The Jungle Book finds its Mowgli with 10-year-old Neel Sethi cast

NEEL Sethi has never acted but Disney says the 10-year-old is perfect to play Mowgli in its live-action and animation version of The Jungle Book.

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DISNEY has announced that 10-year-old New Yorker, Neel Sethi, will portray Mowgli in the hotly anticipated live-action and animation portrayal of The Jungle Book.

Remarkably, Sethi, who’ll take on one of Disney’s most iconic characters, has never acted before.

“After an extensive worldwide search ranging from New York to New Zealand, London to Canada, and all throughout the United States and India, The Walt Disney Studios is pleased to announce that 10-year-old Neel Sethi will play the part of Mowgli in Disney’s The Jungle Book,” Disney said in a statement to Us Weekly. “Neel is a newcomer from New York picked from among thousands of auditions, and his role in The Jungle Book marks his first foray into acting.”

Remember this ... Kaa, who will be voiced by Scarlett Johansson, tries to influence Mowgli.

Disney, however, isn’t worried about the youngster’s lack of experience.

“Casting is the most important element of any film and finding the right kid to play Mowgli was imperative,” director Jon Favreau said, adding, “Neel has tremendous talent and charisma. There is a lot riding on his little shoulders and I’m confident he can handle it.”

Casting director Sarah Finn added that the 10-year-old “embodies the heart, humour and daring of the character … he’s warm and accessible, yet also has an intelligence well beyond his years and impressed us all with his ability to hold his own in any situation. Even though he has no professional acting experience, his natural charisma and instincts jumped out at us.”

Bare necessities ... Baloo the bear with character Mowgli.

Making Sethi’s casting even more remarkable is the fact that he’ll also be the only actor on screen, with the rest of the film being a combination of live action and animation.

He will have some voice of experience around him though with Scarlett Johansson voicing the snake Kaa, Lupita Nyong’o voicing Raksha the mother wolf, Ben Kingsley voicing the panther Bagheera, and Idris Elba voicing the tiger Shere Khan.

The film will hit cinemas in late 2015.

Originally published as The Jungle Book finds its Mowgli with 10-year-old Neel Sethi cast