| Alexander Ludwig | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 7, 1992 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2001 – present[1] |
Alexander Ludwig (born May 7, 1992) is a Canadian teen actor who played Will Stanton in the 2007 fantasy film, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, based on the second book in the The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper.
In March 2009, Ludwig appeared in a lead role in Disney's Race to Witch Mountain.[2]
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Alexander Ludwig was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] He is the oldest of four siblings that include sister and brother twins, three years his junior, and a little sister, seven years younger than Ludwig.[3] His father, Harald, is a businessman and his mother, Sharlene, a former actress.[4][5]
The actor was drawn to the profession, saying in an interview, "I have a big imagination. I love performing."[6] Yet, despite his mother's early career as an actress, Ludwig had to convince his parents to support his desire to pursue a career as a child actor.[4][6] His parents believed that child actors "can get sucked into a life that isn't reality."[6] Further,
My mom and dad were kind of iffy about the whole thing. You know as well as I do the whole kid-actor thing can get a bit warped. But eventually, they said — "OK Alexander, if this is what you want, go for it".[4]
Ludwig hopes to continue to pursue acting beyond being a child star. As he puts it, "I hope I can continue as an actor. My goal is to do this for the rest of my life."[6]
Ludwig started acting when he was nine years old in a Harry Potter toy commercial, a job that enabled him to sign on with an agent and obtain more commercial work.[1] After which, he was cast in movies such as Air Bud World Pup (2000), MXP: Most Extreme Primate (2003), Scary Godmother: The Revenge Of Jimmy (2005), Eve and the Fire Horse (2005), The Sandlot: Heading Home (aka, The Sandlot 3) (2007), The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007), and Race to Witch Mountain (2009). In The Seeker and Witch Mountain, Ludwig portrayed lead roles.[7]
In addition to cinema, Ludwig has also worked in television. He has performed in movies made for television, such as A Little Thing Called Murder (2006), and series television such as The Dead Zone.[1]
Ludwig obtained his leading role in The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) after a "gruelling audition process."[3] The casting process involved eight in-person auditions in Vancouver, Canada and one over-the-telephone audition for the vice president of casting at the studio.[8] Then came three more in-person auditions in Los Angeles.[8] This was followed by yet another over-the-telephone audition for the studio's casting vice president, this time from Ludwig's Los Angeles hotel room.[8] Finally, the actor had one more studio audition before he landed the role.[8] By his count, he had 16 auditions before finally being cast.[8] Ludwig finally discovered he had been given the part via a telephone call while trying on a shirt in a shopping mall dressing room. He was so excited by the news he ran out of the dressing room celebrating, sans chemise.[8]
Given his limited acting experience, and the fact that he would be carrying the film as its protagonist, the studio hired Ludwig an acting coach.[8] Regarding the acting coach, Ludwig said he was
absolutely amazing and he worked with me everyday. We would go in and work together in the car and he really taught me how to get into those moments. So I'm really fortunate to have [had] him.[8]
However, upon meeting fellow cast member Ian McShane, Ludwig was told to ignore everything the acting coach had told him.[8] Ludwig chose to ignore McShane's advice, later saying that he did not think that that was exactly what McShane had meant.[8] For Ludwig, the "coach is fantastic and he really helps me get into the moment and connect with the characters."[8] Ludwig believed that what McShane meant was that in their scene together, that scene would be
about he and I and no one else. No one is to come between us, that this moment is just me and Ian. … and what he meant was to not be anyone else, just be natural and be in the moment. He was just really trying to help me get into character and it was just he and I, eye to eye and really went through the moment together.[8]
Regarding his relationship with the movie's director, David Loren Cunningham, Ludwig says, "I really loved David Cunningham because he's really open to suggestions and he really likes everything to be messy and wild and just natural."[8]
Principal photography took place in Romania, which required Ludwig to travel from his home in Vancouver.[3] For Ludwig, filming in Romania was an introduction to a part of the world very different from his own. In an interview he said,
For people who had so little, they wanted to give so much … To visit this place that's just recently come out of the communist era — you really learn how much we have in North America. You really appreciate life here.[3]
Ludwig says that the language barrier between the film's crew and the non-English speaking Romanian extras on one occasion followed the law of unintended consequences. The extras misunderstood the translation from English explaining that Ludwig's character was an outcast. They understood that his character was bullied, which they proceeded to do as he walked down the high school corridor. In the end, it worked on film better than what had been planned. As Ludiwg puts it, "[I]t was just really, really funny to see that happen because it all worked in the scene. We had a great time."[8]
Despite his early casting success with The Seeker, Ludwig indicated in a contemporaneous interview that it was his intention to attend university.[3] In another interview, the actor said that the most challenging thing about filming The Seeker was trying "to juggle school while filming. My school wasn't used to it, and I wasn't used to it. It was the most amazing experience, but it was really hard."[6]
Alexander Ludwig's next lead role came in the part of Seth — one half of a teenage, alien brother-sister duo — in the film production of Race to Witch Mountain (2009), also starring Dwayne Johnson, the professional wrestler turned actor. Seth is the part originated by Ike Eisenmann in the 1975 original, Escape to Witch Mountain. The film opened at № 1 at the box office the weekend that it premiered with receipts estimated at $25 million.[9]
Whereas the casting process for The Seeker had been arduous, getting the part for Witch Mountain was relatively painless. From the moment Ludwig auditioned, the director knew that he was the actor he wanted for the role of Seth. As director Andy Fickman puts it,
We had nationwide auditions and narrowed it down to five young actors, but when Alexander came in and auditioned, I just thought he was fantastic. Before the door was shut when we left, we all said, "That's the one we should cast."[10]
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Air Bud World Pup | cameo | uncredited |
| 2005 | Scary Godmother: The Revenge Of Jimmy | Jimmy (voice) | Released on October 7, 2005 |
| Eve and the Fire Horse | Boy #2 Kevin | ||
| 2006 | A Little Thing Called Murder | Young Kenny Kimes | |
| 2007 | The Sandlot: Heading Home | E.J. | direct-to-dvd |
| The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising | Will Stanton/Tom Stanton | Released on October 5, 2007 | |
| 2009 | Race to Witch Mountain | Seth | Released on March 13, 2009 |
| Guest Appearances | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Harry Potter Commercial | cameo | uncredited |
| 2003 | MXP: Most Xtreme Primate | Child in airport | uncredited |
| Self Appearances | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | Entertainment Tonight | himself | 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Bonnie Hunt Show | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Leo Little's Big Show | Himself | 1 episode |
  | Up Next: Alexander Ludwig - Up Next: Alexander Ludwig - Entertainment News, Youth Impact Report 2007, Media - Variety |
| | 'It still doesn't feel real' - 'It still doesn't feel real' |
| | Alexander Ludwig's star rising - CANOE -- JAM! Movies - Artists - Ludwig, Alexander: Alexander Ludwig's star rising |
| | Reposted from Alexander's Blog! - MySpace.com Blogs - Alexander Ludwig Official Street Team! MySpace Blog |
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