Away with the fairies!

Newcomer Ferdia Shaw on playing a criminal genius in Sir Kenneth Branagh’s new Disney+ epic

- CAREN CLARK

ARTEMIS FOWL

Available: From Friday 12 June Runs: 95 mins NEW DRAMA

When TV Times telephones 15-year-old Ferdia Shaw, he’s still pinching himself about landing the titular role in Disney+’s exciting new fantasy adventure, Artemis Fowl.

The film, based on Eoin Colfer’s hugely popular children’s novels, follows an Irish schoolboy-turned-criminal-mastermind who becomes embroiled in the world of fairies.

‘Seeing yourself on the big screen is surreal,’ laughs Ferdia, who hails from Kilkenny, Ireland. ‘There were five auditions for me to go through, and I didn’t go into them with high hopes – it felt like more of a day out!’

The star-studded epic, directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh, follows 12-year-old Artemis as he embarks on a devious mission to locate the Aculos, a magical artefact from the fairy realm, and rescue his kidnapped father, Artemis Sr (Dumbo star Colin Farrell).