Tallaght boy amazes in new movie ‘The Canal’

THIS is the little Tallaght boy who is currently being raved about for his phenomenal performance in new feature film

‘The Canal’.

Calum Heath (5) plays the part of

‘Billy’, the son of cinema archivist David Williams who lives with his wife, Alice.

All seems well until David begins to suspect that Alice is cheating on him. His anxiety is then compounded by a bizarre coincidence at work.

While cataloguing a film-reel from 1902, he learns that his home was the site of a brutal series of murders by a man named William Jackson, who slew his wife for being unfaithful and drowned both of their children in the nearby canal.

As David’s suspicions grow, a shadowy figure of a man, who resembles Jackson, starts to appear to him and David becomes convinced that this evil supernatural presence that inhabits his house never wants him or his family to leave.

Calum was put forward by Talented Kids/MVW Talent Agency to audition for the supernatural thriller last spring.

Because the role was so demanding, the producers of the film decided to hold three rounds of auditions and hundreds of kids applied.

However, the director, Ivan Kavanagh, said he saw a natural talent in Calum and offered him the exciting role of Billy.

The film was shot in Wicklow in the summer of 2013, and Calum spent a full five weeks on set.

Although it was an exceptionally heavy schedule with a large volume of script to learn, none of it seemed like work to Calum.

He just loved every minute of the whole experience both on and off set.

As he was still in Junior Infants at the time he wasn’t able to read the script himself so his Talented Kids drama teachers and mum Jane read the script to him, he would deliver it back word for word.

Because of the intense nature of the storylines, some of the scenes were extremely demanding, both physically and emotionally.

However, the highly professional crew were very aware from the outset of protecting Calum from anything that wasn’t age appropriate and he was never pushed to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with.

There are some very scary scenes in the film that were filmed separately and then edited in afterwards so that Calum never witnessed any when he was filming.

Calum was also required to do three stunts during the course of filming, involving a jump onto crash mats, one in a moving vehicle and one underwater.

There were stunt coordinators on set to ensure his safety and to make sure the correct equipment was used to protect him.

“There were certain parts of the film that a child could not possibly have done so they had a body double made of Calum especially for these scenes,

? explained Maureen V Ward of the MVW Talent Agency Ireland.

“He had a day in Bowsie Workshop, Dublin having a cast made of his head, face and hands. Calum thought it was hilarious having a twin on set.

“Calum loved every second of making the film,

? Maureen added.

“He and the director Ivan Kavanagh seemed to click right from the first meeting so it made for a very productive working relationship.

“His favourite things about making the film would be working with Ivan and also the talented British actor Rupert Evans. He also loved hanging out between scenes with all the cast and crew.

?

When he’s not acting, Calum loves playing football and is a huge Stoke City fan.

He also loves playing Lego and Xbox with his little brother Dylan (4).

The Canal recently had its world premiere at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York and has received rave reviews.

It has also been sold to The Orchard Distribution who will be releasing it in cinemas, on DVD, TV and online across the US and Canada.

It is hoped that it will be released in Ireland later this year.