Where John Lewis advert kids are now – Hollywood star and Orlando Bloom’s on-screen son

Appearing in a John Lewis advert can set you on the path to stardom, with Lewis McGowan going on to have major roles after being in 2011’s The Long Wait

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

The video will auto-play soon8Cancel

Play now

All the John Lewis Christmas adverts through the years

The festive season is truly upon us as the John Lewis Christmas advert has been released – and this year’s much-anticipated helping has a heartwarming story. Whether it be misunderstood monsters, men on the moon or fun-loving penguins, they always manage to pull it out the bag with something unique every year.

This time round they have taken a much more subtle approach, with no Hollywood-esque production, epic CGI or multi-million pound star guests. The simple story about a soon-to-be foster dad and daughter has gripped us – and got us all thinking back to some of the commericals from previous years.

So what happened to the stars of the much-loved ads? One of them went on to become a Hollywood star, while another clashed with his parents about how he would spend his salary.

The Long Wait – 2011 Lewis starred in the 2011 John Lewis Christmas advert

For more of the news you care about, straight to your inbox, sign up for one of our daily newsletters here.

Who can forget the adorable little boy that firmly put John Lewis at the top of the tree when it came to emotional Christmas adverts.

Slow Moving Millie covered Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths for the ad, where the little lad is impatiently waiting for the countdown to Christmas to end.

And while you might think it’s so he can get his hands on those goodies from Santa, it’s actually so he can give his mum and dad his carefully chosen gift.

We were all struggling not to cry watching John Lewis’ 2011 offering, but what happened to its child star?

Lewis McGowan, from Hamilton, near Glasgow, was chosen from 250 other children to star in the John Lewis advert, which was filmed over five days in London.

Lewis became a Hollywood star (

Image:

Splash News) The young actor appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean (

Image:

Zuma Press)

At the time, the youngster reportedly said: “I had great fun but it was hard work.”

The young actor has been very busy with small roles in a number of TV shows, including Doctor Who and Houdini and Doyle.

And earlier this year he had his biggest role yet appearing alongside Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The schoolboy played a 12-year-old version of Henry Turner, who is the son of Bloom’s character in 2017.

He also appeared in TV series The Alienist and short film In The Fall in 2018.

Monty the Penguin – 2014 Sam, played by Rhys, and Monty the penguin (

Image:

PA)

Everyone remembers Monty the loveable penguin, but there was another star in the 2014 advert.

Going with the animal theme that year, John Lewis focused on Monty the Penguin and his adorable relationship with a little boy.

Even though Monty had a firm friend in the youngster, all he dreamed of was finding love.

In a shock twist ending, it turned out Monty is an imaginary friend and a stuffed toy but under the Christmas tree is a female penguin, destined to be his perfect companion.

The theme tune to the advert was a Tom Odell cover of John Lennon’s Real Love.

Rhys Edwards was given £2,500 wages for the commercial, but clashed with his parents on how to spend his earnings.

The young actor wanted to buy a £369 drone but his parents wanted him to save the money for when he is older.

Mum Lucie said: “We had to be strict about that. All the money is in the bank for when he’s older.”

Man On The Moon – 2015 Orli Star Knill-Goldstein was looking through the telescope (

Image:

Publicity Picture)

One of the most memorable of all the John Lewis ads, Man On The Moon saw a little girl communicating with a man living on the moon.

Each night, the schoolgirl watched the lonely old man through her telescope as Aurora sang a cover of the Oasis track Half The World Away.

Desperate to get the man’s attention, the little girl eventually sends him a special delivery of a telescope with a handy air balloon so he can see earth for the first time.

The strapline for the advert was “Show someone they’re loved this Christmas” and it cost a rumoured £7million to film.

Frenchman Jean Masini, who played the moon resident, became a huge star in his native country.

While child actress Orli Star Knill-Goldstein had already starred in a big budget film – Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children – and got to visit director Tim Burton’s home.

Dad Trevor Goldstein, who is an actor and ex-Dreamboys star, said: “The advert did get her in a position where she got some big auditions – massive stuff.

“She loved it. She has never been fazed by the attention. Kids at her school would come up and say, ‘Were you in the advert?’ and she would say, ‘Yes’, and walk off.

“She doesn’t watch the ad. She loves the filming and that’s it. She doesn’t seem to have any interest in becoming famous.”

Moz the Monster – 2017 Moz the Monster was the 2017 John Lewis Christmas Advert (

Image:

Internet Unknown)

Back in 2017, we were introduced to a little boy who was terrified of the dark.

Elbow performed the Beatles track Golden Slumbers for that year’s offering, which told the story of the scared lad who found a monster living under his bed.

But this was no horrifying monster, as the youngster quickly became friends with gentle giant Moz.

They spent all night playing and having fun, so the little lad was noticeably exhausted during the day.

We were all under the belief that only one child was the star of the show, but the role was actually given to a set of twins.

Only one of them actually auditioned for the big role but when bosses heard he had an identical twin they got them both involved.

Ethan and Tobias got their first on-screen project together – and look to have a bright future ahead in acting.

Have you got a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk

Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More