They stole the show at Christmas in the popular John Lewis adverts, and this was only the beginning for these talented youngsters
FOR many people, one of the highlights of Christmas is the John Lewis advert.
Often the heartwarming mini movies have kids stealing the show, but have you ever wondered what the young stars are up to nowadays?
Here, Fabulous Online tracks down some of the John Lewis youngsters to see how starring in the adverts impacted their lives…
He broke hearts as the cute, little boy on the John Lewis advert who was more excited to give Christmas presents to his family than get them himself.
But now Lewis McGowan, who starred on the 2011 The Long Wait advert, has grown up and looks completely unrecognisable.
When Lewis starred as the restless boy who was counting down the hours to Christmas day, he was just seven years old.
Now, the adorable schoolboy has branched out into the world of big screen acting, starring in a massive blockbuster movie last year alongside Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp.
Lewis played a 12-year-old version of Henry Turner, the son of Bloom’s swashbuckler Will, in Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge and this year starred in the TV series The Alienist.
He also had a role in Doctor Who last year. We have a feeling this is only the beginning for this young actor.
Schoolboy Rhys Edwards could not believe his luck when he won the lead role in one of the most famous John Lewis telly ads.
He played Sam, a young lad who makes friends with a tiny penguin called Monty.
The inseparable pair play Lego together and have fun in the park.
But with Tom Odell’s cover of John Lennon song Real Love playing over the top, it soon becomes clear that Monty is lonely for a female companion.
Rhys ended up clashing with his dad Gareth, railway engineer, and mum Lucie, who runs a cleaning business, over whether he could spend his £2,500 wages on Christmas presents such as the brand new £369 drone he was craving.
Mum-of-two Lucie, from Welwyn, Herts, said: “We had to be strict about that. All the money is in the bank for when he’s older."
Being the lonely man on the moon has helped elderly Frenchman Jean Masini to become a huge star in his native country.Starring alongside Jean was the adorable Orli Star Knill-Goldstein.
She previously starred on the big screen in Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children.
Orli may not be the star but she did get to visit director Tim Burton at his London home.
Speaking at the family’s flat in Hornsey, North London, her dad Trevor Goldstein, said: “The advert did get her in a position where she got some big auditions – massive stuff.”
Orli’s mother Natalie Knill, is a drama teacher, while Trevor is an actor and ex-stripper with the Dreamboys troupe.
Asked whether Orli enjoyed the ad, her dad said: “She loved it. She has never been fazed by the attention. Kids at her school would come up and say, ‘Were you in the advert?’ and she would say, ‘Yes’, and walk off.
“She doesn’t watch the ad. She loves the filming and that’s it. She doesn’t seem to have any interest in becoming famous.”
Last year’s offering saw a boy called Joe struggling to sleep due to his pal Moz, the monster under his bed.
The big Christmas role was given to not one but two boys, twins Ethan and Tobias who were seven at the time.
The advert was their first on-screen project, but if any of the other youngsters are to go by, this could just be the start of their acting careers.
Just one of the twins auditioned for the role, but when the production team heard he had an identical twin, both were brought on board.
Watch this space to see what they do next…
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