Zelda Movie’s Link Actor Wasn’t Born When the Wii Launched, Was Only 4 for BOTW Reveal
Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, the British teenager cast as Link in Nintendo and Sony’s live-action Legend of Zelda movie, is young enough that he wasn’t even born when the original Wii console hit shelves. Ainsworth was born in September 2008, making him just 16 at the time of casting, and he was not alive when the Nintendo Wii was released. The gap becomes even starker when you line his age up against The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the 2017 open-world classic many expect the film to draw heavily from.
Four Years Old When Breath of the Wild Was First Revealed
Nintendo first showed the world Breath of the Wild back in January 2013, years before it eventually launched alongside the Switch in March 2017. Do the maths against Ainsworth’s birth date and the picture is striking: while some pointed out he was only five years old when Breath of the Wild was announced, it was actually January 2013 when the game was first revealed, meaning he was just four.
By the time Breath of the Wild actually released in 2017, Ainsworth would have been barely eight years old — an age gap that has fuelled plenty of online discussion since Nintendo confirmed him for the role of gaming’s most recognisable silent protagonist.
Miyamoto Announced the Casting Himself in July 2025
Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto broke the casting news personally rather than leaving it to a press release. Renegade Nell star Bo Bragason, 21, was cast as Princess Zelda, while Pinocchio’s Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, 16, would play the role of Link, with Miyamoto announcing the news on X saying he was “very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen.”
The pair beat out a long list of fan-favourite names floated online in the years since the project was first confirmed. Both actors were relative unknowns compared to the fan casting suggestions that had circulated for months beforehand.
A New Zealand Shoot Gives the Production a Local Home
For readers on this side of the world, the film’s production has a direct local tie: The Legend of Zelda movie has begun filming in New Zealand, putting Ainsworth, Bragason and the rest of the cast and crew to work on Kiwi soil for a Nintendo franchise with a genuinely global fanbase. Costume leaks from the shoot have already shown Bragason in an outfit reminiscent of Zelda’s blue garb from Breath of the Wild, feeding speculation about how closely the script leans on the 2017 game.
From Miles in Bly Manor to Hyrule’s Silent Hero
Before Hyrule, Ainsworth built his résumé on prestige television and family films. He was the voice of Pinocchio in Robert Zemeckis’ live-action “Pinocchio” and played Miles in the Netflix series “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” and he also stars in the Canadian comedy series “Son of a Critch” and appeared in an episode of Netflix’s “The Sandman.” None of those roles, however, come close to the scrutiny of stepping into Link’s boots for Nintendo’s first live-action Zelda outing.
Release Pushed to May 7, 2027
The film wasn’t always slated for its current date. The film was moved from its original March 2027 date “for production reasons,” Miyamoto said at the time. It’s now locked in for a May 7, 2027 theatrical release, with Wes Ball directing off the back of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
With filming underway in New Zealand and a director known for handling franchise-scale action, attention will only intensify on how a cast this young — and this removed from the Wii era — interprets one of gaming’s most enduring heroes for the big screen.
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