Theo Leber to star with Dwayne Johnson in Lizard Music
Deadline reports the 10-year-old Chicago-area actor will make his feature debut in Benny Safdie’s Amazon MGM and United Artists film.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Theo Leber, a 10-year-old fourth grader from the Chicago area, has been cast opposite Dwayne Johnson in Lizard Music, Deadline reported Monday.
The role puts Leber at the center of Benny Safdie’s adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 novel, a live-action and CGI hybrid being made for Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists. According to Deadline, the part will mark Leber’s first feature film appearance after a casting search that lasted months.
Deadline described Leber’s role as a starring one, with the young actor playing a boy who is left on his own and discovers a strange late-night broadcast: lizards performing music from somewhere beyond the ordinary.
That discovery sends the character looking for answers. Per Deadline’s description of the film, the trail leads him to an unusual older man known as The Chicken Man, played by Johnson, and to Claudia, his 111-year-old chicken companion.
The story then follows the pair into an adventure that begins with the search for a hidden society and expands into a journey involving unseen worlds, unexpected sounds and a connection between people who have found each other at the right moment, according to Deadline.
Safdie reunites with Johnson
Lizard Music is Safdie’s next project after The Smashing Machine, the A24 sports drama that also stars Johnson. That film tells the story of Mark Kerr, the former amateur wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter, Deadline reported.
Safdie wrote the screenplay for Lizard Music. The producing team includes United Artists’ Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt, Safdie through Out for the Count Productions, Johnson through Seven Bucks Productions, and David Koplan of Magnetic Fields Entertainment, according to Deadline.
The film adds another major title to Johnson’s slate with Safdie, while giving Leber a splashy first screen credit alongside one of Hollywood’s biggest names.
Who is Theo Leber?
Deadline identified Leber as an Evanston, Illinois, up-and-comer. Away from acting, he is described as a fan of lacrosse, football, spending time with his best friends, art and history.
Before landing Lizard Music, Leber was most recently seen onstage in a Writers Theatre production of Leopoldstadt in Glencoe, Illinois, Deadline reported.
Leber is represented by Matt Fletcher at Arise Artist Agency, Laura Alexander at Talent X Alexander, and attorney Jeff Hynick at Jackoway Austen Tyerman, according to Deadline.
No release date or additional casting details were included in Deadline’s report.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.