A famous Darwin crocodile named Smaug is set to hit the big screen next month as the star of a film loosely based on actual crocodile attacks that have taken place in the Northern Territory.
The 5-metre monster is no stranger to the screen – having starred in more than 100 documentaries and films over his 60 years on the planet.
Smaug also has his own Facebook page, and has so far clocked up around 2,000 followers.
His latest movie, Black Water: Abyss, is a thriller about four friends on a caving trip who get trapped underground during a fierce storm and encounter something even more terrifying – a ferocious crocodile played by the one and only, Smaug.
Smaug’s owner Adam Britton, told The West Australian that Smaug got his big break on David Attenborough’s Life in Cold Blood series more than a decade ago.
“He’s becoming quite the star now, I should probably start putting a few extra dollars on his appearance fee or at least ask for a couple of chooks on his celebrity rider,” Mr Britton said.
“He’s so used to film crews now, and we’ve trained him to respond in certain ways to certain signals to reproduce certain behaviours which are natural.”
On his Facebook page, Smaug’s PR team sadistically announced: “Smaug’s next big meaty role is nearly here. Black Water: Abyss, the sequel to that crocodile movie where these silly people got stuck up a tree (Smaug had a brief cameo appearance), this time a different silly group of people get stuck in a cave! And Smaug’s character is hungry…”
The film also stars two other – less hungry – Aussie actors, Jessica McNamee and Luke Mitchell, and is due for release on 23 September.
