Baste bigger than Beach?

Young actor wants to be bigger than Adam BeachChristian Baste seems like a typical 13-year-old, on the verge of turning 14 in April. When he smiles his braces catch the light. He doesn’t say much in front of strangers; until you put him in front of a camera.

Christian’s acting resume is impressive and a result of the bustling film scene in New Mexico. He had his first small speaking role in the 2005 TNT miniseries “Into the West.” He was in the 2008 feature film “The Eye,” as well as the ABC Family series “Wildfire.” All three were filmed in and around Albuquerque.

Christian, Lakota Sioux on his mother’s side and Navajo on his father’s, is discovering that much of being chosen for a role is who you know. Kathryn Brink, a casting director with whom Christian has taken classes, cast the upcoming feature film, “Jordan.” Christian plays Eli Lujan, the son of a sheriff who discovers the title character, a 5-year-old girl, searching for help for her injured mother following a car crash on a remote mountain highway.

“I want to be more than what Adam Beach is,” Christian said, referring to the variety of roles the Ojibwa actor from Canada has played. “I want to do non-Native roles like he does.”Comment:  So Baste wants to be "more than what Adam Beach is"? Which is what, exactly?

And he'll accomplish that by doing exactly what Beach has done? I guess this is what you get when you interview a 13-year-old. <g>

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.