Child actor Ben gets Hollywood welcome
Cannock child actor Ben Wilby will be given a Hollywood-style welcome when he appears at the town's cinema for the premiere of his film Nativity! next week.
Cannock child actor Ben Wilby will be given a Hollywood-style welcome when he appears at the town's cinema for the premiere of his film Nativity! next week.
Ben, aged seven, will be chauffeur driven from his home in Bishop Close to the town's Walsall Road cinema in an Aston Martin Vanquish car used in the James Bond film Die Another Day. Once he has arrived at the venue on the evening of December 11 he will make his entrance on a red carpet which will be laid out for the young star.
Waiting for him will be a crowd of family, friends and fans of the star who will have come to watch the film.
The Hollywood style entrance has been organised by cinema owner Fred Pritchard who owns a collection of Aston Martins.
Mr Pritchard said: "It is a very special night for Ben and his family. He is a real star and to make him feel like a Hollywood star he will be given the Hollywood treatment. He will arrive in the same car which was used in Die Another Day. Ben will be sitting on the same seat as Halle Berry did.
"We want it to be an unforgettable night for Ben and his family."
Ben's mother Jillian said he was really looking forward to the premiere of the film.
She and father Nigel will be going along with his three older sisters Kirsty, Charlotte and Alexandra and younger nieces will also be coming along on the night.
He has also invited friends from St Mary's Primary School which he attends and the Class One Dance Academy in Hednesford where his talent for acting and dancing was discovered.
Nativity will run from December 11 for a whole week at the cinema which reopened on November 13 following a five year absence.
Included in the famous cast are Love Actually and The Office star Martin Freeman and Ugly Betty and Extras actress Ashley Jensen.
Ben beat hundreds of children in the audition for the role of Bob – one of the children who is taking part in the Nativity at the school.
Ben was diagnosed with a rare birth condition called Suture Craniosynostosis which restricts skull growth and causes an abnormal head shape making his achievements even more remarkable as his mother was told he might not walk or even talk.
