Jack Scanlon is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 child actor

Child actor

The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...

 who played one of the lead roles in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2008 historical-drama film based on the novel of the same name by Irish writer John Boyne. Directed by Mark Herman and produced by David Heyman, it stars Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga and Rupert Friend.A Holocaust drama, the film...

(2008

2008 in film

This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...

).

Although Scanlon was born in Canterbury, he now lives in Deal, Kent

Deal, Kent

Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...

 with his parents and younger brother. He is a cub scout

Cub Scout

A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The movement is often referred to simply as Cubbing...

 and a fan of Aldershot Town FC.

He auditioned for "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" through his drama club and was eventually cast as Shmuel after director Mark Herman

Mark Herman

Mark Herman is an English film director and screenwriter best known for writing & directing the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas....

 narrowed his choice down to around 3 possible candidates and paired each with Asa Butterfield for a final audition together. According to Herman: "Jack and Asa played very well against one another."

Although "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" is Scanlon's feature film

Feature film

In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

 debut, he did act before. He appeared in a 10-minute short film title "The Eye of the Butterfly" (which led to him being suggested to the castling director of "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas") and in a 2007 episode of the Peter Serafinowicz Show.

Scanlon also played the younger brother of main character Sean (William Miller

William Miller (actor)

William Miller is a British child actor who rose to fame when he was chosen for the part of Oliver Twist in the BBC One Christmas adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic broadcast in December 2007...

) in the 2009 British children's miniseries Runaway

Runaway (TV serial)

Runaway is the story of a young boy who takes to the streets to get away from the torment he suffers at school and daily problems at home. Life at home is rife with daily doses of scoldings from his half-drunk mother, and his two younger brothers Dean and Jack pay him scant attention until noticing...

, broadcast on BBC One, which was part of the CBBC

CBBC

CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...

 season about homelessness

Homelessness

Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...

.

Film

Year	Film	Role
2008	The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film) The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2008 historical-drama film based on the novel of the same name by Irish writer John Boyne. Directed by Mark Herman and produced by David Heyman, it stars Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga and Rupert Friend.A Holocaust drama, the film...	Shmuel

Television

Year	Programme	Role
2010	Married Single Other Married Single Other Married Single Other is a British television drama created and written by Peter Souter. The series is based on the lives of group of people who are either married, single or "other", other being defined as in a relationship. It began airing on Monday 22 February 2010 at on ITV1 and UTV...	Joe
2009	Runaway Runaway (TV serial) Runaway is the story of a young boy who takes to the streets to get away from the torment he suffers at school and daily problems at home. Life at home is rife with daily doses of scoldings from his half-drunk mother, and his two younger brothers Dean and Jack pay him scant attention until noticing...	Dean
2007	Peter Serafinowicz Show	Various roles

External links