Jack Thorne and David McKenna Accept the Wavelength Award for the ‘Little Old Irish Granny’ in All of Us

Chaos and darkness win out at the end of “Lord of the Flies,” but, while accepting IndieWire Honors‘ 2026 Wavelength Award, Netflix limited series creator Jack Thorne described the team that got to make the show as Team David — and that is a very good thing.

Thorne, director Marc Munden, and the entire team saw over 1000 potential young actors for the core roles in “Lord of the Flies” before they met David McKenna, who would be cast as Piggy (or Nicky to use his proper name, eventually given in the show). The reason the actor and the writer accepted the award, according to Thorne, is because McKenna completely redefined the team’s understanding of who Nicky was.

“ We met David, who didn’t see Nicky as a victim at all, but as a — to quote him — ‘little old Irish granny.’ As the optimistic hero who sees possibilities for better,” Thorne said. “David is remarkable. He can sing you a mean ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,’ he can make you laugh, and he can make you believe that joy is just around the corner. Who better to take you into a tragedy?”

McKenna’s performance is our entry point into the series, as he anchors the pilot episode where the entire young cast comes to grips with how lost they are, both physically and emotionally, without any other adults on the island on which they’ve been stranded. It would be a huge task for any actor. They need to get on the same wavelength as the show’s creators, of course, but in Thorne’s case, that process was completely natural and rooted in confidence in McKenna and the rest of the young cast.

“In truth, for me, it’s a ‘get out of the way and let the kids swing’ award. Marc Munden, our director, all the other remarkable cast, they’d all say the same thing, which is, ‘David McKenna rocks,'” Thorne said.

McKenna does indeed rock the lively, scolding spirit of an old Irish granny in moments where he can see what needs to be done; he swings between annoyance, dread, and great joy — Nicky is a big fan of Groucho Marx, and teaches choir boy Simon (Ike Talbut) “Hooray for Captain Spaulding” — but always with McKenna’s ability to invite the audience into Nicky’s thought process and his constant awareness of his own vulnerability.

It’s an awareness that’s been built, in part, from McKenna’s love for Thorne’s work. “ I grew up watching your film ‘Wonder,’ and the fact that I’m stood here with you saying those remarkable words is just a dream, so thank you,” McKenna said — while also proving to the room he can indeed do a mean “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” by singing a couple of bars.

But the young actor also stressed how much the making of “Lord of the Flies” was a team effort, thanking Thorne, Munden, executive producer Joel Wilson, his dad, and his agent, who were in attendance, as well as “all the cast who I just became brothers with while we filmed this,” McKenna said. He accepted the award on behalf of the entire cast’s collaboration with Thorne, Munden, and the “Lord of the Flies” team. “This is for everyone,” McKenna said.

You can watch McKenna’s and Thorne’s full speech in the video above.