, native Wellingtonian actor. Throughout Ian’s time at Wellington High school, he has performed in multiple plays, including, but not limited to: King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Punk Rock, where he played the lead, William. No stranger to film, Blackburn has been cast in a number of shorts. He played the role of Thomas in Tusi Tamasese’s One Thousand Ropes, in which a father reunites with his estranged daughter and tries to mend their relationship.
Anthony Crum is a New Zealand based actor and stand up comedian, with quite a rep already under his belt! Interestingly enough, this is not Crum’s first time working with Amazon: in the upcoming series The Wilds Crum plays the role of Rat-Tail. He has also partaken of the art of Shakespearean acting, appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet with the Ugly Shakespeare Company, under the direction of Richard Green. Crum stars in the role of Issac, in the Kiwi drama Hush, which was featured in the Berlin Film Festival (2019). He has also appeared in a commercial for the Golden Arches, advertising the Spicy McChicken for New Zealand’s televisions!
Leon Wadham is a New Zealand based actor who graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. One of his most notable roles is that of Matt Logan alongside our favorite blonde dwarf, Dean O’Gorman, in the television crime drama The Bad Seed. Staying in the crime drama sub-genre, Leon portrays the role of Darryn in the ongoing series The Brokenwood Mysteries. Not only is Leon an actor, but his talent also reaches to writing, directing, and producing! In the past, he has directed a number of episodes from the hit comedy show, Golden Boy. Currently, Wadham is directing a podcast and video comedy called The Citizen’s Handbook.
We’re excited to see all these young performers on board for Amazon’s show. Which of them may find this series launches his career to the stratosphere, as Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy did for Orlando Bloom? Blackburn is 6ft 1, and looking at his cheekbones, he’d make an excellent elf. Wadham and Crum, on the other hand, are shorter and, being older, have perhaps a slightly more rugged look; could they be dwarves? (If dwarves make an appearance in the series…) Or perhaps young Numenoreans? We can’t wait to find out!
Editor Note: Join TheOneRing.net as we focus on the recent cast member announcements for Amazon TV’s The Lord of the Rings inspired TV series. Throughout the month, and as part of our Tolkien Advent Calendar celebration, we will be taking a deep-dive into their previous work, relating that to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien. Today’s calendar is below!
