After filming for “A Minecraft Movie” in New Zealand for four months, freshman Sebastian Hansen has come back to Midtown to resume school. Hansen played Henry, one of the lead roles in the film. Transitioning back to normal high school life has been a learning-filled process for him.
“Coming back to school from a four-month shoot has definitely been an adjustment,” Hansen said. “Not only is it being back in person instead of homeschool, it’s also high school now instead of middle school. That’s definitely been a different experience for me.”
Hansen, who’s fourteen, first began his acting journey at 5 years old. His father Michael Hansen had been in the film industry for many years, so his parents decided to let Hansen try it to see if he enjoyed it.
“He loved it,” Michael said. “He would go on these auditions, and they loved him because of the high registry language he was using for such a young age. They were blown away by how articulate he was for such a small guy, and he was a little short for his age, so it made him even cuter.”
The audition process for “A Minecraft Movie” began in May of 2023 for Hansen. He received a callback for one of the leads in the beginning of June and was given the role at the end of the month. Filming was supposed to start in August of 2023 but got postponed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, which lasted from July 2023 to November 2023.
“I was going to leave in August at first, but then the strike happened, so I left right after December,” Hansen said. “The strike did delay filming, but I do think it had a positive effect on the overall movie, so there were positive and negative aspects to that.”
With the majority of filming for “A Minecraft Movie” taking place in New Zealand, Michael said that this was a large adjustment for their family.
“I went with him for the first five weeks to get him adjusted to being in the industry and to get him settled in,” Michael said. “Then my wife and my other son arrived and stayed for around a month, so we were all together. And then they went back home, and I stayed for a while and finished up until my wife came around the latter part and did the last three weeks.”
To keep up with his academics during his time filming, Hansen homeschooled.
“The schedule was definitely tough,” Michael said. “He had a nine-hour day, and it’s kind of like being the hardest-working person on set. Because, as an adult actor, you get a break in between set ups, but as a child actor, you have to do school in between set ups.”
Hansen also took classes to learn and work on stunting. While he enjoyed this, it also gave him even more to keep track of during his time in New Zealand.
“I had a schedule and got to do stunts for an hour everyday,” Hansen said. “I was in stunt training to be able to do wirework, which is basically when you’re in a harness and they take wires and fly you around. It is painful; so, I had to do a lot of stunt days to prepare myself for that.”
While on set for the movie, Hansen worked alongside many well-known actors, including Jason Mamoa, Emma Myers, Jack Black, Steve Carell and Jennifer Coolidge. Hansen believes these actors taught him a lot about how to be successful.
“Working with them definitely gave me a lot of insight into how to be a good actor,” Hansen said. “Just being there and working with them gave me an idea on what it’s like to be a real actor. They were always nice and always respectful to everybody.”
Hansen believes working on a film set is a quick way to get to know others and get close with them fast. He said the worst part of the experience was leaving.
“You get to know everyone so well and get so close to them in four months,” Hansen said. “My favorite part was definitely getting to work with such great people.”
Michael said he enjoyed watching Hansen throughout this experience as someone who had previously worked in the film industry.
“My favorite part of this experience has been the overwhelming emotion of pride and how proud I am of him,” Michael said. “His ability to show kindness and respect towards adults and his ability to show up for such a big role was so great to see.”
Hansen has a fair amount of past experience in film, but “A Minecraft Movie” is his largest role yet.
“I was in ‘Lisey’s Story’ and ‘Just Mercy,’ which are two other small-ish films that I did when I was younger,” Hansen said. “I also just did something else for two weeks in Budapest, ‘Now You See Me 3.’”
While working on ‘Just Mercy,’ Hansen filmed alongside Micheal B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx. Establishing connections during this filming process helped him get a manager, which opened up opportunities for him in the film industry.
“My godfather, Bill Nighy, worked for this agency,” Hansen said. “After I worked on ‘Just Mercy,’ Micheal B. Jordan and him both called the same person and said, ‘Hey, this kid’s really talented, can you get him an agent and a manager?’ And that ended up getting me an agent and manager, which was extremely lucky at such a young age.”
Aside from acting, Hansen is in Midtown’s marching band. Sophomore Nevaeh Hambrick does marching band with him and appreciates his hard work.
“I think he’s observant and a quick learner,” Hambrick said. “He can adjust to new situations really fast, and when he’s focused, he really puts his whole mind and heart into whatever he’s doing.”
Hansen also enjoys playing video games, including Minecraft, and spending time with his friends when he gets a break from acting and school. One of Hansen’s friends, Kevin Lewis, said he enjoys watching Hansen do what he loves.
“His ability to be energetic definitely contributes to his acting abilities,” Lewis said. “He’s natural in his acting, and he’s always been very good at it.”
While Hansen doesn’t know what his next project will be, he does know that film is what he wants to be doing.
“I’m already in too great of a stage in the industry to back down,” Hansen said. “It’s only going to get more and more crazy from here. One of my goals is definitely to continue to work with other people and to get insight into acting from them. I just want to continue to become a better actor.”
