Lenny Rush, who is only 13 years old, is receiving raving reviews that other performers can only hope for. According to one critic, he “fearlessly” steals the show in Children in Need, while another praises him as “phenomenal” in Daisy May Cooper’s dark comedy, Am I Being Unreasonable?
In the week before it returns to television, his most recent program, the Dickensian drama Dodger on CBBC, starring Christopher Eccleston as Fagin, has just won a Bafta.
It comes as no surprise that he does well while discussing his five-year career.
After a day at school, he is intelligent and articulate while lounging on a sofa at his Essex home. He is also amusing.
Although his mother Lisa is sitting close by, he feels comfortable conducting interviews alone.
He claims,
“Acting can occasionally be seen as glamorous. But despite the effort required, I enjoy what I do. So much pleasure.”
Lenny began taking acting classes at the Pauline Quirke Academy in his community, and an agent soon signed him up.
However, he was already accustomed to being in front of the camera after appearing in the 2017 CBeebies documentary Our Family, which provides glimpses into family life.
Lenny Rush, his younger brother Bobby, and their parents can be seen in one scene prepping the veggies for a roast supper.
Lenny’s early comedy talent is immediately obvious as he transforms himself into a blushing bride while holding his green bouquet with a stick of broccoli.
Along with parts in the BBC children’s programs Apple Tree House and The Dumping Ground, Lenny went on to play Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol twice: once on stage for the Old Vic and once for BBC One.
Am I Being Unreasonable? on BBC One. He portrays Ollie Cooper, Daisy May Cooper’s frequently irritated son. The young actor will have to deal with some quite adult themes in this part.
“What I particularly liked about the series is that at one time, we feel sad for every single character,” Lenny explains, mentioning how he especially picked up on occasions when Ollie was “weak.”
Lenny Rush, who has the comedic talent and emotional range of an actor twice his age, and Cooper have such an excellent on-screen rapport, Lucy Mangan of The Guardian observed.
Without a doubt, he has abilities and maturity well above that of many kids his age, and he can communicate in significant depth with just a look or a statement.
Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenital (SEDC), a rare disorder that causes skeletal abnormalities, a cleft palate, and small stature, is his impairment.
Could he have used this to get more life experience for his acting?
“It pains me to say this, but I believe that occasionally, despite having a disability, people fail to see that it is a DIS-ability. And I sincerely don’t believe it is.”
Instead, he highlights the positives, stating:
“They were seeking for kids with disabilities, much as when I played Tiny Tim.
“I couldn’t have done it without my impairment, so that’s why. There are, in my opinion, more advantages than disadvantages.”
His infirmity hasn’t been a major plot point in some of his more recent performances, like Ollie and Morgan.
Even though Ollie did not have a disability according to the character’s description on the page, Lenny’s agent offered him the role.
The writers hardly altered a word when he was cast in the role. Even though he uses a Segway to get around, his disability is treated as a normal part of family life.
In his sequences with Cooper, Lenny also had the opportunity to try out improvisation for the first time.
He acknowledges that working without a screenplay in front of the cast and crew made him “extremely apprehensive,” but his co-star served as his safety net.
I was confident that she would always support me if there were any moments when I was at a loss for words.
He is especially happy about Ollie’s birthday, a hilarious moment that received an astonishing 820,000 likes on the BBC’s TikTok account.
Ollie’s nan gave him Duplo, which is more appropriate for a toddler, and a genuinely awful birthday cake hat he must wear. The next step is for him to appear to like his gifts while talking to her on the phone.
He picks up the phone, claims the line is breaking up, rustles a few pieces of wrapping paper, and then hangs up to end the call.
Lenny Rush responds with a smile, “That part was my idea.
He adds that it’s “refreshing” that this role doesn’t center on his impairment: “It’s okay even if people are aware that I have a disability.
“Because you have your disability and are different, people remember you,” my mother always says.
How does he feel about maybe serving as a role model for other kids?
It’s a privilege, he says. “I think it gives children hope that it will be all right, you know, to see another person with the same problem as them on the television,” the speaker said.
Warwick Davis, whose acting accomplishments include the Star Wars films, Harry Potter, and Willow, has served as an inspiration for him.
After Lenny collaborated with Davis’s daughter, Annabelle, on The Dumping Ground, the two—who share SEDC—met.
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