A teenager who survived his father setting him on fire as a child has fulfilled his dream of appearing in a hit Hollywood film.
Sixteen-year-old Spencer Connelly, from north-west Tasmania, has been cast in epic film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, after auditioning as an extra for the film which opens on Thursday.
Spencer’s father, Paul Brian Edward Connelly, set him on fire aged five along with his older brother Fletcher, then eight, inside a car in Burnie, west of Devonport, on December 5, 2012.
The brothers survived, but suffered serious burns in the horrific incident. His father had tried to kill them and himself to prevent his mother from gaining custody of them.
Spencer Connelly will appear in the hit Hollywood film alongside Chris Hemsworth
Connelly had placed two gas cylinders in the back of his car when he picked up the siblings from daycare 12 years ago.
Around five pm that day, he lit the gas cylinders with a cigarette, prompting them to explore.
Spencer suffered burns to nearly half of her body, while Fletcher suffered burns to more than 20 percent of his body.
Connelly was sentenced to 20 years behind bars with a 15-year non-parole period for attempted murder in 2013.
Spencer, who recovered from his serious injuries but still bears the scars, was offered the opportunity to audition for a role in the film by his director George Miller, who was moved by Spencer’s story.
The teenager was not allowed to reveal that he was playing a role in the film after signing a confidentiality agreement.
“It’s Australia’s biggest film franchise, so hiding it from everyone was definitely a challenge,” Spencer told the ABC.
Spencer got the opportunity to be a part of the film with the help of Kids Foundation, a child welfare charity that has been helping with her recovery.
“I hadn’t actually seen a Mad Max movie, I didn’t know what Mad Max was before,” he said.
Susie O’Neill, executive director of the Kids Foundation, said Spencer revealed her goal was to be in a movie during a camp run by the organization a few years earlier.
“Young people write down the top three things they want to achieve in the next 12 months,” he said.
‘Everyone else had written things like dogs, computers and things you’d expect. “Spencer’s thing was that he wanted to be in a blockbuster movie,” she said.
Spencer (pictured right) and her older brother Fletcher (pictured left) were set on fire by their father in a car, while their father was picking them up from daycare in December 2012.
The teenager (pictured left) walked the red carpet at the premiere of the hit film in Sydney earlier this month (pictured right, Australian actor Mark Wales).
O’Neill said he had a chance encounter with the owner of a piece of land in Victoria that was being used to film part of the film.
The man helped turn the unlikely dream into reality after he offered to give his role in the film to Spencer, with the teenager playing one of the “war boys”, known as a group of soldiers.
Not only will Spencer appear in the film alongside big-name stars, but she also appeared on the red carpet at the film’s premiere in Sydney earlier this month with Chris Hemsworth.
The film has a budget of 168 million dollars.
Spencer said he was grateful for the opportunity to participate in the film and said he never wanted to let his trauma get in the way of achieving his goals.
“I’ve always said I wanted my burns and scars to be worth it and I think I’ve done that now,” he said.
The 16-year-old (pictured) said he would never let his scars and injuries get in the way of achieving his goals.
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