October 08, 2011

‘Real Steel’ director: Dakota Goyo brought ‘authenticity’

Dakota Goyo, left, and Hugh Jackman in a scene from "Real Steel." (Melissa Moseley / DreamWorks)

“Real Steel” actor Dakota Goyo, 12, was selected from “hundreds of boys” for the role of Max because of his “authenticity,” director Shawn Levy told the audience at Monday’s early IMAX screening of the film.

“We did know that even if the rest of us did everything right, if the kid isn’t great, the movie can’t be great,” Levy said at the Los Angeles screening, hosted by Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher. “I saw a lot of really talented kids, but I knew this part needed something different or more. It’s what Ricky Schroder had in ‘The Champ.’ It’s what Justin Henry had in ‘Kramer vs. Kramer,’ Henry Thomas had in ‘E.T.’ It’s what Spielberg calls an authenticity. It’s separate from acting.”

Watch the video above to find out more about Goyo’s casting and performance, and be sure to check out previous video installments of the Q&A here, here and here.

– Noelene Clark

RECENT AND RELATED