Rising star Kedar Williams-Stirling is lucky to have a mother who noticed and nurtured his talent. ‘After seeing me act in a play she said I was good and asked if I wanted to pursue acting further. I did, so she got me an audition for Sylvia Young [stage school] and I got in.’
It was a good start, and one of Kedar’s first roles was as Simba in The Lion King. Now the lion cub has grown up and recently gave a stand-out performance as the fearless Junior who seeks to avenge the death of his brother in Shank. Despite this being Kedar’s first feature film, the hottest new actor on the block tells us, ‘It’s just the beginning.’
The talented teen admits that the role didn’t fall into his lap. ‘I was really nervous at the beginning [of the audition process]. There were other boys auditioning and I knew they were good so I wasn’t sure I’d get the part.’ But Kedar’s killer acting ability shone through. ‘Working with the cast and crew was fun. It was like a huge family and I still talk to them all, all the time.’
Now he has gone from the streets of 2015 London in Shank to playing a child soldier in a play produced by Richard Eyre at the National Theatre. ‘It’s a world away from my life. I did research about it and saw pictures from people in Liberia. I appreciate my life a lot more after learning about what they go through.’
[…] by my youth, not necessarily lived by me, but certainly inspired by real events. Nathan (played by Kedar Williams- Stirling) is who I was when I was 16, in love with the popular girl not quite knowing what to say to get her […]