Dyslexic teenager gets mother of all stardom chances

But for 13-year-old Ronan Carter learning the script alone presents its own difficulties as he battles dyslexia.

Now the youngster from Yorkshire has landed the lead role in a film by acclaimed actor Hugo Speer, who will be making his directorial debut.

Ronan, of Bailiff Bridge, near Brighouse, will play the pivotal part in the production Mam, due to be filmed in Sheffield next month. The drama, which tells the story of 12-year-old Danny who is hiding a secret as he is forced to take over the mantle of head of the family from his sick mother, will be the first time he has acted in front of the cameras.

A student at the Stardom School of Performing Arts in Shelf, near Halifax, he saw off competition from other talented boys from across the North to secure the part in the short film.

To help him overcome his reading difficulties, his family printed out the script in slightly larger type on blue paper which prevents the words from moving around.

At the auditions in Leeds, he performed some of the script and even acted opposite Speer.

Ronan, who has been acting since he was seven, said he was "really excited" about his role.

"I can't wait. I'm always reading my script – I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "Because of the dyslexia it is difficult but I've had lots of support from my family. My mum reads the script to me and I read it back."

He added: "The audition was really nerve-wracking. I want to be a really good actor and become famous and sitting there in front of me was a really really good actor. But I did it and it was really life changing.

"Lot of people like football but I don't find it that interesting – acting is what I want to do. When I'm on stage, that's where I want to be."

His mother Caroline said that because of his dyslexia it took him longer to learn his lines but he had a good memory.

"It's really exciting for him . It reads like a terrific role," she said. "If he sees and hears something it seems to stay in there.

"He might just need a bit longer than the next boy but he gets there. It didn't seem to faze him on the day. He'd learned his script and knew his lines."

She said her son was a natural performer on stage.

"School's not a very happy place for Ronan sometimes but in any school production he oozes confidence and he really shows his skills. He's really happy when he's performing."

For Speer it will be a return to the city where he starred in the Oscar-winning The Fully Monty, although this film will be made on a budget of just 12,000.

He said there was a "very high standard" among all the children who auditioned but Ronan stood out.

"He was excellent. We kind of knew straight away that he was what we were looking for. When Ronan was in there he was so bright. We did some improvisations and he was thinking on his feet," he said.

The drama was penned by his girlfriend, actress Vivienne Harvey, and the couple have a number of other film ideas in development and are hoping the Mam will act as a "calling card" to get them into production.

Liz Davies, who runs the performing arts school in Shelf, said landing the role was an "incredible achievement" for Ronan. "The very first time he came to Stardom he just starred. You just know when somebody has something special about them," she said.

"He is very talented but a really nice, grounded boy which is lovely as well. "

Another student, Charlie Street, will play Ronan's brother in the film.

Struggle with literacy skills

An estimated one person in 10 in Britain has dyslexia. It is a learning difficulty which mainly affects the development of literacy skills of reading, writing and spelling.

Problems understanding the sounds in words, poor short-term memory, low concentration and difficulties with organisation are also linked with the condition

Words appear disordered on a page or letter sounds become confused.

Some also have difficulties with co-ordination and communication skills as well as other learning disorders.