We met the “Feral Kid” from the original “Mad Max” trilogy

Emil Minty as the wild child in “The Road Warrior” and Minty now (Everett Collection/Facebook)

The Feral Kid has grown up and now has two children of his own.

The original Mad Max The film catapulted Mel Gibson from the Australian wilderness to international fame, but in the film’s first sequel, in 1981, The Road Warriorthe actor was overshadowed by a growling little boy with a mullet and deadly aim with a razor-sharp boomerang. He looked like Bam Bam Rubble come to life, and had an even more limited vocabulary than the club The Flintstones in total

The role was played by a precocious 8-year-old actor, Emil Minty, now 43, married with two children, who works in Sydney as a jewellers manager. He looks back fondly on his wild child days, even recalling how he landed the part: after a competitive audition process, he beat out the other children by inventing his own story for this mysterious character.

“My story is that my mom, dad and I were on a flight, we ran out of gas and landed; my dad went to get gas and didn’t come back,” he said in an interview with Yahoo Movies. “My mom went to get my dad and she never came back either, which left me to fend for myself.”

The Feral Kid did more than survive; he became a crucial fighter in the war against a band of oil-hungry bandits. He rode alongside Gibson in one of the film’s most memorable action scenes, secretly strapped into the disabled car while the film’s lead helped the stuntmen change gears in the middle of the high-speed chase.

Without ever uttering a single comprehensible line, young Minty became a furry sensation, delivering the kind of performance in the kind of role that, had the film been released 30 years later, would have made him a viral sensation – a furry little Groot who would surely charm fans and late-night hosts alike.

Although young, Minty had a say in his character. He designed much of his costume himself (he was the one who suggested covering Ugg boots with real animal skins) and got to keep his best costume. Minty kept the boomerang for 34 years.

Another funny anecdote he could tell on those late-night shows: He almost got banned from the movie premiere, even after losing his tangled mullet wig.

“We got a letter saying I couldn’t go to the premiere because the film was rated R,” he said. Shortly after, the film was re-rated to “M,” which is apparently the equivalent of a PG-13, a new rating that allowed it to be screened.

There were no such concerns when Minty attended the Sydney of Mad Max Fury Road with his 13-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter. With his wife of 17 years, they “live like most ordinary families.”

Emil Minty and his son Jacob (Facebook)

And even though he was just a spectator at the premiere on Wednesday night, Minty – like pretty much everyone else – was crazy about the new Mad Max movie.

“It was a breathtaking, action-packed movie from start to finish,” he said. “A magnificent job by George Miller and the entire team.”

Very well said for a guy who became famous by not speaking at all.