One of Jeremy Irvine’s greatest acting dates was performing at his school, Bedford Modern, before 300 people. Now he’s on the big screen after landing the star role in a Spielberg blockbuster. Keeley Knowles finds out about his whirlwind journey and what made him blub during an audition . .
It’s easy to see why 21-year-old former Bedford Modern School student Jeremy Irvine has a smile on his face.
The movie in which he plays the lead - Steven Spielberg’s latest offering - was released on the big screen on Friday and he’s already been nominated for Young British Performer of the Year at the London Film Critics Award 2012.
As revealed by Bedfordshire on Sunday last June, Jeremy plays Albert Narracott in the film adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse, part of which was filmed at Luton Hoo.
And the youngster, who grew up in Gamlingay, took to the red carpet for the movie’s premiere in London last Sunday.
He told our reporter Sarah Cox: “I really do come from having no lines in a theatre show to this, so it’s completely mad and I’m still trying to take it all in.
“Just having lines is a privilege, to be in a movie is even better and to be in a Spielberg movie is kind of hard to relate to.” But according to his former teacher and director of Performance Art at the school in Manton Lane, Bedford, Helen Rees-Bidder, Jeremy has got to where he is because of ‘hard work’. In his final year at the school Jeremy, who attended BMS between 2000 and 2008, took the lead role in Romeo and Juliet before taking a six-month foundation course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Helen Rees-Bidder added: “Jeremy studied Film Studies, Art and Drama A Levels at BMS and was a real pleasure to work with.
“He has such energy and passion and was determined to make his own luck.
“It was when he played Romeo in his last year that I fully realised his talent.
“He was absolutely extraordinary and so committed.
“He made some incredibly brave decisions after leaving the school. Everyone normally says you need to have a plan B but he was the sort of person who didn’t.
“He knew what he wanted to do. We’re incredibly proud of him and it’s inspirational to all the other students as well.”
He was offered the chance to audition for War Horse after his agent got him on a Disney programme called Life Bites followed by a part as a tree in Dunsinane by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
His latest performance in War Horse, which has been nominated for Best Picture at the Golden Globes 2012, traces the story of Albert and his horse, Joey, who is sold to the army and sent to serve in the World War One trenches.
Despite being too young to serve in the army, Albert sets out on a moving journey to be reunited with Joey.
Jeremy said: “I remember doing my first audition and trying to convince them that I am this master horseman.
“It was a scene with a horse and the casting director, Gina Jay, is filming me.
“I'm doing this emotional scene - a speech directly to a horse - and I’m trying to get really into it.
“As soon as I’m about to get the tears up this horse stamps and, as anyone who has been around horses will know, they’re quite heavy.
“But there I was literally trying to convince them that I didn’t have a horse standing on my foot and the tears were real.” On working with the legendary Spielberg, Jeremy said: “I was terrified and rightly so. But I kind of had to stop myself thinking like that and I forced myself not to think about being on set with Steven Spielberg all the time.
“It helped having such a wonderful cast around me who would sit me down and tell me it’s ok, and Steven as well, he’s so paternal with me.
“I remember actor Tom [Hiddleston], who plays Captain Nicholls in the film, saying to me one day, when I was probably getting very freaked out: “It’s just a job like any other job. You turn up to work every day and you do the best job you can while you’re there and then you go home.” And it seems that War Horse has bounced Jeremy on to another level of acting - he’s just finished playing Pip in a film adaptation of Great Expectations which will be out later this year alongside Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter.
He’s also starring in the movie Now is Good with Dakota Fanning which is out in May and if that wasn’t enough his next project is The Railway Man with Colin Firth and Rachel Weiss.
But that might be more kangaroos than horses being set in Australia. So it seems that the very talented foal has a very bright future ahead of him . . .
KEELEY KNOWLES
