“To grasp the full significance of life is the actor’s duty; to interpret it his problem; and to express it his dedication.”
The author of that great insight was James Dean, but the words could have easily come from Percy Hynes White, the young Canadian actor who was a marque attraction early in life, as a child actor in Newfoundland.
When he’s on-screen, Percy dazzles. When he’s away from the spotlight, his fans comb social media, looking for clues to his next big TV, film or streaming role.
Lately they’ve been thrilled that what started as a rumor, and later became a scattering of field reports about Percy sightings on a film set in Utah, turned out to be the real thing — the proof that he’d soon be back.
This time it’s a romantic comedy. The choice of genre demonstrates the incredible range of Percy’s talents, given the fact that his earliest work was in horror films and episodes. The frightened kid in the horror thriller is now a leading man, and fans will especially enjoy the casting of his leading lady: his long-time television love interest, Jenna Ortega.
On the hit Netflix series “Wednesday,” the two have forged strong emotional bonds — not only between the two characters of the series, but also between stars and fans.
The film, set to be released later this year, is titled “Winter Spring Summer or Fall.” It’s directed by Tiffany Paulsen of “About Fate” fame. The story arc traces the relationship between Remi, played by Jenna, and Barnes, played by Percy, across four days, representing the seasons. The pair meet in high school, and learn much about life and themselves in this short chronological vignette.
It’s a different type of relationship than the one fans are used to seeing on the Netflix series “Wednesday.” There, Jenna Ortega plays Wednesday Addams, as in Addams Family, the oddest family assemblage most of us have ever seen, at least since last year’s Thanksgiving.
That original black-and-white classic, circa 1965, was a madcap comedy, complete with its own laugh track. In “Wednesday,” the pint-sized young ghoul has grown into a young girl, and now inhabits a darker world.
Into that world ventures Xavier Thorpe, played by Percy. The Xavier character would hope to find Wednesday in a romantic comedy, but instead he’s trapped in an emotional dystopia, where his romantic feelings are mostly unrequited.
Complicating the relationship is the fact that Wednesday has psychic powers, which makes the romantic dynamic challenging for Xavier, and fascinating for the audience.
Off screen, and without the psychic powers, Percy and Jenna’s relationship is strong. Observers have characterized it as everything from an “adorable friendship” to something more serious. No one can doubt that they love to work together, and create great cinematic art when they do.
This new role for Percy is just the latest milestone in a career that began at age 9 in his hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland. His first role was in “Winners,” followed by “The Confessional” and “Little Man.” In 2013 “The Grand Seduction” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Percy was suddenly getting second looks.
Since then, he has starred in feature films such as “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” “Our House,” “Milton’s Secret,” “Rupture” and “Edge of Winter.” For his role in “Cast No Shadow,” Percy won two awards: Best Actor at the 2014 Atlantic Film Festival and the Rising Star Award at the 2014 Edmonton International Film Festival. For “I Like Movies” he won a Best Supporting Actor Award from The Vancouver Film Critics Circle.
His other memorable television roles include “The Gifted,” a spin-off series in the universe of Marvel’s X-Men and a role on Jordan Peele’s reboot of the cult classic “The Twilight Zone” for CBS: All Access. He has also appeared in “The Transplant” for NBCUniversal, two seasons on “Between” for Netflix, and the popular “Murdoch Mysteries” series. Percy famously stars in the hit CBC series, “Pretty Hard Cases.”
“Winter Spring Summer or Fall” will be a story within a story. As a romantic comedy, its narrative is sure to be sentimental, satisfying and triumphant, as it explores the growing emotional bonds between Remi and Barnes. It will also tell another fascinating story: the amazing transformation of a niche child actor into a star of incredible range and talent.