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Fox is first Londoner to take role of Billy Elliot
Evening Standard20 Jun 2008
In three years, there have been 15 Billy Elliots on the West End stage. But there's never been a Londoner - until now.
On Monday, Fox Jackson-Keen, 13, of Hornsey, will step into the role made famous by Jamie Bell in the original film set in a Northern mining town.
"I will probably be nervous on the night but I'm not now," he said. "I'm just really excited and really proud to be the first London boy to play Billy Elliot."
Fox, the son of a marketing agent, started break-dancing when he was nine and soon took up ballet and tap. He decided he wanted to be in Billy Elliot after seeing the production at the Victoria Palace Theatre. "It's such a clever show, just the timing and every detail in it," he said.
The first time he auditioned he was too small. But when he re-applied he was accepted and has spent the past year training. His younger brother Teddy had a small role in Billy Elliot last year and was also in A Voyage Around My Father with Derek Jacobi.
Fox now hopes to make acting his career, having appeared in TV shows such as The Bill and the Terry Pratchett adaptation Hogfather, as well as dancing at Sadler's Wells. "I'm 13 years old and have been lucky enough to have done some amazing things," he said.
