Thomas Frank was just 7 years old when he stepped onto the set of the upcoming Chinese blockbuster, The Curse of Turnadot – aka Turnadot, 图兰朵, tú lán duǒ. He had never acted before and doubted his ability to perform in front of people. Now, however, he was expected to act in both English and Chinese, as well as perform stunts.
Just two days earlier, Thomas had gone to an impromptu casting call after his one-time martial arts coach Frederick Yderstorm received word that the film was looking for a “blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy” around Thomas’ age. The minute the casting director laid eyes on Thomas, he excitedly yelled, “He’s the one!” Just like in the movies.
48 hours later, he was on set, in front of at least 80 people, for a series of speaking and fighting scenes, which open the film. He was feeling the pressure like never before, and it required several takes before he got it, but he didn’t want to give up. As the days got longer and longer, his father tried to pull him out, but 7-year-old Thomas told him, “No, daddy, I want to try it. I think I can do it.” And he did, eventually. “That was a proud Dad moment for me,” admits Andrew Frank.
During the course of the next ten days that Thomas spent filming, he traveled from Beijing to a big Tang Dynasty set in Xiangyang, Hubei province. He met the main director of the film, Zheng Xiaolong, as well as American actor Dylan Sprouse – of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody fame – who plays the older version of Thomas. He even got an autograph from French actress Sophie Marceau (Braveheart) who plays his mother in the movie, though he lost the autograph.
Under the tutelage of “very big kung fu guy” Collin Chou, whom you would recognize as Seraph from The Matrix trilogy, Thomas received all of two days’ fight training before he had to perform his scenes. Luckily, he had a stand-in, a local boy around his age, with whom he became fast friends.
“The hardest part were the scenes where I had to cry or faint. They took a lot of takes, but eventually I got there,” Thomas recounts of his experience. But there were high points as well. “I got to ride a camel. It was very scary the first time and I really hated it. But each time I did it, I got to enjoy it more and more and in the end, it was really fun. Except that the camel kept peeing.”
After his first foray into show biz, Thomas feels that “acting is quite fun” and may consider a career of it. His father isn’t surprised, considering the generous amount of money he made during his ten days of filming. “When I told him how much he made per day,” reveals Frank, “he asked me why he was going to school.”
A student at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), Thomas has spent all 11 years of his childhood growing up right here in Beijing. Born to Irish and Canadian parents, he enjoys playing badminton, hanging out with his friends, and watching movies. Well Thomas, we are excited to watch your movie when it comes out on the big screen on Oct 15!
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Images: Courtesy of Andrew Frank
