When Anderson was two years old his father placed him with his paternal
grandmother in Medellin, the beautiful "City of Eternal Spring" then
controlled by the notorious drug cartel of
Pablo Escobar. Anderson ran away
from home at the age of 14, joined a gang and disappeared into the dark
world of crime and violence by which runaways survived on the streets
of Medellin - a world so dehumanizing that within two years he severed
his gang ties to pursue an honest "career" as a street vendor.
Barbet Schroeder, after testing 100s of
boys in Mexico and South America for the lead in
Die Madonna der Mörder (2000),
found his star by a stroke of luck worthy of Hollywood fantasy. The
renown Colombian poet/director
'Victor Gaviria' had observed Anderson
selling incense on a street corner and told Mr. Schroeder that he
thought he knew a boy who might be perfect for the role of Alexis, but
when they searched for Anderson he had completely disappeared. However,
the REAL Alexis (from
Fernando Vallejo's
autobiographical novel upon which the movie was based) knew Anderson
and personally led Mr. Schroeder to the guerrilla-controlled hillside
ghetto where he lived in a tiny apartment with his little brother.
Anderson had been ill, but after auditioning for "Assassins" was
immediately cast in what was to become one of Mr. Schroeder's most
profound, controversial and ground-breaking films (the first major
motion picture shot digitally, and Mr. Schroeder's first
foreign-language film in 16 years).
Anderson, who was 17 when "Assassins" premiered, was thrilled, but
overwhelmed by the enthusiastic international attention and
adulation... He currently attends
'German Jaramillo''s Free Theatre School
in Bogota under full scholarship, speaks fluent English, and is anxious
to resume his film career.
