As a voiceover actor, Oliver Milchard has taken over the role of Percy in Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, and is currently recording further episodes. On stage, Oliver made his professional theatre debut playing Alfie in Nativity! The Musical at the Birmingham Rep and was directed by Debbie Isitt, and he has performed in numerous projects with Regency Performing Arts including School of Rock and Matilda Jr. Oliver chatted to us about voicing Percy in Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, what it was like taking over the role and playing Alfie in Nativity! The Musical at the Birmingham Rep.

How did you feel finding out you’d be taking over the role of Percy in the animated series Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go?

I felt really excited and amazed when I found out I was going to be Percy. We were on holiday at the time when I found out and I couldn’t wait to come home and get started.

How has it been joining the Thomas & Friends franchise and how did you prepare for the role?

It’s been a wonderful experience joining the Thomas & Friends team, everyone has been really supportive with me and I have learnt so much from everybody already.

To prepare for the role, I had to find and sustain my Percy voice. I managed to do this in my first session and then I had to work really hard to remember exactly what the Percy voice sounded like and I couldn’t let me voice go too low as Percy sounds quite young. All the engineers are so great to work with and they really help me.

What are you enjoying most about voicing Percy so far and how is it getting into character?

I love doing the songs and Percy gets to sing quite a lot of songs. All the songs are really upbeat and fun and I love singing them. I also love watching the episodes when they come out and seeing how all the characters interact with each other as we all record the voices individually. I find it quite easy to get into character now as I go most weeks and it’s become part of my routine.

What does a typical day in the recording studio look like for Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go?

I generally go to the recording studio once a week and do a two-hour recording session. They are really fun and the time flies by. We work with one engineer each session who will let me know what we need to record.

As a stage actor, you played Alfie in Nativity! The Musical at the Birmingham Rep, how did you find the experience working on the show?

Working on Nativity! was the best experience ever. I made a lot of new friends and the show was so much fun to be in. I learnt so much from being in Nativity!, we would sometimes do two shows a day and I did a total of 36 shows. I didn’t want it to end!

How was it making your professional theatre debut with Nativity! The Musical and being directed by Debbie Isitt?

I was over the moon when I found out I was going to be in Nativity! and was very proud of myself for getting in the show as lots of children had auditioned. I was lucky enough to perform in the press night and it was a dream come true!

Debbie Isitt was the best director, she was really kind to us all and I learnt so much from working with her. She was very supportive and always came to watch us. She also gave us the best wrap party!

How different do you find performing on stage opposed to voiceover and on-screen acting?

They are all so different and I do love doing them all. If I had to pick a favourite it would be theatre as I love performing to a live audience.

I find it less pressure with screen acting and voiceover as with theatre the audience are right there so you can’t make any mistakes.

Can you tell us about your training?

I started at Stagecoach Thanet when I was just three years old. I then started Regency Performing Arts when I was five years old. I still attend both now and do weekly classes in musical theatre, street dance and jazz. I also have weekly singing lessons with Kelly Richardson and I do LAMDA acting lessons with Kim Bourne. I really enjoy all of my classes and have some amazing teachers.

You have performed in many shows with Regency Performing Arts Academy including High School Musical as Zeke, School of Rock as Lawrence and Matilda Jr. as Bruce, what were these like to do?

I love being in Recency Production shows, they are really professional shows and they work us really hard. I loved being Bruce in Matilda, he was so much fun to play.

I also really enjoyed playing Lawrence in School of Rock, I had to have an American accent for this role and we all had so much fun rocking out on stage! I would love to do both these shows professionally so I could do them again.

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

A lot of my family are in the industry so I grew up with listening to musicals. I had a love for musicals from a young age and as soon as my parents put me in performing arts classes, I always really enjoyed them.

What are some of your favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch?

I love watching The Hunger Games movies, Young Sheldon and Avatar: The Last Airbender. My favourite shows are Les Misérables, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical and School of Rock.

How do you like to spend your free time?

When I’m not performing I love spending time with my friends, playing on my computer and swimming.

Have you been given any advice over your time as an actor so far that has stuck with you?

Just to never give up and not to let rejection get to me if I was unsuccessful at auditions.

Do you have any projects coming up that you can tell us about and what are you hoping the next few months bring for you?

I have just started recording Season 28 of Thomas & Friends so that is keeping me busy for now. I have also recently auditioned for a couple of feature films which I would love to do.

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