Chesterfield teenager smashes film debut in Bad Apples alongside four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Roman

Eddie is cast as a disobedient, destructive and foul-mouthed pupil in the dark comedy thriller Bad Apples. He plays opposite four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Roman, whose role as a harassed primary school teacher takes a dramatic turn when she kidnaps her unruly student and locks him in a basement.

Bad Apples is released in UK cinemas on September 18 and Eddie is waiting with bated breath. He said: “I love the plot of the film and the twists. It’s a very morally challenging film. I’m really nervous about how everyone is going to react.”

Eddie was 13 when he shot scenes for the film in which he plays troublesome Danny and barely recognised himself when he watched Bad Apples two years later.

He said: “My voice hadn’t fully dropped and I hadn’t quite hit puberty so I definitely passed as an 11-year-old. It was so weird to see myself smashing things up and going mental. My voice was really high-pitched.

“Danny is quite a challenged student. He acts up constantly in the class but I think there is some emotional depth to the character as well. Not just this angry kid you see, I think there is a bit of hurt beneath the surface. When I was playing that character I had to choose between that fine line of when I was angry and when I had to show my more vulnerable side as Danny.”

Saoirse lived up to her teacher role by coaching the fledgling film actor on set. Eddie said: "Danny was a difficult character to play and involved getting my emotions up and down all day. Saoirse taught me a way to get my adrenaline running. If there was a scene where I had to be upset, she would say stuff to me before the take or say something to me during the take to get my emotions up."

Asked about his favourite part of the film, Eddie said: “There is a scene where me and Saoirse are sat across from each other and we are eating fish and chips. It’s quite a wholesome scene – a bit of calm before the storm.”

Bad Apples was premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2025 and was picked for festivals in San Sebastian, Los Angeles and Stockholm. Eddie attended the BFI London Film Festival 2025 but wasn’t old enough to watch the 15 rated film there. He said: “It was quite frustrating but I understand there are laws. It felt quite fancy because I was mingling with all these famous people – I saw Sean Gilder, Rakie Ayola and the director Jonatan Etzler.”

So how did a pupil from Brookfield Community School land his first film role, delivering a performance that has gained rave reviews from critics on both sides of the Atlantic?

Talent and determination have carried Eddie all the way, from his first acting role at the age of four when he played an old man in The Enormous Turnip at Westfield Infants School.

At the age of six he joined Inspirations Theatre Company where he performed in The Sound of Music, Moana, Nativity! and Aladdin.

Audiences at Brookfield Community School have watched Eddie play Eugene in Grease, Sebastian in The Little Mermaid and Billy Flynn in Chicago.

Four years ago Eddie saw a different side of life as an actor when he worked alongside professionals in The Crooked Spire musical, produced by Ashgate Heritage Arts. Eddie said: “It spoke to me in a way that am dram or school shows hadn’t before. You could tell that everyone wanted to be there, wanted to do the work and they also wanted to have fun with it – that’s why I enjoyed it so much.”

When he was 12 Eddie auditioned for Inspire Agency and started weekly lessons in screen acting. The agency’s founding director, Luke Gell, suggested that he try for a role in Big Apples.

Eddie said: ”I did a self tape for it and I got through to the next round and did another self tape. On the first in-person audition, there were six boys, the acting coach Emily Smith, Fiona Weir casting and her team, and Jonatan Etzler, the director. On the second audition there was me, another boy, and two girls who were playing Pauline. Saoirse was in for that one – I knew who she was but I didn’t know how famous and how big an actor she was.

"The third audition was just me in this little apartment in London and Jonatan was on Zoom because he was in Sweden.”

That final audition was followed by a tense wait for a couple of weeks. Eddie said: “I thought I hadn’t got it...I was a little disappointed because I hadn’t heard anything.” Two days before Christmas, his mum received a call to say the part was his. Eddie said: “I was getting ready for football training and I heard my mum scream!”

Filming in Bristol and Somerset began three months later, with Eddie’s parents Amy and Ste driving back and forth to be with their youngest son during the eight-week period.

Amy, who works as a surgical nurse on the Devonshire ward at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, said: “I’m very proud and very impressed with what he’s done. When I get people messaging me saying I’ve just seen your son in the cinema on a trailer, it makes my tummy flip.”

Family, friends and workmates will come together to watch Bad Apples for the first time at Chesterfield Cineworld on September 19.

There will be further cause for celebration in the Waller household when Eddie appears in a new run of the gritty television drama Sherwood later this year. For now, he’s staying tight-lipped and not giving any clues about the character he plays in the Nottinghamshire based crime series.

While a career as a professional actor is top of his wishlist, Eddie is under no illusions about how tough the industry is. He said: “It’s not the most secure or stable job. I’ve always got to have a back-up. I’ll do A-levels and probably university after that.”