Star Student

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday March 20, 2008

KILMENY ADIE

Wollongong schoolboy Tom Green makes his national television debut this Sunday, discovers KILMENY ADIE.

Illawarra student Tom Green, 16, is working hard to find a balance between his passions and his education.

Green, who is in Year 11 at Holy Spirit College, Belambi, makes his TV debut on Sunday night in the Southern Cross Ten telemovie Emerald Falls.

He is also the star of a new 20-minute short film, The Ground Beneath, written and directed by former Illawarra resident Rene Hernandez.

Green says he relished the opportunity to explore his creative side.

However, he adds, this doesn't mean school work is unimportant.

"I just want to get my school work down pat and then whatever happens, happens," he says.

This Sunday night school work will be on hold to watch the murder-mystery Emerald Falls, which also stars Georgie Parker, Geoff Morrell, Catherine McClements, Heather Mitchell and Vince Colosimo.

If the show is well-received it may be developed into a weekly series.

Green's career in drama has its roots in the Illawarra where he has performed in The Roo Theatre's production of Peter Pan as one of the Lost Boys and in The Guild Theatre's production Lockie Leonard Human Torpedo as Phillip.

Green also has a passion for dance and studies jazz ballet, contemporary, modern and hip-hop.

"If something bad happens, I'm stressed over exams (or something) it helps me to get over it. I love performing. It's great," he says.

He heard about the role in the short film The Ground Beneath through one of his teachers at school and was immediately attracted to the project.

Green plays the short film's lead role of Kaden, a teenager looking to find himself. He does so through his friendship with an autistic boy.

"It was a really deep kind of role," Green says.

"The character I play is totally different. He's very challenging. He's very troubled and comes from a very troubled family. He's not very sympathetic but through the film we start to see him change and develop."

Hernandez says he was thrilled to cast an Illawarra resident in his project.

Hernandez, who attended Keira High School, says he and producer Kristina Ceyton had completed a series of casting calls across the country before he found Green.

"We tend to try to find a talent that hasn't gone through the acting process and find raw talent," Hernandez says.

"It's fantastic we found our lead in Wollongong."

The Ground Beneath was inspired by two of Hernandez's childhood memories. The first involved an autistic boy who lived in his street and the second was his fear of dogs.

The short builds on the success of previous projects including his 2006 AFI-nominated short Small Boxes and In Too Deep, which was screened on Qantas' inflight entertainment and before the documentary Super Size Me at Dendy cinemas.

Hernandez says once work on The Ground Beneath is completed and the film released it will be his last short before he and Ceyton make the transition to feature films.

"In every feature film most people start off in short films and work their way. That's how we learn the craft," he says.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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