Lord Wandsworth College student stars in new film alongside Tom Hanks & Robin Wright
12-year-old Lord Wandsworth College student, Albie Salter is making his big screen
debut in the release of Here which hits UK cinemas from this Friday (17 th January).
Albie plays the role of ‘Young Jimmy’ in the movie, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Paul Bettany.
Here is based on the 2014 graphic novel by Richard McGuire and tells the story of a single house and the people who have lived there over the course of generations.
The film was shot at Pinewood Studios and was released in the US at the beginning of November last year.
“It’s so incredible to see yourself on the big screen,” Albie admitted. “It’s almost unreal because you watch movies all the time and don’t imagine being in something like that.”
Whilst
Here is the first time that Albie has appeared in a feature film, he is no stranger to acting. He played the lead role of ‘Patch’ in 101 Dalmations – A New Musical at Regents Park Open Air Theatre in 2022, having made his professional stage debut there the year before in Carousel. “I also play the guitar and sing,” Albie revealed. “I’m working on a third album and I’m looking to do a headline show this year.”
One of Albie’s highlights whilst filming
Here included working with one of Hollywood’s best-loved actors. “Tom Hanks was just brilliant on set,” he revealed. “He improvised in nearly every scene and it was just mesmerising to watch. On the last day of filming, he said to me, ‘This won’t be the last thing we do together.’ He then said, ‘I’ll see you in the next one.’ They were all so nice.”
Digital de-ageing was used in the film, which sees Albie playing the brother of Richard Young (Tom Hanks) and the young son of ‘Al Young’ (Paul Bettany). He admits that one of his biggest scenes was alongside the female lead though.
“It’s just me and Robin (Wright). Her waters break and she tells me her baby’s coming. She tells me to call a taxi, then I run out, get some towels and start trying to make a phone call on one of those old-fashioned (rotary dial) telephones. I didn’t know how to use it. Everyone was laughing at me on-set and Tom showed me what to do….It was a very fun scene to film.”
Albie’s next project is appearing in the Lord Wandsworth College production of Bugsy Malone at the Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke next week (22nd and 23rd January).
January 2025