The Man in the Box is a screen adaptation of Thomas Moran's novel by the same name, set in August 1944 in a small village in the Austrian Tyrol.
John (represented by Independent Talent) plays 15 year old Niki, who's family, with some reluctance, take into hiding a Jewish doctor who saved the boy's life before the war. A member of Hitler Youth, Niki is appalled by the idea, his mother frightened, but his father insists. Combined with the growing attraction between him and an almost blind neighbour girl (Sigi), a relationship gradually evolves between the boy and Doctor Weiss, the 'man in the box', who helps to open his eyes, amid the ever-present dangers of discovery and exposure.
John Bell made his TV debut in 2007 when he played Creet in one episode of Doctor Who after he won the role in a Blue Peter competition. He appeared in his first film role in 2009 when he starred as young orphan Tomas in A Shine of Rainbows. . He joined the cast of Tracy Beaker Returns in 2009, and in July 2011 he was named by Screenterrier as one of the top 12 British Teenage Rising Stars.
He went on to star in Wrath of the Titans and the science fiction war film Battleship, before landing the role of Bain in the epic adventure fantasy film series The Hobbit.
18 year old Celine Buckens, who made her screen debut in Warhouse, plays Sigi. Other young Brits in the cast include 17 year old Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, 20 year old Charlie Manton, and 22 year old Ryan Watson.
The Man in the Box also stars Thomas Kretschmann, and Martina Gedeck, it is directed by Arsen A Ostojic, written by Dan & Nuria Wicksman, adapted from the novel by Thomas Moran.