Brazil search for young Pelé Oscar award-winning producers have launched a search for a Brazilian teenager to play the role of the young Pelé in a forthcoming feature film. The makers of the biopic, which is due to coincide with next year’s World Cup, have offered $1,000 (£651) to the person who finds them the actor they cast as the teenage legendary Brazilian striker. In posters currently circulating on social networks, Imagine Entertainment and Seine Pictures state they are looking for a 14 to 21-year-old Afro-Brazilian male to play Pele during his first World Cup. At the 1958 competition, the “King of Football” became the youngest player to appear in a World Cup final aged just 17, and scored a hat-trick against France in the semi-final. The successful candidate for the film must speak Portuguese and some basic English as well as having football skills and a resemblance to Pelé. The film will be directed by Emmy nominated writers and directors Jeff and Michael Zimbalist. Jeff’s previous work included the acclaimed 2005 documentary Favela Rising, about the cultural movement in Rio known as Afro-reggae.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 12:24:51 +0000