Ex-South Philly kid, 10, enjoys starring in Super Bowl ad
Jaeden Lieberher is a South Philly kid at heart, but lately, he's gone Hollywood. He has a starring role in a Super Bowl ad, playing a kid who uses a Hyundai Santa Fe to recruit a team to beat the neighborhood bullies at football.
Jaeden Lieberher is a South Philly kid at heart, but lately, he's gone Hollywood.
He has a starring role in a Super Bowl ad, playing a kid who uses a Hyundai Santa Fe to recruit a team to beat the neighborhood bullies at football.
"It was a really fun commercial to film," Jaeden, 10, said from his home in Los Angeles, where he moved two years ago, after his father began operating a food truck there.
In the spot, a bully pushes Jaeden off the football field and tells him to come back when he has a team.
In the next scene, a woman drives him around in a Santa Fe as he picks up friends who can help him tackle the bullies. Each friend is something of a superkid. One rescues a man from a burning building before jumping into the vehicle with Jaeden, and another is shown at a welding job.
Automaker Hyundai believes the ad sends the message that the Santa Fe can accommodate multiple passengers and help those who drive one get important work done.
Jaeden has appeared in other ads and has a role in the forthcoming movie A Many Splintered Thing.
He was a student at Independence Charter School when he lived in Philadelphia and played baseball with the Monarchs, a South Philadelphia team.
Jaeden aims to make his living as a director and enjoys shooting video with his iPad.
He plans to watch the ad, which he expects to be televised in the first quarter, with friends and family.
Jaeden has not forgotten Philadelphia, said his mother, Angie Martell.
"I would say the only thing he ever gets emotional about is missing Philadelphia," Martell said. "He still wears his Phillies hat every day and represents the Eagles and all the Philly teams."