As Derbyshire teen actor Eddie Waller makes his big screen debut, he talks to Fiona Stubbs about school, showbusiness and his most demanding role yet
Back to school has extra meaning this month for Chesterfield actor Eddie Waller.
As he begins his GCSE year at Brookfield Community School,15-year-old Eddie also makes his big screen debut – as a problem pupil causing classroom chaos.
He stars alongside acclaimed actress Saoirse Ronan in dark, satirical comedy-thriller Bad Apples, which opens in cinemas on 18th September.
Eddie plays 11-year-old Danny Carter, whose disruptive and violent behaviour pushes stressed primary school teacher Maria (Ronan) to her limits. As Danny’s behaviour spirals, Maria makes a series of bad decisions that lead to her accidentally kidnapping him and locking this “bad apple” in her basement.
The movie made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, followed by showings at the San Sebastian Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and, in Hollywood, at the AFI Fest.
“Waller knows just when to be awful – letting slip a glimpse of the monster that Danny might grow into – and when to reveal the hurting, neglected child he still is. It’s a delicate, disarmingly thoughtful debut performance.” – The Guardian
Eddie attended the London event but because of the film’s 15 rating – and he was only 14 at the time – he was unable to watch it with the assembled audience.
He recalls: “I went out to say ‘hi’ to the audience at the beginning – then had to sit in the Green Room listening to the reactions. The irony is that the film is a 15 rating mainly because of my character’s bad language!”
His portrayal of troubled tween Danny has been widely praised in early reviews, including The Guardian, which enthused: “As brutish, feral Danny, Waller knows just when to be awful – letting slip a glimpse of the monster that Danny might grow into – and when to reveal the hurting, neglected child he still is. It’s a delicate, disarmingly thoughtful debut performance.”
“Playing Danny was very, very difficult. I had to get my emotions up and down … my voice was absolutely shattered by the end of each day after all the shouting.”
Eddie’s interest in acting began during his first year at Westfield Infant School, in Brampton. He says: “I’ve always loved watching films and TV shows but the first time I knew I wanted to get into stage acting was when I was four or five and we performed The Enormous Turnip at school! I loved the audience feedback and realised I could play off that.”
He continued to appear in musical theatre productions at Westfield Infant, Old Hall Junior and Brookfield schools while extending his experience more widely.
At the age of six, Eddie joined Chesterfield-based Inspirations Theatre Company, going on to appear in a variety of roles and concerts. His portrayal last September of Evan Goldman in Inspirations’ production of coming-of-age pop-rock show 13: The Musical earned him the award for Best Individual Performance in a Youth Production (District 2) in the 2026 East Midlands NODA Awards.
Other notable stage performances include a leading role in The Crooked Spire: A Medieval Murder Mystery, a musical created by Ashgate Heritage Arts and performed in May 2022 at Chesterfield’s Pomegranate Theatre.
Hoping to progress into screen work, Eddie achieved a place with drama workshop and talent agency Inspire Academy, in Sheffield, which focuses on discovering and developing new talent.
This led to a casting call for Bad Apples – and the chance to appear opposite four times Oscar nominated Irish-American star Saoirse Ronan, who herself found fame as a teenager in 2007 period drama Atonement.
“There were six auditions in total – three self-recorded and three in person,” explains Eddie. “I was really, really nervous for the first in-person audition – but even more nervous for the second, which is when I met Saoirse. By then, I’d read up on her and realised just how famous she is and how much she’s accomplished. She was lovely to work with, though – just normal and very supportive.”
Bad Apples – based on Rasmus Andersson’s novel De Oönskade (The Unwanted) and directed by Swedish filmmaker Jonatan Etzler – was filmed in Bristol during spring 2024. The eight-week schedule required Eddie, then aged 13, to take six weeks away from school and to work through the Easter holiday. His parents took it in turns to stay with him in a rented Bristol apartment and, in accordance with child performance licencing, he was tutored in schoolwork for 15 hours each week.
Eddie says: “It felt quite weird at first – like stepping into a whole new world. In the beginning, I was thrilled that I didn’t have to go to school – but if I said I didn’t miss it, I’d be lying. I missed spending time with my friends, but the filming experience was fun.”
The official trailer for Bad Apples on YouTube has inevitably opened up online conversations about state school funding, classroom behaviours and the challenges faced by some teachers.
So how does the school in the film compare to real school life?
Eddie pauses … and smiles: “It’s pretty similar in some ways – in terms of things like uniform and general classroom stuff. I don’t know anybody like my film character, Danny though …”
He adds: “Playing Danny was very, very difficult. I had to get my emotions up and down – it was very tiring. My voice was absolutely shattered by the end of each day after all the shouting I’d done.
“Film acting definitely didn’t come naturally. I had a drama coach on set and spent a lot of time in rehearsals going through all the ins and outs of filming. It’s completely different to theatre.
“I’m quite nervous about the film coming out in terms of public reception and what my friends will think of it – but I’m also very excited. I’ve had a lot of support from people – teachers, friends and even random people.”
As well as his cinema debut, Eddie is also about to make his first TV appearance in series three of award-winning BBC1 crime drama Sherwood, scheduled to be screened later this year.
Despite his success so far, Eddie remains grounded and open-minded about the future, planning to take A Levels and perhaps go to university. “I’d absolutely love it if other opportunities came out of my appearances in Bad Apples and Sherwood – I’ll take any chance that I’m offered,” he says. “But I have back-up plans, too, as acting isn’t the most secure job.
“I still enjoy stage roles – and will always do theatre – but now I’ve been introduced to this new world, I’d love to work more in films and TV.
“It’s been a wild two years – and a real learning curve for me and my whole family. But it’s a lot of fun.”
• Bad Apples is released in cinemas by Paramount Pictures UK on Friday 18th September.