Jack Riley

Jack Christopher Peter Elliot Riley was born on 24th September 2006 and began dance lessons when he was three years old. He made his first professional appearance in 'Joseph and his Technicoloured Dreamcoat' on the Milton Keynes stage when he was five years old alongside his sister, Isabella; who had recently finished touring as Brigitta Von Trapp in the UK Tour of 'The Sound of Music'. He joined an agency when he was nine and auditioned as an urchin for 'Holmes and Watson'. The casting director, Lucinda Syson was so impressed by him that even when he lost out on the main urchin role to another boy, she immediately put him forward to play a tiny role in the film as one of the urchins selling newspapers, alongside Lilly Aspell (young Wonder Woman). He made his TV debut when he was picked to play the role of Eddie Pope in 'The Split' for the BBC as the son of Mathew Baynton and Tayna Franks, as his onscreen parents, and immediately followed this up with his film debut playing the young Christopher Tolkien in 'Tolkien', as the son of Nicholas Hoult and Lilly Collins, as his onscreen parents. After this he had the unenviable task of choosing between performing as Nigel Fleabottom in 'Matilda' in the West End of London, or as one of the young son's of Cillian Murphy in 'Grief is the Thing with Feathers' as he was offered a role in both productions at the same time. Though he wanted to play both roles, in the end he chose to play the part of Nigel in 'Matilda,' as his friends would be able to come and see him in it. Once he had finished in 'Matilda', at the age of 12, Jack was offered the role of Dill in the touring production of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' but sadly he never got to tour as the production was unexpectedly cut short when legal proceedings threatened the Regent's Park Theatre Company.