The son and grandson of former Weyburn residents was successful in getting a role in an upcoming movie made by director Ron Howard.

Patrick Louis, son of Brian Louis, is seven years old, and earned a role in the movie Cinderella Man, the story of boxer James Braddock, starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger.

Brian Louis was born in Weyburn and lived here until he was eight years old. His mother was one of the 12 Kasperski children born to Albert and Kunegunde Kasperski, and his uncle Richard Kasperski ran Kasper Cycle Sporting Goods.

Patrick has been acting since he was four, starring in commercials, and this is his first major acting role. His character is one of three children of James J. Braddock, who was the 1935 world heavyweight boxing champion; Crowe plays Braddock, and Zellweger plays Patrick's mother, Mae.

Patrick auditioned for the part first by videotape, and then in person in January this year in Vancouver; he was one of 900 children who auditioned, with children coming from Los Angeles, Vancouver and Toronto. He had two more auditions, including one in Toronto, before the final one for director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer and the two stars, Crowe and Zellweger, all of whom had input on who the three children would be played by.

Since Patrick was cast, he and his father have flown to Toronto six times for rehearsals, dialect coaching and filming, and will return in August for a final month of filming.

Patrick's older sister Rachel and older brother Dominic have done extensive acting, appearing in many productions filmed in Vancouver, including The Twilight Zone, So Weird, Strange World, A Wrinkle in Time, Cold Squad. Outer Limits and Back Burn.

Brad Louis earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1992 and a Bachelor of Education in 1992, and his wife Leeanna also has a B.Ed. The two taught in several locations in Saskatchewan before moving to Vancouver in 1996.

The movie Cinderella Man is scheduled for release on March 18, 2005.