According to her mum, Nuala Childs has been compared to a young Jodie Comer
Actress Nuala Childs has been capturing the attention of people in the film industry (Image: Supplied)
A teenager went from struggling in school to capturing the attention of Hollywood agents. Nuala Childs, 14, from Lydiate, is an up and coming actress.
Nuala has starred in several TV pilots. She also played a minor role in BBC series The Responder, which was filmed in Liverpool, along with a few other uncredited roles and already boasts 10,000 followers on her Instagram page.
However, it could have all been very different for her. From the age of 11, she had a tough time settling into the first high school she attended.
Her mum, Danielle Childs, 44, told the ECHO: “Nuala’s always had a love of acting from a young age. But she struggled herself in high school and became quite quiet and withdrawn.”
Nuala struggled to express how she was feeling. It came to a point where the decision was made to move her to a performing arts school.
Danielle says this has had a transformative effect on her child as her new school helped bring her out of her shell. She said: “She’s with people with the same interests as her and is just more like old self.
“She has a strong sense of empathy and is able to dip into that while she’s playing these roles. It’s good to have that creative outlet. When she’s portraying these characters, it’s like a totally different person comes out.”
Danielle points to her learning British and American sign language as evidence of this behaviour. While it will be useful for future roles, that wasn’t her reason for learning it.
Danielle said: “That came about because during lockdown she was playing in her auntie’s front garden. Her neighbours are deaf and she started exploring that. From that point, she began learning sign language.
Nuala, left, in a scene from I am Enough(Image: Supplied)
“Now she has more understanding of her brother, who is autistic. Sometimes he’s not able to communicate what he’s feeling through talking so having sign language helps.”
A major moment for Nuala came recently when she starred in a film called I Am Enough. This follows a group of young adults navigating the challenges of their mental health, covering bipolar disorder, self-harm, eating disorders, and other hidden battles. Danielle believes the film carries an important message.
She said: “The movie is heartbreaking but so powerful. There’s individual teenagers and they’ve all got their own issues. They feel alone but they all get counselling and come together. We’re really keen to get the message across that it’s okay for kids to talk if they are struggling. There’s always someone who can help.”
The film has been seen by several people in the industry and will be shown across several film festivals this year. When Nuala was in Los Angeles recently for filming on another project, she was spotted by an agent who had seen her in the movie.
Nuala visited Los Angeles recently (Image: Supplied)
Nuala was then signed to her agency in Los Angeles. Danielle said: “There’s a scene towards the end of the film which was filmed in the Albert Dock. She just loved her acting in that.”
Danielle, who says her child has been told by several people in the industry that she reminds them of a young Jodie Comer, thinks this is a massive moment in her young career. She said: “It’s nice just to be noticed by an agent in LA. She’s got a couple of credits but nothing major. For her to get something major off the back of this is really good.”
Despite this interest from Hollywood, Danielle says her daughter is continuing to do what she knows best and hopes her latest role will be meaningful to Nuala and other children struggling with their mental health.
She said: “Nuala just loves acting. She’s trained in everything and does singing and dancing too. She tries to attend as many workshops as she can and just loves learning.
“With teenagers, if they don’t feel like they are enough, they don’t speak to people. If you try to look after wellbeing from an early age, it really helps them in the long run.”