Jack Irvine has just experienced the ultimate whirlwind week.

The 13-year-old Vancouver actor — and huge Breaking Bad fan — auditioned for a role in the Fox murder mystery series Gracepoint on Tuesday and was offered the part three hours later.

He flew to Victoria on Wednesday evening and by Thursday morning, he was acting on set with Anna Gunn, who won an Emmy Award last year for her portrayal of the troubled Skyler White on Breaking Bad.

“It almost felt surreal because Breaking Bad is my favourite show right now,” Irvine said in an interview Friday. “She’s really nice and kind, like everyone on the show. They all seem happy to be there.”

Irvine has been cast as Tom Miller, the young son of Detective Ellie Miller (Gunn) and Joe Miller, played by Josh Hamilton.

The plot revolves around the mysterious death of a young boy in the seaside town of Gracepoint and is based on the original U.K. series Broadchurch. In that series, Tom was the best friend of the murder victim and a troubled kid with a secret to hide.

The strong cast also includes David Tennant, who’s reprising his Broadchurch role as the lead investigator in the apparent murder, and veteran American actor Nick Nolte.

Irvine’s mother, Donna, said the four-foot-nine, 90-pound student at St. George’s School almost fell into acting by accident because he’s a normal kid whose first love is sports. He plays for the Arbutus Club’s rep pee-wee hockey team and also enjoys rugby, basketball and soccer.

“He was identified early on as being great for commercials because of his blond hair and blue eyes,” she said.

Irvine parlayed his commercial work — including ads for Hot Wheels and Kia cars — into some non-speaking roles in two TV series, The Killing and Psych. He also appeared in a music video for rapper Madchild, playing a nervous kid making his way through a house of horrors.

Irvine’s breakthrough role in Gracepoint came after two failed attempts to audition for the part in December. A death in the family forced him to cancel one audition and he got sick the second time.

His agent, Nigel Mikoski, said Gracepoint’s producers had cast him previously in The Killing so they knew what he could bring to the role.

“He has big blue eyes and blond hair and is very handsome for a young man but very unique looking as well,” he said. “He’s a natural actor who really understands the process and doesn’t take it too seriously.”

bconstantineau@vancouversun.com