When the Advocate first met Kameron Badgers in 2013, he was a knife-wielding elementary school student who found his niche as a circus performer.
Five years later, Badger, who seems to have an innate ability to entertain, has slowly transitioned away from the big top’s controlled chaos to the feverish pace of the big screen.
He earned a lead role in the film “Beyond the Bridge,” debuting Saturday at Cinemark West Theater in Plano.
The movie’s nuanced, intense subject matter is a hefty undertaking for the 16-year-old, who is the youngest actor involved in the project. “Beyond the Bridge” chronicles the experiences of three young adults coping with depression or suicidal ideation.
At first, grandmother Deb McAlister-Holland wasn’t sure she’d allow her grandson to partake in the movie.
“We talked about it quite a bit before we decided he was going to take it,” she says.
For Kameron, though, the film illustrates that people who need help the most are often overlooked.
“It’s a really important topic,” he says. “I think people need to understand what it’s like, so they have something to hold onto after they watch the movie if they deal with something like this at home.”
View the film’s trailer here. (As a warning, it does contain potentially triggering content that may be upsetting to some, especially younger viewers.)
