This article about Breaking Dawn actor Amadou Ly is about a year old, so it doesn’t mention anything about his involvement with The Twilight Saga, but it’s an amazing story, and makes his casting in the series that much more exciting!

Three years ago, Amadou Ly was a shy East Harlem high school student with a secret. He quickly became front-page news when his robotics team unexpectedly won a spot in the national finals in Atlanta, but he could not board a plane because he lacked government identification.

Born in Senegal, Amadou had been abandoned in New York at 14 by his mother, who wanted him to try to finish an American education. At 18, he was facing deportation as an illegal immigrant, with no way to attend the college where he had been admitted.

Read the whole story about how Amadou managed to remain in the US and how he got into acting here.

This story reminds me that with all the added cast, there is so much to learn about the actors involved in the saga. What a great story!

Read more at NY Times. Via Twilight Examiner.