Everything seemed perfect. It was perfect. Both Felix and Jasper were growing up with a passion for the ocean, the brothers who once bickered had managed to find a common ground, the fights always happened, children are unpredictable that way but at least there was no blood bath and a third world war happening under the family roof. Unfortunately, something always have to come in the way. Life is not worth it if there is no suffering, if there is no trauma, big or small, to go through and learn from. While this was a lesson most learned with a broken heart that never heals, losing an opportunity, the loss of a child is, quite possibly, nearly impossible to recover from. He was only seven when his younger brother passed. Leukemia. A word he had heard many times, he never understood the meaning but he could see the impact it had on his family and how sick it was making his little brother. Jasper was not the light of the home, he was not the outgoing child that always had a fire about him. That was Felix. His job, as the oldest and first child had always been to show the path and once his brother died after months, the loss he felt was too great too comprehend for his younger self.
A change never comes alone. Therapy sessions became part of his weekly schedule, his father decided to go back on the field, he felt neglected even if, much like himself, his parents were simply trying to recover and figure out where to go next. While his parents became too busy, Felix became quieter and a loner, who spent less and less time being the center of attention. He wanted his little brother back, as crazy as it was, a part of himself hoped for him to reappear, for the door of his bedroom to finally open, for everything to go back to normal. But nothing ever went to what it used to be. Two years passed before his parents made the decision of moving to Queensland, a job opportunity for Emmet, perhaps a new beginning for the three of them. It was time to sell the house and leave the memories behind but as if the family was cursed, it didn't work as planned.
Therapy, speech sessions and finally theater came into play. Felix needed to come out of his shell, come out of this room he had locked himself into out of safety. Everyone was afraid around him, it got even worse when his mother experienced a miscarriage. The couple was solid, not enough for this part deux. Claire moved back to Tasmania, while Emmet and Felix stayed in Cairns. It was not a divorce. No. It was just a matter of geography. With this new drastic change Felix started to distance himself from his father, surfing and theater became the only two things that could make him express how he felt and empty his mind at the same time. He was still a child, only a teenager and yet he was tired of everything, everyone, wanted to go, wanted something new, something positive. He was tired of this constant state of depression he seemed to be. Little by little he came out of this negative outlook, started to see a light with the help of acting.
A certain talent. That's what he had, something to work on and dig into. With his diploma under his arm, Felix moved to Sydney to purse a career as an actor. He was not the only one, a reality he found himself facing eventually as he joined an acting class. The competition was tough, to the point he questioned himself and the choice he had made. The life of an actor was a dream that seemed easy to achieve, with talent and motivation. But was it all one needed? As time passed by the so-called enemies became friends, he found help in the last place he expected it as he struggled with this newfound independence and career that would need much more work than a bucket of hope and dreams. Much like many actors he crossed path with and befriended, Felix ran around to audition for any part he could find. Supporting, leading, small or big productions, by hitting so many options one had to eventually pan out. Luckily for him, it did.
He eventually landed a leading role in The Black Balloon next to Toni Collette, an adventure that took him beyond the Australian territory. A strange experience, for this boy who had always lived in a certain comfort zone and never had any particular interest to move beyond the borders. After all, he was still a child in many ways, despite living on his own, far away from both his parents with only friends as his closest connections, he was still learning. Perhaps it was his biggest strength, a promise of a career that could take him far if he tried opened his eyes to what he could do. This acting career became a bigger reality than a blur he was not certain what to make of. The jobs that helped him survive were dropped from his agenda as he gave his focus to acting, and small modeling gigs. The process repeated itself, this time with less auditions and more script landing at his agent's office for him to check. It was not success but it was a promise of something. And while his main land of action still remained Australia, certain projects received international release and attention, with more or less positive reviews. Step by step Felix Morton was leaving his print and becoming a familiar name in the Australian but also international acting field.
While he had a few noticed credits under his belt, it was the part of Matt in Chronicle that truly made an impact with the media. His popularity shifted, his face suddenly became more known and for months following the release of the film he experienced so many fan encounters he wondered how and when this was ever going to stop. Of course he needed more than some media frenzy to make him give up everything he had been, and still was working on. With new offers came a shit in his attitude toward what to pick. Still an Australian who needed his sun, salted water and surf board to survive, Felix had to give up the comfort of his sea side home as he went on to film parts across the world. But that does not stop him from disappearing as soon as the final clap echoes. It has become easy to vanish from the media life and just become Felix, the surfer who spends more time than he should at the beach of Byron Bay, traveling north to visit his father, south to visit his mother and sometimes welcome both his parents at home for quality family time. He has found his routine and as far as he is concerned, he does not have a job but rather a well payed and luxurious hobby.
