Mescalero's own Tonto:10-year-old cast as young Tonto in the Lone Ranger

Joseph, Depp & Lynelle

At the age of 10 and with no previous performing credits, Joseph Foy beat out 200 young actors who auditioned in Los Angeles and 79 in New Mexico for the role of young Tonto in the new Lone Ranger movie starring Johnny Depp. Meeting him last week, the choice wasn't difficult to understand. He exudes "a presence." He calmly walks up to adults, shakes their hands and declares it a pleasure to meet them. The fourth-grade Mescalero student is the picture perfect actor for the part. And now with one major, albeit nonspeaking, role to his credit, he's ready to try out for more movies. "He enjoys the attention," says his mother, Lynelle Foy, who was the first in the family to think her son might be right for acting and for the movie that was partly shot in New Mexico and is scheduled to open July 3, 2013. The filmmakers had previously planned to shoot some scenes in Silver City and a casting call seeking 300 to 500 extras was planned for August, but later canceled as shooting was moved elsewhere. "Back in August, we heard of a casting call in Mescalero down at the tribal office," said his father, Jimmy Foy, who works at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. "He had auditioned for a different movie (Cowboys and Aliens), and he wasn't called for that, but they kept him on file," Lynelle said. "They called us for this movie and asked to see Joseph." "We took him down there and it was like a 10-minute audition," Jimmy said. "The casting director, Elizabeth Gabel, turned around and said, "We want him.' and to bring him up to Albuquerque because the producer Jerry Bruckheimer wanted to meet him...more