Austin Haynes has two projects releasing in the next couple of months – The Boys in the Boat, in which he plays Joe’s Grandson and was directed by George Clooney, with Austin learning to row for his role with the Olympic rowing team coaches, and he will be appearing in Jackdaw alongside a cast including Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and for this role, he is directed by Jamie Childs. Earlier this year, Austin played Ryan in the comedy series The Power of Parker, and in last year’s release of The Railway Children Return, Austin starred as Thomas, with Jenny Agutter reprising her role as Bobbie (his gran), Sheridan Smith as his mother and Sir Tom Courtenay as his uncle, and he reunited with the cast when he attended the premieres in Yorkshire and London. In the short film The Pure and the Damned, Austin plays Young Isaac, and he played Teenage Daniel F Harris in Somewhere Boy, and amongst his recent projects, he played Andrew Simmonds in All Creatures Great and Small alongside Samuel West and Callum Woodhouse. Further screen appearances for Austin have included Dodger, Andy and the Band, Ted’s Top Ten, Iniquity and The A Word (which was his first cast role). Currently, Austin is preparing for his GCSEs and applying for college, and he has written a few short film scripts, and in November 2022, he was awarded Yorkshire’s Young Achiever of the Year for Contribution to the Arts. Catching up with Austin, we found out about filming for Jackdaw and The Boys in the Boat, starring as Thomas in The Railway Children Return and his time as Ryan in The Power of Parker.

What can you tell us about the new feature film Jackdaw and your character, and what was it like to work on?

Jackdaw was an amazing opportunity to land for me as it’s the first real ‘action’ film I have been in, so I was thrilled when Jamie Childs (director) offered me the role… and I also got to showcase a Geordie accent! My scenes were filmed late at night and featured lots of stunts and motorbikes, which was really cool to watch! I got to meet Jenna Coleman, Joe Blakemore, Thomas Turgoose and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who plays the lead, Jack. They were all so welcoming and I had such a great time on set! I am really excited to see this movie hit cinemas in January!

It’s been announced that you will be playing Joe’s Grandson in The Boys in the Boat, how was your time filming this project and what was it like being directed by George Clooney?

I was so shocked when I learnt I had landed the role of Joe’s Grandson. At the time, I didn’t know much about the 1936 Olympics, but I soon got familiar with the story and was so inspired by Joe Rantz and the rest of the team! It’s a really inspiring story!

Working with George Clooney was pretty surreal! I was a little nervous when I first met him, but I had no need to be, he’s such a nice guy, so down to earth and really funny! I actually spent about six weekends in the Cotswolds learning to row with the Olympic rowing team coaches before a week of filming! It was an amazing experience! All of the crew were ace to work with and the Cotswolds was a stunning place to film in.

What was it like playing Ryan in the TV comedy series The Power of Parker earlier this year?

Ryan was such a cool character to play! He is quite a gobby, naughty kid, so I had to insult Conleth Hill (Martin Parker) in a couple of scenes and be a bit cheeky! I also got to work with George Costigan for the second time after appearing in Gentleman Jack with him a few years ago, we had a lot of fun on set together and he made me laugh a lot during filming!

You starred as Thomas in last year’s release of The Railway Children Return, how would you describe your character and what was he like to play?

Thomas, at the time, had a lot of similarities to me. In fact, what was funny was that all of the child cast were pretty similar to the roles they played, in one way or another. Thomas is a typical Yorkshire-born lad like me, he likes being outdoors… It was amazing being able to film a feature in Yorkshire and visit all of the locations of the original The Railway Children film having been such a fan of the original. The staff at the KWVR looked after us so well during filming.

What was it like working alongside the rest of the cast and what are some of your favourite memories from being on set?

The cast were great fun! I was lucky enough to have some fantastic actors playing my family members. Jenny Agutter was my gran, Sheridan Smith played my mum, Sir Tom Courtenay played my uncle and John Bradley was my friend, so I had some cracking scenes with all of them and learnt so much!

How did you find the experience attending The Railway Children Return premiere?

We actually had two premieres, one in Yorkshire and one in London! They were both amazing! We also got to spend a day at The Savoy doing interviews and press junkets before visiting the British Film Institute to speak about the film on stage. It was an incredible experience and one I won’t forget in a hurry!

