Exodus Lale (born 21 September 2005) is an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n-born performer, male actor and singer who played Young Simba in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's the '' Lion King Musical'' Australian tour. He is of Samoan heritage. Exodus is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and is a member of the Sunnybank Uniting Church. Lale played the hooker position for his club

Acacia Ridge Acacia Ridge is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,486 people. Geography Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. It is within the local government are ...

Magpies Junior Rugby League team which he has been a part of since 2010. Lale won the 2015 Pacific Award for achievement in the Junior Performing Arts Category in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

on 2 September 2015, Best performance in Live Theatre Best Actor at the 37th Annual Gala Young Artist Awards in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on 13 March 2016 and was a finalist in the

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Young Achiever Awards 2016 where he opened the event and won the People's Choice Award in May 2016.

Early life

Exodus was named after the story of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, chosen by his parents. He is middle-named "Jeremiah" after his father's brother Jerry Lale, his grandfather Jeremiah (Sa'u) Lale and "Norman" after his mother's brother Norman Tupu. He is the eldest of five siblings and the eldest grandson of Sa'u and Fofoga Lale. His father Fa'alafitele Papali'i Tino Lale hails from the Samoan villages of Apolima Uta, Vaiusu and Safune, Savaii. His mother Nicola Tupu Lale hails from the villages of Sinamoga and Satupaitea, Savaii. Exodus portrayed traits of music ability at the age of two when he started to sing in tune. He reached his first soprano note at the age of five years old and secured a solo position in his church choir at the age of six. He performed a solo at a combined Samoan Uniting Church Service in November 2012 at the age of seven. He performed a solo at a

Harmony Day Harmony Day, an event officially expanded and renamed as Harmony Week for its 20th anniversary in 2019, is a government-declared observance celebrated annually on or around 21 March in Australia. It was introduced by the Howard government in 19 ...

parade at his school in 2012. He performed a solo at the age of seven with his choir from the Sunnybank Samoan Uniting Church Choir at the 2013

Samoan Choir Competition which was held in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The choir was placed 4th overall in the competition.

Career

Lale auditioned for the ''

Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated Musical film, musical Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts (writer), Jonathan ...

'' at the age of eight years old and was successful in landing the role despite being well under the stringent audition age criterion of 10 to 12 for the auditions that were held in

in June 2014. He travelled to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in August 2014 with his parents and his youngest brother to rehearse for almost three weeks before his first stage performance at the

Capitol Theatre, Sydney The Capitol Theatre is a heritage-listed theater (building), theatre located at 3–15 Campbell Street, Haymarket, New South Wales, Haymarket, in the Sydney central business district, Australia. It was designed by Henry Eli White and John Eberso ...

on 24 August 2014, to which he dedicated his entire performance to his 6 family members lost in the

house fire disaster on 24 August 2011, the three-year anniversary of their deaths. Exodus was six when they perished. Exodus debuted in

at the Lyric Theatre at

QPAC The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (also known as QPAC) is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it includes the Lyric Thea ...

South Bank, Queensland South Bank is a cultural, social, educational and recreational precinct in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The precinct is located in the suburb of South Brisbane, on the southern bank of the Brisbane River. History The South Bank area was ...

on Sunday 24 September 2014. Exodus was the only selection from

to open the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Tour in early 2015. He debuted in

on the Regent Theatre stage on 14 February 2015. Exodus debuted in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

on the Crown Theatre stage on 30 January 2016. Exodus is the youngest Simba to be cast worldwide for

's the '' Lion King Musical'' at the age of eight years old. Exodus was a finalist in the Junior Performing Arts Category of the Pacific Awards 2015 and won the top award at the Awards Ceremony in

in September 2015. He was also nominated for a Young Artist Award in the category for the Best Performance in Live Theatre Young Actor at the 37th Annual Gala Young Artist Awards on Sunday 13 March 2016 in

which he won. Exodus was a finalist in the

Young Achiever Awards 2016 where he also opened the event with a performance and won the People's Choice Award. In 2016, Exodus was recognised for his performing arts talent at the 2016 Samoa Independence Day Celebration in Brisbane. In July 2016, Exodus was successful in landing the role of Bruce Bogtrotter for the

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

touring cast of

Matilda the Musical ''Roald Dahl's Matilda'', also known simply as ''Matilda'' and ''Matilda the Musical'', is a musical with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a book by Dennis Kelly. It is based on the 1988 novel '' Matilda'' by Roald Dahl. The musical's narr ...

the

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

based on the novel of Road Dahl adapted by

Dennis Kelly Dennis Kelly is a British writer and producer. He has worked for theatre, television, and film. His play ''DNA'', published in 2007 and first performed in 2008, became a core set-text for GCSE in 2010 and has been studied by approximately 4 ...

with music and lyrics by

Tim Minchin Timothy David Minchin Order of Australia#Levels of membership, AM (born 7 October 1975) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter. Minchin has released six CDs, five DVDs, and live comedy shows that he ...

and commissioned by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. Exodus performed at the opening night in

at the

on Thursday 1 December 2016 which he received positive reviews for his performance. Exodus also performed at the opening night in

at the

Crown Perth Crown Perth (formerly Burswood Island Casino, Burswood Island Complex and Burswood Entertainment Complex) is a resort and casino located in Burswood, Western Australia, near the Swan River. The resort consists of a casino, a convention centre ...

on Friday 3 March 2017, also to positive critic reviews.

Other

Exodus' grandfather's (Sa'u Jeremiah Lale) younger brother also named Jeremiah Lale, was a survivor of one of the worst house fires in Queensland. Exodus lost his Aunty Jeanette and five cousins – Lale, Lini, Lafoai, Leitioa and Ritchie, who perished in a house fire on 24 August 2011. Soccer star

Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "hi ...

donated his match fees to Jeremiah Lale to assist with the loss of his wife and children. In September 2011, Lale modeled for Fadez Mens Barbershop, for an article in the ''Queensland Times''. Exodus' aunt Viva Lale is also a singer. She auditioned for the '' Voice Australia'' in 2013. Viva accompanied Exodus for a church performance in 2013. Exodus was featured in the Samoa Times on 27 October 2014. Exodus was featured in the 12 November 2014 issue of Multiculturalism Matters for the Presbytery of South Moreton for the Uniting Church Australia. Exodus attended the Gold Coast Film Festival in April 2016. Exodus was invited to perform for the Association of South Pacific Airlines Conference at the

Showcase of Lights Dinner that was hosted by

Airport Corporation and Aviation Australia in December 2015. Exodus' win at the 37th Annual Gala Young Artist Awards was discussed on Backstage on 14 March 2016. Exodus was featured in the Courier Mail on 16 March 2016. Exodus was invited to perform at the South Pacific Tourism Exchange 2016 at Sea World in Gold Coast in May 2016. Exodus was featured in the May 2016 issue of the Brisbane Families Magazine. Exodus was featured in the 30 May 2016 issue of the Samoan Observer. Exodus was featured in the June 2016 issue number 190 of Mania Magazine, an Australian entertainment magazine for children. Exodus was featured in the July 2016 issue of Journey Magazine for the Uniting Church Australia. Exodus was invited to perform at the 2016 Logan Raw Conference. Exodus performed at the 2016 Pacific Unity Festival promoting multiculturalism and celebrating the Pacific Islands.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lale, Exodus 2005 births Living people Male actors from Brisbane Australian male child actors Australian people of Samoan descent 21st-century Australian male actors