Archie Gray and Georginio Rutter Leeds United co-star has key role in Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later

Rocco Haynes landed a dream role at Elland Road when he played the part of a youngster being served in the club shop by his favourite players, Gray and Rutter. The 11-year-old was also handed a bauble by Leeds legend Eddie Gray in another of the Christmas advert scenes.

His latest acting gig is the opening scene of an iconic film series that began with 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Oscar-winning filmmaker Boyle has directed 28 Years Later, which stars Killing Eve's Jodie Comer, Tenet's Aaron Taylor-Johnson and the legendary Ralph Fiennes.

Rocco followed in his 16-year-old brother Austin's footsteps by taking acting classes at Articulate Agency's drama school and the pair have had parts in the BBC's The A Word and Yorkshire productions Gentleman Jack, Last Tango in Halifax and All Creatures Great and Small. But mum Gemma says Austin was more than a little jealous when his sibling was picked for the Leeds United role.

Archie Gray and Georginio Rutter roles

"He had to send off some information about himself and he landed the part," she told the YEP. "They were filming some scenes at Elland Road and they kept asking 'come on then who are your favourite players?' We knew Eddie Gray was involved and at that point his favourite players were Archie and Georgi and the next thing they both walked through the doors as if by magic. He was absolutely stunned. A bit starstruck."

Rocco, whose current favourite is Ao Tanaka, added: "They were really nice, really down to earth and polite. They were excited to do it, they were really involved. Good actors. Kids at school thought it was quite cool - most of the kids in my class and my friends play football so they thought it was quite exciting - a lot of kids didn't believe it at first."

The proof came when his school played the club's Christmas video on the big screen during assembly. But while his headteacher has watched the trailer for Rocco's latest role, she won't be relaying it to the rest of the school any time soon. 28 Years Later is a post-apocalyptic horror that finally brings a hugely popular series back to big screens. In 2002 Cillian Murphy starred in Boyle's 28 Days Later, which became an instant classic and grossed more than £60m at box office. Five years after that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo directed 28 Weeks Later, starring the likes of Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Idris Elba and Jeremy Renner.

28 Years Later was released on June 20. The film begins with a young boy called Jimmy escaping from his house in the Scottish Highlands during an outbreak of 'rage virus' and making his way to a nearby church where his father, the local vicar, is praying. Jimmy is played by Rocco, who admits he has only been allowed to see snippets of the first two films because of their 18 ratings. He describes the crew and Danny Boyle as 'amazing' and the experience of filming with them a 'fun time.'

“Danny [Boyle] was so kind on set, and both he and the director of photography, Anthony [Dod Mantle], made me feel completely at ease," he said. "The whole cast and crew were amazing to work with and looked after me so well, I was really spoilt. Even though it’s a scary film, the set was always full of energy and excitement. I had a brilliant stuntman, Julian, who taught me how to do my own stunts safely. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an incredible film and to work with such an inspiring team, and I have lots and lots of memories I will never ever forget.”

Danny Boyle meeting

Gemma added: "We're just incredibly proud of him. Rocco's character opens the film, so to open a Danny Boyle film is impressive. His character is called Jimmy and lives in the Scottish Highlands, so he had to use a Scottish accent. He did a little tape and then went up to Newcastle to audition and we weren't expecting Danny [Boyle] to be there, but he came out of the auditioning room and was so welcoming. The whole experience was mind blowing really, to see him perform on such a huge platform. We went to Fort William in Scotland, then to Northumberland, then some scenes in North Yorkshire. We were back and forth over a couple of months. They looked after us really well, big, blacked-out cars with PS5 inside and a fridge full of snacks and drinks. It was a taste of the high life. Massage chairs on the way to set, he loved that. We've been to see it twice already, I think we'll have to go and see it again."

On Sunday Rocco's family went to the Odeon to watch it. He hopes his teachers will follow suit.

"Last night, mum, dad [Shaun] and my Nana went to see it at the Odeon and she thought it was absolutely amazing," he said. "My headteacher said after assembly that she watched the trailer and said it was great. She said she might be a bit scared. I'd like my teachers to see it."

When he's not acting, going to school or watching Leeds United, Rocco plays basketball for City of Leeds and his dream is to combine that with being on screen.

"I'd like to be in a Star Wars film as a Jedi or a Sith," he said. "I'd like to be in a Marvel film, an action film. I would like to be an actor. Or an NBA player. Or maybe even at the same time, like LeBron James was in Space Jam."