I haven't seen Amir Wilson in anything else. But the character of Will Parry is like this. He's had to take responsibility from an early age. He tends to be stoic - not the sort to break down and pour his heart out in a really dramatic scene, tears streaming down his face. He keeps a lot to himself. In some respects Lyra is the opposite. She also had to shoulder a lot of responsibility for her age, but is more outgoing with less of that stiff upper lip. I liked the scene in the movie theater where she let Will know that just because she seems care free sometimes does not mean she doesn't take things seriously.
I looked Wilson up and his handful of credits are mostly stuff aimed at kids. That would be why I've never seen him before. I guess we'll have to wait and see whether he can play characters completely different from Will Parry. That's the true test of an actor.
It's been a long time since I read the books. Don't remember how Will was described there, Pullman may very well not have explicitly mentioned the color of his skin. To say they cast Amir just to check a diversity box is a hell of an assumption. They had a lot of kids audition for the part. I assume they picked him for better reasons.
Actually he reminded me a bit of Luke Skywalker in the tower, getting his condensed Jedi training from the former Bearer. Alright, here's your lightsaber. Switch it on. Swing it a few times to get the hang of it. Now focus, let the Force guide you - you got the idea! Okay. Gotta go. You'll figure the rest out. 😳
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