While most schoolboys are thinking of playing football, this lad is carving a career in acting.
At just 12-years-old Jake Lawson has rubbed shoulders with famous TV stars and his latest role was an appearance on the BBC series Doctors this Friday at 1.45pm.
Jake, of Cramlington, Northumberland, is no stranger to TV roles as he was cast as Charlie Cotton opposite Joanne Froggatt in ITV’s Dark Angel.
The hit drama told the story of County Durham serial killer Mary Ann Cotton, who may have killed as many as 21 victims, with the two part series being filmed heavily in the North East.
The Cramlington Learning Village pupil has also played a role in McDonald’s Happy Dance commercial, as well as a Geordie kid in BBC Radio 4’s drama Home Front.
More recently he’s featured a lead in BBC’s Casualty playing Ade Terrent, where he starred in an exciting car stunt sequence.
And it was here he impressed casting bosses who instantly picked him to play Riley Barratt in series 20 of Doctors, in the latest episode entitled Parklife.
Jake took part in a four day shoot in Birmingham as he played Riley who lives with his mum Lea.
And he showed how versatile his acting capabilities are when he played a bright but sensitive lad who lives on the breadline with his mum, often eating from foodbanks. He is too trusting and in this episode Riley falls into bad company.
Jake said: “I love acting so much. I love pretending to be a different person and playing different characters. I also get to meet really nice people.
“It makes me feel great, being in front of the camera is so much fun.
“I feel like I am really lucky to do the things I do and meet the people I have met. I hope I can do more.
“I would love to be an actor when I am older. Hollywood would be amazing. This would be my dream job.”
Jake started acting aged just five when he joined his older sister Hollie, now 13, at the Michaela Percival School of Dancing in Cramlington. At eight-years-old he moved to Stars Academy Dance and Stage School, in Backworth, North Tyneside, and he is loving every minute of it.
Now parents Mark, 47, and Claire, 44, are proud as punch of him.
Policeman Mark said: “Of course we are really proud of him. His first role was playing Charlie Cotton in Dark Angel and he loved it. He went straight in at the top and he’s been getting cast in something every year since.
“When he was little he was quite shy and he wanted to join drama school because his sister was there. It has really brought him out of his shell and he really enjoys it, you can’t pull him away now.”
Jake’s older sister Hollie, is also creative and dances in regional professional pantos. This year she will appear in Aladdin at Tyne Theatre and Opera House.
Jake is on the casting books of Peanuts Talent who represent and train youngsters for TV, film and theatre.
Peanut Talent Creative Director, Kathryn Ackley, said: “We first met Jake in a workshop at a local stage school in Cramlington and his first professional job was being cast as Charlie Cotton in ITV Dark Angel.
“Jake didn’t audition for the role of Riley in Doctors as he previously played a featured lead, Ade Terrent, in BBC's Casualty.
“He is an extremely talented young actor who shows great empathy and understanding for all the characters he portrays.
“Jake is an incredibly well liked and valued member of the Peanuts Talent community and we are all thrilled at his continued success. His achievements are the accumulation of a positive mindset, a willingness to learn and, most importantly, his passion for the craft of acting.”
Mark added: “Peanuts have been instrumental in Jake’s development and this is where he got all of his roles. Kathryn has been brilliant with Jake since he joined Peanuts when he was seven.”
