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In 1805 children crewed along with grown men on British naval ships. Some were orphans, working for the ship's carpenters or sailmakers. Some were "powder monkeys," shuttling gunpowder to the cannons during battle. Others were midshipmen, teenage sons of the captain's friends. Young gentlemen being groomed as future officers, they were treated as adults, living and fighting alongside the older men.
In "Master and Commander," Max Pirkis, a solemn, cherubic London boarding school student, plays the ship's youngest midshipman, Lord Blakeney, 13, a war-wounded protege of the ship's physician. In scenes with the film's stars, Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, Max leaves quite an impression. He spoke with The Times recently about life on the ship set, being a teenager then and now, and being allowed in the Monkey Bar.
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Question: Since you've never been in a movie before, how did you land the part?
Answer: They came around looking at the school. They thought I looked right for the part. There were a series of auditions. I was slightly surprised, more interested in getting on with school stuff. Bit by...