The Boy Who Plays Laer
You may not know him yet, so this is perfect. Every breakout youth movie requires a new face (from Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting to Leonardo DiCaprio in Basketball Diaries) to kick doors open and challenge the game. Established names do not work.
Meet the boy who plays LAER.
A Chinese Latino with a combination of killer charisma and stone cold gravitas. An art lover who loves acting as much as he loves aircrafts. The young actor who beat 100 other auditionees for the part of 'boy with a past/ a ticking time bomb/ befriends a group of losers, and together - they rise up.'
We catch up with Faeryville actor, Aaron Samuel Yong (who is currently studying in the UK) for A FEW WORDS about dystopian movies, his debut independent feature film and his unusual love for aircraft. You might want to know him, before the world does later.
What is your ethnicity and how old are you?
I’m 25, Chinese-Hispanic: my Dad is Chinese and my Mum is from Panama in Latin America. Both my parents are Singaporean and that’s where I was born and raised.
Tell us about the 'Laer' character you play in Faeryville?
Laer Mathias is a quiet teenager with a dark past, an anti-hero - a loner by choice; he draws his strength from himself and no-one else; the new kid on the block who quickly becomes the centre of film when he joins a misfit group called The Nobodies.
That's an interesting description. What do you feel about playing a character that doesn't talk much?
I think being a man of few words adds to his depth. The character of Laer has been crafted such that a lot of what he thinks and feels are conveyed in silence, and for me this is what made him so challenging yet interesting to play.
How do you think people will feel about him and what he does?
I don’t think Laer was written to be liked by anyone, not even the audience. His cold, foreboding personality is accompanied by dangerous decisions he made more than once... but I think as the film progresses and his layers are peeled back. Audiences will find it hard not to sympathise with his background and his cause.
Faeryville is a coming-of-age film. So, what were you like as a teenager - growing up?
Nowhere near a rebel like Laer, that’s for sure! I’ve always had an insatiable curiosity for the way things work and I spent most of my childhood as a quiet kid, observing the world around me. That’s how I developed my passion for product design and transport design.
The performing arts was never second fiddle though. I’ve been involved in acting and drama since I was about seven, and carried it with me in one form or another through my late teens and into adulthood.
What are you doing right now?
Right now I'm in the UK working on my degree in Transport Design, which encompasses automotive, aircraft interior and yacht design. On the side, I try to keep one toe dipped in the media industry doing freelance voice-over work.
Freelance voice-over work in England? Wow. Okay, what can't you leave home without?
A full stomach.
What do you do for fun?
Exercise! Some of my favourite moments in life are simple ones spent on my bike or in a kayak with not a care in the world.
You seem to have an obsession with aircraft and flight machinery. Tell us more about it.
Oh, airliners are just part of the story. I’ve had a passion for vehicles for as long as I can remember. As a kid I would devour car magazines and any book on ships, trains or planes I could get my hands on, and I’ve been sketching original car designs since I was five. It's why I'm doing my degree in Transport Design now; it was quite literally my childhood dream.
What are your thoughts about Faeryville (script/story or characters?) so far.
I developed a lot of respect for the story over time as it began to take shape. The underlying premise of 'Fighting for a Cause with no Promise of Victory' is hard not to get drawn into, particularly given the complex relationships between the protagonists themselves.
How do you think people will relate to Faeryville, based on what you've seen.
I think it depends on where different people are coming from. Delving into The Nobodies’ individual characters and the dystopian world of Faeryville that they're thrust into uncovers a lot of sentiments that may be echoed by many people in real life, and I think that struggle lends a lot of realism to the drama of a world that has been developed from the outset to be detached from reality.
Do you have a favourite dystopian movie?
 |
| Gattaca (1997) |
Gattaca. The film was interesting to me right away because of how instant and indisputable validation of a person was possible. I loved how the film unfolded so intimately and with so much desperation, all while being a powerful reminder of the foolishness of singularly-minded prejudgment prevalent in many elements of society today.
What would you say to Faeryville's current early facebook supporters. They are the brave early adopters.
First of all a huge thank you for supporting the film, especially if you haven't seen any part of it yet. Being an independent production means that a following is everything, so don’t keep it to yourselves! Voice out and tell your friends about it.
Faeryville is currently in the final stages of Post Production. An international release is expected within the year.
Follow Aaron on Twitter/ Instagram: @aaronsamuelyong
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