At the very heart, in so many ways, of Godsend, is Adam, the young boy who dies almost immediately at the start of the film only to be brought back in a most disturbing way. Playing the role is nine year-old Cameron Bright in his first major starring role.
“I was looking for someone with very specific qualities for this role,” explains Hamm. “I needed a young boy who had the duality needed to endear himself to an audience at one moment and frighten them the next. I was very lucky to find that rare quality in Cameron.”
It took more than luck to find the young actor. Indeed, the filmmakers launched an extensive search that took months. Casting sessions were held in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Toronto. Hundreds of aspiring stars were seen in those sessions and thousands more on videotapes submitted from around the globe. Cameron Bright, a native of Nanaimo, British Columbia, not far from Vancouver, was on one of those tapes.
Producer Butan says, “We saw Cameron early and he was the kid to beat from the get-go. It’s very hard to judge a child actor’s skill or range because they just don’t have the body of work yet. The most experienced kids out there may have only done a handful of roles – and that’s impressive when you’re under 10, but there are very few films or TV shows that a child that young has to carry. We have some huge stars in this movie but, ultimately, the kid had to carry it.”
At a final stage in the casting process, Butan gathered Kinnear and Romijn-Stamos in Toronto where he had them spend a day with Cameron. “They went to a park, had a good time and we shot some casual footage with the three of them,” explains Butan. “We wanted to see them together, to see if there’s a natural believability that they are a family. They had a real chemistry together. You could see on that day how well it was going to work.”
At barely nine years old, Bright found himself on location, starring in a major motion picture. His more experienced co-stars appreciated the demands on the boy. “It’s a really tricky part,” comments Greg Kinnear. “In a sense he plays multiple characters and that’s always a real challenge. For a kid who’s nine, it’s enormous. He’s really wonderful in the role. He’s also a great kid, funny and charming. He lights up the set.”
His on-screen mom agrees: “Cameron has a huge responsibly in this film. A lot relies on Cameron and he’s done a phenomenal job. He plays this normal, sweet little kid and then he’s got to play this complicated kind of demon-child. Cameron has really gotten into this; he’s really good, and so subtle. I am so impressed with him.”
Three of the stars of Godsend came to the production with a tremendous wealth of experience and training while the fourth, Cameron Bright, had been acting and studying the craft for only a few years – not unimpressive when you are nine. Nick Hamm, who had previously directed the British school-set thriller, The Hole, came to Godsend with a genuine understanding of child actors. “With children it’s always very interesting because the process is different for them,” explains the director. “Often they’re instinctive, so what you will do is set up a situation in which they can behave a certain way. With many young child actors it’s really about capturing behavior. However, this role is too demanding for that. Thankfully Cameron is quite skilled and is able to act and to hold his own alongside Greg, Rebecca, and Bob. Of course I worked differently with him. I give him more direction and frequently, I don’t cut camera, we just keep rolling as I talk him through a moment or a scene.”
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