A talented 13-year-old actor from Stonehaven was thrilled to be asked to star alongside Gerard Butler in his new movie.
Conner Dickson had been acting for a year before landing his role in the upcoming blockbuster.
He had previously made his big-screen debut in the north-east based film, A Song for Gran, filmed at Marischal College.
His mum, Julie Dickson, decided to take a chance and contacted Gerard Butler directly through Instagram, who sent through a script, and from there, Conner was pencilled in for a role.
The original role fell through due to unforeseen circumstances, as Conner was unable to film on location in Iceland.
However, the youngster impressed Gerard Butler so much that he was personally invited to the Shinfield Studios in London for a supporting role.
The title of the movie, which is still being filmed is being kept under wraps according to Julie.
Conner Impressed during filming
In total, the family were down for five days, with two days filming several scenes at the studio.
Conner told The P&J: “At first, I was quite nervous, just being so far away from home, and I didn’t know what to expect, but it was really fun.
“Meeting Gerard Butler was so cool, just to see him there on set. I was in the scene and I could see him across the room. I was smiling and he looked back at me and he smiled and waved.
“As I was going to the bathroom, I walked past him and he grabbed me by the shoulder and said ‘Hi Conner, how’s it going mate? I remember you from the audition tapes.’ He was excited to have me down there.
“He just felt like a casual guy from Scotland, I felt really welcomed as I was one of the only Scottish people on the set and he is Scottish as well.”
Conner recalls first seeing Gerard Butler in the film 300 with his parents when he was younger becoming one of his favourite films.
Living in Stonehaven helped prepare him for the acting world
Speaking about his passion for acting, Conner would love to do more comedy films going forward, having been a long-time fan of Jim Carrey.
Julie Dickson says her son has “always been a little actor growing up” and was encouraged to direct him in the TV and film direction rather than musical theatre.
Conner says growing up in Stonehaven has given him a hunger to act in a role involving the sea.
He added: “For roles where I need to swim, living close to the coast is quite helpful as I’ve been taught to swim from a young age. I quite like swimming in the cold water.
“I’ve played a few sports so if I could land an active role that would be fun. If I had to do stunts for a role, I would like to dive off a cliff into water, that sounds cool.
“I do pier jumping a lot in Stonehaven, so diving off a cliff or over a car, I would be up for that.”
On the set of the new film, Conner says he has learnt to be patient as filming days take a long time and you are not always in every scene so patience is key.
Despite this, he said he would “easily do it again” and already has been shortlisted for a few roles in the future.
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