Quaden Bayles, the Indigenous boy with dwarfism whose fight against bullying touched the world, has been pictured attending the premiere of his latest Hollywood film.
The 13-year-old’s latest role is in the Hollywood blockbuster Furiosa, the fifth Mad Max film in the Australian film franchise, as War Boy alongside Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Quaden met fellow Mad Max: Furiosa actor Chris Hemsworth at their film’s premiere at the State Theater in Sydney on Thursday, May 2.
Quaden (left) on the set of the role of War Boy in the latest Mad Max film, Furiosa, with co-star Anya Taylor-Joy (right)
The film, released worldwide on March 23, is the second George Miller-directed film in which the Brisbane teenager has been cast.
His first film, Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba, was released in 2022.
Furiosa, the fifth film in the Max Max series, tells the story of Fury Road’s fearsome heroine, Furiosa, played in the previous film by Charlize Theron.
The premiere took place in Sydney on May 2 and Quaden was spotted on the red carpet with the film’s main stars.
Furiosa director George Miller revealed how emotional he was to put Quaden in front of the camera after his mother, Yarraka Bayles, posted a distressing video of her son on Facebook in February 2020.
In the video, Quaden, who was born with a type of dwarfism known as achondroplasia, is shown sobbing uncontrollably and asking for a knife to kill himself after being bullied at school.
At the start of the five-minute clip, Ms Bayles said: “I just picked up my son from school, I witnessed a bullying episode, I called the principal and I want people know the effect of bullying.” That’s what bullying does.
“So please can you educate your children, your families, your friends, because all it takes is one more example… and you wonder why children commit suicide.
“We try to be as positive as possible and only share the highlights… but this is how bullying affects a nine-year-old.”
The viral video caught the attention of celebrities around the world who lent their support to Quaden and his family’s fight against bullying.
Hollywood superstar Jackman posted a video on Twitter in which he said: “Quaden, you’re stronger than you think, buddy. And no matter what, you have a friend in me.
The 13-year-old (pictured) has been in high demand as he promotes his latest film
Quaden first came to the world’s attention after his mother filmed and posted him being upset and wanting to kill himself after being bullied at his elementary school.
The young actor walked the red carpet of the film directed by George Miller, rubbing shoulders with his famous co-stars, including Chris Hemsworth.
The Wolverine actor then urged his fans to “be kind to each other.”
Miller was also affected by the video and, according to Good Weekend, was upset by a suggestion from News Corp columnist Miranda Devine that Ms Bayles might have coached Quaden.
Devine, who repeatedly said the video could be a scam, later apologized and reached a settlement with the Bayles family ahead of legal action in Federal Court.
Miller, who trained and worked as a doctor before becoming an Oscar-winning filmmaker, acknowledged that Quaden didn’t act.
“What does she know about this?” he told Good Weekend about Devine’s comments. “That really excited me.”
Ms Bayles shared Quaden’s original video in a bid to raise awareness of the impact of bullying.
She said at the time that although she would have preferred to keep such a painful moment private, she felt she had no choice but to make it public.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call Lifeline: 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636.
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