About a boy

By Exclusive by Simon Holden Friday February 20, 04:00 AM

Schoolboy star Thomas Sangster has had the kind of meteoric rise most adult actors can only dream of.

He is on first name terms with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and says Liam Neeson was a "lovely, down-to-earth" person.

Oh, and he's also worked with supermodel Claudia Schiffer. Not bad for a 13-year-old with no formal acting training. Now he has landed the lead role in new BBC children's drama Feather Boy.

Film fans will know Thomas from Love Actually. He played the lovelorn schoolboy who was helped by his widower dad (Neeson).

But there's one snag with being 13. He couldn't see the 15-rated film in the UK. He explains: "I was allowed to see the New York premiere but not the London one. I had to go to Planet Hollywood and eat there while the film was on. We all went up the red carpet and when everyone went in we went back out."

Being turned down for roles in Harry Potter was a hidden blessing for him. He auditioned for the parts of Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom. Instead he went on to bag the Love Actually part.

"Working on that was great because I got to work with so many famous people and it was a feature film. Liam was the main guy I got to work with, amazingly nice and friendly. But also Emma Thompson was so nice."

Hobnobbing with some of the world's top names, such as Claudia Schiffer, has its perks for Thomas.

"Claudia introduced me to Vanilla Coke," he recalls with a smile. "It was only on sale in America. She wasn't in Love Actually a lot but she was at the New York premiere and that's where I met her."

It's all a far cry from playground life. "When you experience a new film you forget about normal life. It takes a while to get back in the flow of school. It's a big adjustment," he says.

And the boy star's rise shows no sign of slowing. "I'm starting a film in April. It's Nanny McPhee. I don't know much about it. It has Colin Firth and Emma Thompson in it. I'm Colin Firth's son and he has seven children. It's a family feel-good film," he says.

In fact, he's landed seven lead roles in his short career so far. Not bad for someone who doesn't shine in school drama lessons.

"I'm not very good at drama at school. I don't know why. Maybe it's because drama and acting are kind of different. Drama is more stagey rather than acting in front of a camera. Everyone in the class expects me to be great, it's a little bit of pressure. They have got a bit blase with me doing the film," he says.

You would imagine drama school would be Thomas's natural choice. Will he bother going? "I don't know. Probably not. It seems I have the knack for acting because people keep employing me. I don't think I'll go. I sort of see how things come and see what pops up," he says.

Feather Boy begins on March 16 on BBC1 and CBBC and will be repeated in May.

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