What other kids can say they survived Yellowstone National Park turning into a lava-spewing hell hole, careened through the clouds on a shaky plane or climbed through the bowels of a mammoth metal arc?
Thirteen-year-old Liam James did just that, and pulled off an impressive performance in Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic, "2012."
As Noah Curtis, John Cusack's moody son, James puts the perfect face to pre-teen sulkiness.
His parents are divorced. He is torn between his distaste for his dad's lowly, unsuccessful author lifestyle and all the things his new stepfather can buy.
"He's got some worries," James told CTV.ca before heading off for a regular day of classes at his Vancouver school.
But, when push comes to shove and the world gets ready to blow in Emmerich's biblical doomsday flick, this sweet-faced youth sucks up the courage to help his dad save the day.
Swimming through a dark, flooded passageway, James and Cusack make the desperate attempt to loosen a cable blocking the arc's doors before it sinks.
"The water scenes look scary, but they were fun to shoot," said James, who is also a co-star on the TV show "Psych."
"I held my breath for a minute at a time when John and I dove into the water. John helped me a lot on the stunt work. It didn't make me afraid at all," he said.
Even the thought of flying off to Japan this weekend for the film's premiere cannot ruffle this kid's cool factor.
"It's a really amazing film when you see it," he said. "There;s lots of adventure and really cool action scenes. I saw a version that wasn't quite finished. But, even then I thought I'd really like to see this movie even if I wasn't in it."
As for his off-screen relationship with Hollywood star Cusack, James said, "John went out of his way to be nice to us kids on the set."
Cusack also taught this plucky up-and-comer a good business lesson.
"He said always make sure to take breaks from working," said James.
Good advice to remember when the roles start rolling in.
