‘Perks’ star to trek to Arctic with Greenpeace

MANILA, Philippines – “Perks of Being a Wallflower” star Ezra Miller plays the carefree Patrick, who is bullied and nicknamed “Nothing” by his peers, yet his recent project proves that he is anything but.

The 20-year-old actor, musician and activist is set to go on an expedition to the North Pole in early April to plant a “flag for the future,” which represents humanity’s fight to protect the Arctic and reverse climate change.

The special flag, designed by children and hand-picked by designer Vivienne Westwood, will be lowered to the seabed, miles below the surface. Attached is a pod made of titanium and glass containing over 2.7 million names of supporters, with musical acts Jack White and One Direction, and actress Cameron Diaz, among them.

According to Greenpeace International, the mission is to “create a sanctuary in the uninhabited area around the North Pole, which is melting rapidly. The pod will rest on the seabed for decades to come as a symbol of global unity and peace.”

Watch Ezra Miller train for the trek here:

In preparation for camping out in temperatures as low as 31°F and for skiing for up to 8 hours a day, Miller completed a training course in Motereal, Canada. There he was made to drag over 170 pounds of equipment and taught to melt snow for cooking freeze-dried food, all in order to test his endurance.

“Even after months of training I’m still pretty terrified about skiing across the frozen Arctic Ocean. But I feel really honored to have been asked to take part along with these amazing young people, and it’s a story that I will tell to my grandchildren once we’ve won this huge fight against climate change,” says Miller.

Miller will be joined by 3 other advocates: Renny Bijoux from the Seychelles, an island nation in danger of disappearing due to rising sea levels; Josefina Skerk from the indigenous Sami community in Sweden; and Kiera Kolson, a young Tso’Tine-Gwich’in woman from Denendeh, Canada.

Ezra the free spirit

Among Miller’s other advocacies is Save Pe’Sla campaign, a global effort to preserve one of the Great Sioux nations’ most sacred sites in South Dakota.

Truly a passionate mover, Miller also sings and plays the drums and keyboard for his band “Sons of an Illustrous Father.” In an interview with Advocate, he describes their sound as a “metallic variety of folk music” or “heavy meadow.” 

Aside from his well-received performance in “Perks of being a Wallflower,” critically-acclaimed film “We Need to Talk About Kevin” earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination for the British Independent Film Awards. In the works is his role as Leon in the film adaptation of Falubert’s “Madame Bovary.” – With reports from Ira Agting/Rappler.com