SUBMITTED BY Timbo

November 20, 2003 — Max Pirkus, who plays a boy who has to have his arm amputated in "Master and Commander", talked to an amputee to get background on his role.

Pirkus said the woman explained to him what it was like to lose an arm, so he was prepared for the role. In the movie, Pirkus strapped his arm to his side, wore a body suit over that and a stump on the end. He says he got used to having only one arm and by the end of the shoot, he says it was "really natural."

Pirkus acted in school plays before, but not in TV commercials or anything else. "It was completely out of the blue and I wasn't expecting anything like that," Pirkus told AP Radio. "It's good fun. A complete eye opener. Not everyone gets to see how a movie works and stuff."

Pirkus wants to focus on finishing school first and "then if something comes up that's really worth doing." "There's no point of working for the sake of it at the moment. It something comes up and it's really worth it, yes," Pirkus said.

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