A 15-year-old budding actor from Farnham will soon be hitting the red carpet after being nominated for a prestigious television award.
Oliver Savell plays a young version of Alan Carr in the comedian’s semi-autobiographical sitcom Changing Ends.
This week, Oliver found out he has been shortlisted for the Best Male Comedy Performance award at the Royal Television Society Awards.
Oliver said: “I had no idea I was being nominated for an award, I just got home from tutoring and mum said Alan Carr was on the phone.
“When I heard he was on the phone I knew it was something big but to hear I was up for an award was hard to take in the moment as I did not expect it.”
His mum Laura Savell said: “I had to keep a secret as I found out earlier in the day from the directors but we wanted to make it extra special so we got Alan involved to tell him.”
Alan and Oliver have formed a good relationship over the filming the ITV series, with the comedian visiting the Savell family home several times and going to Thorpe Park together.
Oliver said: “Alan is the nicest person you will ever meet and he is also a great on set as he is so relaxed and creates a good atmosphere, which really allows us to perform.”
Outside of acting and his school studies, Oliver enjoys a variety of hobbies, including martial arts, gaming and watching a lot of films.
Oliver has a bright future ahead of him and people are already taking note of his talent.
He said: “I have not been stopped on the street yet but I was at McDonalds one day with my sister and I could hear people talking about a TikTok I did with Alan Carr.”
His dream is to continue acting, and he hopes to take on a variety of roles to challenge his skills. He finds inspiration in Leonardo DiCaprio, calling him “the best actor ever”.
The additional workload from appearing in Changing Ends, however, has been somewhat challenging for Oliver.
He said: “It has been hard at times, and sometimes I’m exhausted after shooting because people forget I have studying to do. Adult actors don’t have to balance the two, and sometimes I find the academic side tough.”
He has also faced a lot of rejection at a young age having submitted more than 300 self-tapes and only getting six roles out of them.
Oliver said “It is easy to say you don’t take the rejection personally but you do sometimes. I look now though and think it was all worth it.”
Laura said: “As a mum this has been so hard because no one likes rejection and as a parent you have to balance encouraging them to keep going without going too far into forcing them into something they no longer want to do. We as parents have had to learn this as we go along on this journey.
