An angel faced little devil- Dean’s first role in The Rogue Stallion (1990)
When Anna Peterson, her mum and her little brother arrive in a little rural community in North Island, they are caught in a story of old rivalries and family grudges, with the Garretts, the local horse breeders.
Mr. Garrett had always been jealous of John Peterson, a labourer on their farm who was a real horse whisperer. When John’s widow and their two children arrive in New Zealand from Australia, he is determined to purchase their house and make them go away.
To please him, his two younger children, Ginny and Tony (played by Dean), bully Anna and her little brother: Tony beats the little kid, throws stones and mud at him, and also tells a lot of lies to his father (he says Anna has stolen their best horse).
After a series of adventures and a bad accident to little Mike, who falls into one of Mr. Garrett’s horse traps to catch the rogue stallion, Wildfire, the local community makes peace with the Petersons and welcomes them with open arms. We know nothing more about Tony and his sister, but hopefully they will follow their older brother Wayne’s example and become friends in the end.
So, Dean’s first role ever, in spite of his angel looks, is that of a nasty kid, ready to laugh and tease, a real bully. Quite unexpected, especially when you look at the screencaps, which say nothing about the plot, of course.
Behind a bad child, there is always a bad parent: it seems that Dean’s career started with something very different from who he was.
The challenge to play someone different from him... does it sound familiar? Yes, it does...