Local young actor Andersen Esson, 12, was recently cast as the co-starring role in an upcoming independent film called “Becoming A Hero,” to be shot in California. The movie is about a children’s author who suffers from writer’s block and agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder. The author befriends a boy with cancer (played by Esson), and together the pair learn lessons about living life to the fullest and facing death with dignity and grace. Along the way, the film weaves in the story of the author’s final book, in which young Prince Kenway saves the world of Gildenshire from the evil Lord Moloch.
Esson says he felt an instant connection to the characters in the film because of his own challenges with anxiety. Co-director Denise Coates says she is passionate about promoting equality and job opportunity for women and plans to hire mostly women for the cast and crew.
