McCaw a role model for Arlo
Being Richie McCaw is every rugby fan’s dream, but for Auckland 9-year-old Arlo Feeney, the dream has become reality.
The North Shore schoolboy is one of two lucky young actors to land “Young Richie” roles in the highly-anticipated film Chasing
Great — the movie-length documentary on the life of the former All Blacks captain.
Arlo, who plays McCaw from the ages of 7-12, says playing his idol has been the best experience of his life — and one that has left his friends at Campbell’s Bay School green with envy.
But, he says, the best is yet to come; Arlo will finally get to meet his hero McCaw on the red carpet at Tuesday’s world premiere at Auckland’s Civic Theatre.
“I saw him on one of the days on set but I didn’t get to talk to him because I was filming,” Arlo told the Herald on Sunday.
“I’m really excited to meet him at the premiere,” he said.
“But I don’t exactly know what I’m going to say to him,” said Arlo. “I’m going to be very nervous.” Arlo, who has previously appeared in the American comedy series Ash Vs Evil Dead, said playing McCaw was an amazing experience.
“He is one of my very favourite players and one of the best of all time.
“Richie was a hard worker with a dream.
“And he turned that dream into a reality which proves, if you’re persistent, you can achieve anything,” said Arlo.
Arlo’s mother, Nic, said the speed at which the offer came through was unusual and seemed to be because her son bears a resemblance to a young McCaw.
“They did add padding to Arlo to bulk him out a bit.
“He loved the wardrobe part, getting to wear rugby jerseys just like Richie would have worn.”
The red carpet premiere comes before the cinema-wide release on Thursday. And it won’t just be Kiwi viewers going on a trip through McCaw’s remarkable career. Kiwi documentarymakers Justin Pemberton and Michelle Walshe gained “unprecedented access” to McCaw, his teammates, and friends and family. In the year they filmed, more than 187 hours of footage was captured with the All Blacks, on top of 50 hours of family video footage from the McCaw family archive, as well as untold hours of television interviews and game footage.