A lot of cine stars have at least one movie that is a defining moment or a life-changing experience. For Ireland’s 15-year-old Art Parkinson, it is no ordinary film that he credits as a turning point in his long career. The Irish actor, who began his acting career at the age of seven, lent his voice to Kubo in the Oscar-nominated film Kubo and the Two Strings . Apart from this, he is best known for his role in movies and shows such as Game of Thrones, Dracula Untold and San Andreas .
Kubo and the Two Strings is a 3-D stop-motion fantasy action-adventure film and Art voices the role of the young, eyepatch-wearing hero. “It was definitely life-changing. I learnt a lot from it.”
The making of the movie was a surreal experience, recalls Art. “It was interesting. Working on top of the style they used in the movie – the stop motion animation – I learnt all about the process when I went to the studio. I’ve never done anything like this before and the experience was new.”
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The young actor hopes that when people watch
“I’ve taken all the strength and skill I have gained over the years and portrayed this role. Hopefully, they feel the same emotions in Kubo as the emotions I play in a live action film. I also hope they relate to the character I am bringing to life on screen.”
Having started young is a big advantage in the field for him, shares Art. “All the years of experience in acting have been helpful because it gives me a head start on a lot of people. I am able to go to auditions and show my work in the projects that I have worked on over the years, including films like
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Art says it is an honour to be recognised as one among the league of child artistes in the film industry. “It is interesting, but at the same time I think I’m from a completely different world. Because I’m from Ireland all the work I do tends to be around here. My upbringing in the industry sets me apart from the rest.” He adds: “The journey has been one of progression.”
On where his acting is taking him in the future, Art affirms: “I like to work on more emotional and mature characters in my forthcoming films. I’m already sort of working towards that at the moment.”
On his stint with Game of Thrones as Rickon Stark, Art says the experience was completely different. “In Kubo... I was able to relate to the character I was playing. I took time and went in depth in understanding Kubo and his relationship with the people around him. Compared to that, although GoT was special and unique, there wasn’t much work to be done in terms of the character. It was a short period of method acting, that’s all.”
Commenting on the future of acting, Art points out that technology and acting is merging very well together. “Technology is definitely helping the field. The way you can shoot a film these days is easy. People make movies with their phones now. That’s very interesting to see. And the internet is making it easy to release them online, especially the short-film category. It’s easy to get a lot of attention now.”
Watch Kubo and the Two Strings only on Sony Le PLEX HD