In the short film The Pure and the Damned, you play Young Isaac, can you tell us about this?

The Pure and the Damned is a film based on the life of Isaac and I played him in his teenage years. I can’t say too much about this film as it hasn’t been released publicly yet! But what I can say is that it was such a privilege being directed by Johnny Powell and working alongside Josef Altin, who plays my dad in the film. Watch this space on this one, as hopefully it will be released more widely soon.

How was it filming for Somewhere Boy as Teenage Daniel F Harris and what was it like getting into character?

Somewhere Boy is about a boy called Danny who has a pretty traumatic upbringing. I play Danny when he’s around 12-13 years old and he has been kept inside the house at this stage for his entire life, but in my scenes he’s just beginning to question this. I had to have all of my hair shaved off for this role to make sure all three of us that played the role of Danny across his life would look as similar as possible and that helped me get into character along with my costume. I also spent a lot of time chatting to the writer and director about the emotions in each scene, which really helped.

What was it like being involved with episodes of All Creatures Great and Small as Joseph in Series 1 and Andrew Simmonds in Series 2?

All Creatures Great and Small is one of my favourite shows, my brother Rocco and I have appeared in every series in smaller roles. When I landed the part of Andrew Simmonds, this was actually my third audition for a guest cast role and I think that’s important to mention because as an actor, if you really want something, you have to keep going at it and that was certainly what I did with All Creatures Great and Small. Landing this role was a dream come true. It’s another Yorkshire-based production, which is close to my heart, and, of course, I was able to work with Samuel West and Callum Woodhouse, who are both outstanding actors. I think my scenes really helped demonstrate the softer side of Samuel’s character Siegfried, which was great to be able to help get across. I also really loved working with animals on set, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such well-behaved animals!

What was it like filming for Dodger as George Minnow?

Dodger is such an amazing series with such a fun team behind it! I only have a small part in Dodger but I had to use a London Cockney accent for this one, so that was a lot of fun! It was also really fun to work in a specially-built studio.

Can you tell us about some of the other projects you’ve worked on over your career so far, which have included Andy and the Band, Ted’s Top Ten, Iniquity and The A Word?

Andy and the Band and Ted’s Top Ten are both CBBC shows. My love of guitar really helped with the audition for Andy and the Band as I had to play it in the show. It was great fun!

Ted’s Top Ten was also a really fun show to be a part of, I had to play a bully! Filming took place in Belfast and I spent most of my summer holidays going back and forth and staying in a really cool hotel, which was nice!

Iniquity was a short film I worked on in London. I got to play the younger version of Michael Shaw in flashback scenes, with the older version being played by Richard Crehan. This was another one where I had to have a funky short haircut!

The A Word was actually my first ever cast role. I spent time filming in the Lake District for a few weeks back in 2017 when I was eight.

What was it like winning Yorkshire’s Young Achiever of the Year for Contribution to the Arts?

I was so shocked to even be nominated for the Yorkshire’s Young Achievers Awards, let alone to actually win it! When I realised who some of the past winners were, it blew me away! I have learnt a lot about the Yorkshire’s Young Achievers charity since and I am so keen to support all of the great work they do!

Where does your love of acting come from and how did you get into it?

I find acting really helps build my confidence. I like learning about different characters and thinking about how I would play them. I also really like TV, film and cinematography. I spend a lot of time watching films and learning from them.

Do you have any favourite films and TV shows to watch?

Now that I am a little older, I have started watching things that are a little more grown up. I’m a big fan of (Leonardo) DiCaprio and (Robert) De Niro, so I enjoyed watching Killers of the Flower Moon recently. I also like anything with (Al) Pacino in!

How do you like to spend your free time?

I am a huge Leeds United fan, so I spend a lot of my time supporting them. I also love boxing and playing guitar, both of which I’ve done from a young age.

What are you hoping the next year brings for your career and do you have any projects coming up that you can tell us about?

At the moment, I am preparing for my GCSEs, so a lot of my focus is on that and completing applications for college. I’m hoping to have a long career in TV and film, so I am just exploring different paths. I’ve written several of my own short film scripts, which I am hoping to bring to life in the near future, in between acting and my hobbies!