Young Okanagan actor stars in Holocaust survival movie

Penticton High School student Jett Klyne has just finished Grade 9 and is looking forward to a summer on the beach and playing rugby with his friends.

That's a little less high-profile than the project he recently completed in the forests of northern Ontario with the independent Photon Films crew.

Klyne, 15, plays the lead role in the screen adaptation of The Boy in the Woods, which is out now in Canadian movie theatres.

The film is the harrowing tale of survival and perseverance, inspired by the real-life experiences of Canadian holocaust survivor Maxwell Smart.

Hiding out from the Nazis in occupied Poland, young Max is forced to live on his own in a remote forest to evade detection.

In those dire circumstances, Max will make a discovery that changes him forever.

"It's for sure the biggest movie I've played," Klyne told Kelowna10. "I'm in every scene of this film and it's the most work I've done. So, yeah, I'd say it's the next step."

It's the latest career move for the actor who started his time in front of the camera as a Gerber Baby when he was just months old. Since then he's appeared in numerous feature films including Skyscraper, 13 Steps, and AMC's Z.

Klyne's work extends to some of television's biggest shows, The X-Files, Supergirl, Supernatural, and Deadly Class. He has also appeared as a supporting character in Lifetime and Hallmark movies.

His latest role was both a physical and mental challenge.

"I'm this boy who's supposed to be running through the woods for eighteen months, so there's running, jumping and a few minor stunts....it almost added to the performance, " he explained. " I think the hardest part was the emotional; just always being able to get into that emotional state. There was a lot or heavy emotional stuff for me."

Getting the Polish accent right was also a deep study.

" We ended up having six months of dialect coaching two to three times a week...to learn how the mouth worked and speak in that accent and I think I got it pretty down pat."

Klyne explained it's funny how some jobs just come your way. In this case, the role didn't come through his agent but via a friend of his mom's who had a dream that he was the boy, Maxwell Smart.

"So, she sent us the movie breakdown which we then sent to our agent. I auditioned, and six months later I got a call back, we then met in Stanley Park and ran around the woods, and the rest is history."