Actor Redmand mixes with stars in Cats movie
Dame Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba and Sir Ian McKellen among cast in forthcoming fantasy film
FROM treading the boards as a young boy at the Kings Theatre in Southsea, Redmand Rance is now rubbing shoulders with the stars after landing a role in the new film Cats.
The 18-year-old from Portsmouth danced and sang alongside Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba and Ian McKellen in the CGI fantasy film based on the musical, which is due out in December this year.
Redmand said: ‘Being on set was truly amazing and the names I was surrounded by was surreal.
‘I was so grateful to get the opportunity to learn and absorb everything from such influential performers in the industry.’
The Performers College student clinched a role in the ensemble after being sent to an audition by his college agent.
He said: ‘The audition had so many rounds like tap, jazz and hip hop and a cut was made after each round. I really enjoyed the audition process and felt very at ease as the choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler was welcoming and seemed very fair.’
The film follows a tribe of cats at a fancy event where a geriatric cat named Old Deuteronomy chooses one cat to be reborn on the Heaviside Layer – a heaven-like place that all cats want to visit.
After receiving the call that he had made the cut, Redmand threw himself into a month of rehearsing alongside co-stars James Corden, Jennifer Hudson and Rebel Wilson before the team began filming at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Watford, where the Harry
Potter and Star Wars films were also filmed.
Redmand, who went to Ditcham Park School in Petersfield, said: ‘I am beyond excited to see the finished product this December and even more so after seeing the first trailer that was recently released.
‘To see five months of the work that we all put in, I think will be rewarding and satisfying.’ Redmand, who starred in
Billy Elliot in the West End when he was 12, is currently on tour with Hugh Jackman, singing and dancing in the Australian’s first world tour, The Man. The Music. The
Show. Speaking about the future, he added: ‘I would love to carry on performing in the West End and hopefully in more upcoming movies.’