‘Shy’ 11-year-old lands role in Oscar-tipped Hamnet

An 11-year-old whose parents enrolled him in drama classes to help him battle his shyness has landed a role in one of this year’s biggest films.

James Lintern was part of Stagecoach Performing Arts in Gloucester when staff suggested he send over some photos for the team behind the now Oscar-tipped Hamnet to take a look at.

The film, which recently won two Golden Globes, is an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s imagining of William Shakespeare’s marriage to Agnes and the impact the death of their son Hamnet has on them both.

James found himself cast as the son of Agnes’ friend Joan, who is one of Shakespeare’s students.

He even had two lines – both of them in Latin.

Speaking to BBC Points West, James said it was “really cool” seeing the workings of a film set and appearing alongside the likes of Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal and Emily Watson.

“It felt great because I had got a part in a film,” he said, adding he had made friends during the project.

James’ father Nathan said: “He was a shy boy when he was younger so we wanted to get him into a drama club to boost his confidence.

“Then about six months into that we got a phone call saying ‘bit random but can we have a photo of James’ – and before we knew it we were being asked to go to Elstree (studios in London).”

He added: “When we enrolled him into Stagecoach it was more about his development than ever imagining anything as wonderful as this.”

James said he was still shy but “not as much as I used to be”.

“We went to the wrap party, it was really fun because I got to meet up with all my friends and I got to see all the funny parts of the film instead of the serious parts – we had done some funny parts,” he added.

Hamnet is in cinemas now.