Acting Career
Golding's earliest appearance was on television in a commercial for Vauxhall Motors, as a two-year-old baby in 1996. After a small part in a stage version of Wind in the Willows in 1997, his next television role was in 1998 as Nat in the first two episodes of the wartime romantic drama Coming Home, which starred Keira Knightley.
Golding's first film project was as one of four small boys in Mike Leigh's award-winning 2002 comedy drama All or Nothing. His biggest film role to date then came in The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby, a tale of the story of Greyfriars Bobby, a child who takes on the responsibility of a policeman's dog after his death, and who has to win the battle with authority to save the dog's life. Though casting began in 2002, the film was delayed much delayed due to problems with the funding. Shooting largely took place during 2004–05, and the film was released in France on 11 May 2005, Italy in July 2005, the USA on 29 October 2005 and at the Children's Film Festival in the UK on 16 November 2005.
In 2003 Golding portrayed Jeremy Potts in another stage show, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in London's West End. In the same year, he appeared as one of the children in Ibsen's play, Brand, which starred Ralph Fiennes and was directed by Adrian Noble.
In March 2004, Golding made an appearance as a young customer in "Elephants and Hens", episode 2 of the third season of Black Books, the television comedy series about a dysfunctional bookshop owner, played by Dylan Moran. Then, in April of the same year, he took the part of Tom Dawson in the fifth episode of the Carlton Television production, Murder in Suburbia, in which Gwyneth Strong played his mother Pat. Finally in 2004, he provided the voice of Xath in the English version of the animated puppet fantasy Strings, co-produced by Birdpic Limited in association with Scandinavian partnerships.
In June 2008, Golding appeared in the BBC Three TV documentary "Child Stars", featuring three promising youngsters with outstanding talent and ambition. However, he has foregone further advancement as an actor to concentrate on a possible tennis career.
Read more about this topic: Oliver Golding
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