Quaden Bayles (born 13 December 2010) is an Australian actor. He appeared in the films Three Thousand Years of Longing and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. A video of Bayles in emotional distress after being bullied at school due to his dwarfism went viral in June 2020.
Quaden Bayles | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 December 2010 Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Family |
|
Life and career
editQuaden Bayles was born on 13 December 2010 to father Quaden Georgetown and mother Yarraka Bayles.[1][2] He has two older sisters and an older brother.[2][3] He is a Murri boy.[4] Yarraka's father is broadcaster and activist Tiga Bayles.[5] Bayles' cousin is basketball player Biwali Bayles and his uncle is rugby league footballer James Roberts.[3][6] Quaden's parents separated when he was a two-and-a-half years old.[3]
Bayles has achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.[2] As a result of his condition, Bayles has had major surgeries and his health complications include early onset arthritis and requiring a machine to provide oxygen while he sleeps.[2] For almost the entire first year of his life, his mother Yarraka was in denial about Bayles' dwarfism and she later suffered from postnatal depression.[7] After coming to terms with Quaden's dwarfism, she began documenting his life to raise awareness about dwarfism. She started the Stand Tall 4 Dwarfism campaign and Bayles was the subject of an episode of Living Black in 2015.[8][7] Following the death of his grandfather in 2016, Bayles started exhibiting suicidal tendencies.[9] He first tried to commit suicide when he was six years old and made five more attempts in the following two years.[10] Bayles started getting bullied at school when he was seven years old.[10]
In June 2020, when he was nine years old, Bayles made headlines after his mother posted a video of him online, showing him extremely upset and saying that he wanted to die, due to bullying at Carina State School related to his dwarfism. The video went viral, and although initially brought a lot of sympathy, also attracted scepticism and hate on social media.[11][3][12] A video message by Bayles was played at the disability royal commission in October 2020 and his mother called for a new law to combat bullying in schools.[4] As of 2023, the boy had got the "most expensive royal independent investigation" into the harsh reality of people with a disability in order to change the public perception of them.[13] It led to "32 public hearings, 1,785 private sessions, almost 8,000 submissions, 28 research reports and about $600 million dollars" from the Disability Royal Commission.[13]
Bayles' viral video came to the attention of director George Miller, who cast him in the 2022 film Three Thousand Years of Longing and the 2024 film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.[14] Two episodes of Australian Story about Bayles aired in October 2020 and June 2024.[15][9]
Filmography
edit- 2022: Three Thousand Years of Longing – Quick Change Boy
- 2024: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – War Pup
References
edit- ^ Khalil, Shireen (10 March 2020). "Quaden Bayles posts video of passport to dispute age conspiracy theories". News.com.au. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d Scott, Leisa; Semmler, Erin (9 June 2024). "Mad Max actor Quaden Bayles is 'a whole different person' four years on from viral bullying video". ABC News. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d Chenery, Susan; Armstrong, Rebecca (25 November 2020). "'Don't call me cute': Bullied boy with dwarfism Quaden Bayles and mum Yarraka share reality of going 'viral'". ABC. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ a b Pollard, Emma (12 October 2020). "Mother of bullied boy calls for new law to better protect children at school". ABC News. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Perry, Jodan; Latimore, Jack (3 March 2020). "Nine-year-old Murri boy a hero amongst heroes". NITV. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ Perry, Jodan (20 February 2020). "Mother of Murri boy calls for more disability awareness in schools after constant bullying". NITV. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ a b Living Black S2015 Ep4 - Quaden Bayles. NITV. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Standing Tall For Dwarfism: Quaden Bayles. Studio 10. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b "The War Pup | Quaden Bayles". www.abc.net.au. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ a b Lill, Jasmin (5 April 2019). "Dwarfism advocate Yarraka Bayles establishes suicide support group". South-West Satellite. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Quaden Bayles: Bullied Australian boy sues columnist over 'scam' suggestion". 6 August 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "People rally around Quaden Bayles, Australian boy allegedly bullied at school for dwarfism after mom's viral video". Good Morning America. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ a b Topsfield, Jewel (28 September 2023). "'Just be kind': The three-word message from one boy to the royal commission". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Boy bullied for dwarfism has role on Mad Max Furiosa". Upworthy. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "About a Boy". www.abc.net.au. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2024.