Curly from 2003's Peter Pan is now world-famous actor rumoured to be new James Bond
Rewatching old films can be one of the best ways to unwind, sending us all back to how we felt when we were kids and things felt so much simpler in life.
Beyond the obvious nostalgia of it all though, watching old films can have another unexpected benefit: being able to spot actors appearing in movies you never realised they were in.
Whether it be watching The Goonies and seeing Ke Huy Quan as a kid or even sticking on a random episode of Arthur and realising that The Brain was voiced by racist commentator Steven Crowder, you can almost always find surprises dotted in TV shows and films from our childhood.
The 2003 version of Peter Pan is no exception, with the actor who played Curly in the film now a world-renowned name that is even rumoured to be in the running for the new James Bond film directed by Denis Villenueve.
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Curly was played in the film by George MacKay, the actor who went on to star in Pride, Captain Fantastic, and 1917.
He spent six months filming the movie in Australia at the age of 11
Speaking to Letterboxd earlier this year, he spoke about the experience of filming the movie as a Lost Boy at the age of 11 in his first ever role, and revealed that the entire film was shot in huge sound studios in Australia rather than on location.
He explained: “There’s not one bit of location shooting, [even though] it’s set so much in forests and the sea.
“It was Warner Brothers’ studios on the Gold Coast in Australia, and there were enormous sound stages—some of the biggest sound stages I’ve ever been on. It was a sort of stadium with a space around the outside, and then in the middle of the studio there was an entire forest.”
The 2003 version, with Jason Isaac as Captain Hook, is widely considered one of the best versions with a 77 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Speaking to Mark Kermode in a Q&A, Isaac said that even at 11, MacKay was a ‘proper actor, even then, was fully committed’.
When asked whether he had a great time MacKay responded saying: “Yeah, I mean we were ten [he turned 11 during filming] and were playing on pirate ships.”
Mackay has spoken at length about the bizarre perm-wig hybrid he had during the film
Speaking to Liv Marks-Howarth about the film, George said he ‘loved’ the hairdo he had as Curly, stating it was the ‘biggest hairdo’ he had in his career.
He explained: “It was a perm plus a wig and it was called the ‘Richard Roxburgh’ the wig.
“They were curling my hair with tongs every day because obviously I play Curly and my hair is not… it was just taking too long and so they said ‘can we perm it’ and at the age of 10 I had a fantastic perm. Then they would put a wig on top that had like fair sized holes in it and then they would pull my hair through to create the curly mass that it was.”
MacKay’s subsequent success has gone on to see him rumoured to be one of the many English actors linked to the role of James Bond in the upcoming reboot being helmed by Dune director Denis Villenueve.
Speaking about the role at the London Film Festival to the London Evening Standard, he laughed when asked about it, saying: “I mean, like, come on. Like, Bonds? Yeah, sure.
“I couldn't say [if he’d been approached]… No, I'm not going to be drawn further than that.
“But hey, it's nice to be in the mix, y’know? And what a role? Like Denis Villenueve, he's top of the game. So yeah, of course.”
Topics: Nostalgia, James Bond, Entertainment, Film
Michael Slavin