Boston Herald - Etel Embarks on Legendary Adventure (2007)
Boston Herald
24th December 2007
By Stephen Schaefer
Alex Etel, 13, star of the Christmas family film “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep,” lives far from Hollywood in Manchester, England.
He was discovered three years ago when a talent scout came to his school, looking for two boys to cast in “Millions,” by “Trainspotting” director Danny Boyle. “It’s not a 13-year-old’s normal job,” Etel said while on a recent promotional visit to the United States. “My family thinks it’s weird.”
Etel waited several years after his debut before opting to play young Angus in “Water Horse.” A fable about Scotland’s legendary Loch Ness monster, the story is told in flashbacks to World War II. It opens in theaters tomorrow.
The “monster” is actually a sea creature befriended by Angus as a hatchling. As it grows, Etel has wild rides on its back.
Was that dangerous?
“I was on a jet ski with a massive neck on the front of it. For all the underwater scenes (filmed in an indoor tank), scuba divers took me down. There was a trunk on the bottom and I’d sit on that and hold my breath for however long.”
Yes, he admitted, “It was scary at some point. I had a billion weights tied to me to keep me down and I had to hold my breath. If the scuba divers weren’t there to help you, well, you’re putting your life in someone else’s hands.”
Etel doesn’t think of himself as a celebrity. “When I’m not doing it, I don’t think about it at all. It’s only if other people think you’re famous that you are.”
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