Xaver-Maria Brenner, born in 1999 in Johanniskirchen, auditioned for a role in Norbert Lechner's children's movie "Tom und Hacke", a loose adaptation of Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" in 2011. Albeit having no experience in acting whatsoever, high school student Brenner convinced director and producer Lechner and was cast in the titular role of Hacke, a shrewd little roamer.