A rising star with strong ties to Newfoundland and Labrador has landed one of the most iconic roles in video game history.

Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, best known as the lead actor in the hit TV series Son of a Critch, has been officially cast as Link in the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie from Nintendo and Sony Pictures. Ainsworth plays a young Mark Critch in the hit series which is filmed in St. John’s and based on Critch’s memoir and his family’s ties to VOCM in the 1980s and ’90s.

Directed by Wes Ball (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), the movie is in pre-production with a release expected in 2027.