“Auggie is a boy who is very smart, very kind, and very funny. He has a facial difference, Treacher Collins syndrome, which affects the way your face develops,” reveals Jacob Tremblay about his role in the box office hit “Wonder,” now playing in theaters. In our recent interview (watch the exclusive video above), he adds, “Auggie hasn’t been to public school because he’s been home schooled his whole life… Auggie has a big adventure in middle school, and it’s a fun movie to watch.”
Based on the book by R. J. Palacio, the movie is about August Pullman (Tremblay), who starts fifth grade and has to learn to adapt with all the other students and adults constantly staring at him and mocking him. Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson co-star as his parents. Other cast members include Izabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin, Daveed Diggs, Noah Jupe, Bryce Gheisar, and Elle McKinnon. The film was directed by Stephen Chbosky, who co-wrote it with Steven Conrad and Jack Thorne.
The 11-year-old Tremblay is a major “Star Wars” fan, so he was excited that he would have scenes with the real Chewbacca, who is a figment of Auggie’s imagination in the movie. Of that time on set, he says, “It was awesome! I gave him a fist bump. Everyone on set was just starstruck, and they actually had the real guy from ‘Star Wars.’ That was probably one of the best parts of filming, and it was so cool to have the actual Chewbacca in the room.”
Tremblay first became known to most film fans with his role in “Room” two years ago. That project brought him the Best Young Actor/Actress prize at the Critic’s Choice Awards and a Screen Actors Guild nomination as a supporting actor. The movie would then compete at the Oscars for Best Picture, with Brie Larson winning as Best Actress there. Tremblay says his award is featured in his room, right next to a model of the Millennium Falcon from “Star Wars.”
He just received another bid with the Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Young Actor/Actress, this time for “Wonder.” Chbosky, Conrad, and Thorne are also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay of “Wonder,” plus it competes for Best Hair and Makeup
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