Image Credit: Disney
Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
mad max fury road furiosa

George Miller casts child who went viral after being bullied in ‘Mad Max’ prequel, ‘Furiosa’

From bully victim to movie star.

A boy who was once relentlessly bullied will soon be part of the cast for the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa, thanks to director George Miller.

Recommended Videos

Back in 2020, the young Quaden Bayles’ story went viral after his mother filmed a video of him breaking into tears and begging for help after being bullied at his school in Australia. Numerous celebrities, including fellow Aussie and Logan star Hugh Jackman, Walking Dead actor Jon Bernthal, and Watchman actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, all voiced support for the then-9-year-old Bayles, who was born with achondroplasia, the most common version of dwarfism.

One of the famous people who vowed support to Bayles was Miller, who extended an invitation to the boy to appear in his newest film, Three Thousand Years of Longing, the director revealed in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.

Bayles only appears as an extra in Three Thousand Years, which stars Idris Elba as a magical djinn and Tilda Swinton as the apathetically content scholar who doesn’t want any of his wishes, thank you very much. However, Miller revealed he was so impressed by Bayles, that he decided to put him in his next movie, too.

“It was good for us and it was good for him […] And he did such a good job that he’s got a small role in Furiosa.”

One of the things that Miller said really “fired” him up to include Bayles in his films, to begin with, was a stomach-churning accusation by News Corp columnist Miranda Devine that the boy’s mother simply made up the bullying claims to scam people.

Even though Devine “subsequently apologised and a settlement was reached,” according to the article, Miller was nevertheless appalled at the situation and that much more resolved to extend the invitation to the boy, with Miller unequivocally believing the boy’s story as a movie director and former doctor.

“I thought, ‘What the hell would she know about that?’ That really fired me up.”

Check out Three Thousand Years of Longing in theaters now.


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Danny Peterson
Danny Peterson
Danny Peterson covers entertainment news for WGTC and has previously enjoyed writing about housing, homelessness, the coronavirus pandemic, historic 2020 Oregon wildfires, and racial justice protests. Originally from Juneau, Alaska, Danny received his Bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Alaska Southeast and a Master's in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Oregon. He has written for The Portland Observer, worked as a digital enterprise reporter at KOIN 6 News, and is the co-producer of the award-winning documentary 'Escape from Eagle Creek.'