Actors - Noah Hathaway

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	Actors - Noah Hathaway

Noah Hathaway is an American film actor, whose roles included "Boxey" in the original Battlestar Galactica movie and television series, and "Atreyu" in The Neverending Story.

Early career

He was born in Los Angeles, California on November 13, 1971, to Judy and Robert Hathaway, who was of Native American descent. He began his show business career at age 2, and appeared in 50 commercials. He was cast as Boxey in Battlestar Galactica when he was only 6, and admits he does not remember much of that time. After the series, Hathaway appeared in four feature films: In Separate Ways with Karen Black and Tony Lo Bianco; It's My Turn with Jill Clayburgh and Michael Douglas; and Best Friends with Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn.

The Neverending Story

At 10 1/2, Hathaway was selected for his most memorable role: Atreyu in The Neverending Story. "For Atreyu," says German director Wolfgang Petersen, "I sought a good-looking boy of athletic build with the quality of fierce determination. The role requires the character to ride a horse expertly, fly on the back of a dragon, struggle through a swamp, clamber over rocks and fight a ferocious wolf-vampire."

Filming took place at the Bavaria Studios in Munich, Germany, starting in the fall of 1982. Preparation for the role included learning how to ride a horse bareback. Hathaway said he never read the book by Michael Ende because at the time it wasn't available in English. Already fluent in French, the language-savvy actor picked up enough German to where the English-limited Petersen could direct him in German. The shoot lasted nine months, ending May 1983.

Subsequent Projects

The Neverending Story made Hathaway popular with the younger viewers. He went on to star in Troll (1986) and a mystery film Casebusters (1986). His final major film project was To Die, to Sleep also titled Mortal Danger (1994).

Hobbies

Noah Hathaway has been active in sports all his life. An excellent swimmer, he was a Junior Lifeguard. He trained in the martial arts for several years, and had already earned his brown belt by the time of The Neverending Story. Hathaway would later earn black belts in Tang Su Do and Shotokan, and compete as a Muay Thai boxer. Hathaway also played basketball, lifted weights, and raced motorcycles.

Present Life

Noah retired from acting in the mid-80's and moved into dance instruction, teaching advanced jazz and street dance until an injury forced him to quit in 1989 at eighteen. After that, he studied martial arts, especially Muay Thai boxing, in which he competed as an amateur. Noah returned briefly to the limelight in 1994 for Mortal Danger, which was his last acting role. He moved to New York for a few years and didn't return to the west coast until 1998. He spent some of his time there in Willow Springs, California, competing in supersport motorcycle racing; he also tended bar at several LA clubs. He holds black belts in Tang Su Do and Shotokan, and learned American Kenpo from Dr. Jerry Erickson. He also worked as an assistant instructor with Dr. Erickson on a close-quarter combat training course for flight attendants and airline pilots.

As of September of 2003, he and his wife were getting ready to open their own motorcycle shop, 5150 Choppers, in Miami, Florida.

Sources

Starlog #22 May 1979 by Barbara Lewis pp.24
Starlog #86 September 1984 by Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier pp.59-60
Space Voyager #14 pp.56-59
Daredevils # 10 August 1984 by Cynthia Broadwater pp. 7-11.
Underground Online

An often-repeated but untrue rumor in sci-fi fan circles is that Hathaway later played the role of Dr. John Carter on the NBC television series ER, however that character was played by Noah Wyle. An explanation for the rumor can be attributed to both actors' closeness in age, hair color, facial features and the fact that they share the same first name.

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