An Interview with The Railway Children Return’s Beau Gadson and Eden Hamilton

Beau Gadson, 15 (Lily) and Eden Hamilton, 11 (Pattie) are two of the stars of new movie The Railway Children Return. They talk to @RogerCrow at key location Oakworth Station about the Yorkshire-made sequel to a beloved classic.

Beau, tell us about new movie, The Railway Children Return

Eden: “Well I’d seen the original and this is the next thing, a few years older. It’s really, really important.”

Beau: “I think what’s great is it has lots of moments from the original, which you’ll soon see, and it’s really clever the way they’ve done it. I’ve seen the original film, I’ve read the book and I’d seen the plays, with a real steam train in actually, so when I went and auditioned for it I was so excited. I mean even auditioning for it was amazing.”

Were you amazed by how good the supporting cast is?

Beau: “Working alongside Sir Tom Courtenay, Sheridan Smith, Jenny Agutter… John Bradley too. They came, they lit up the set.”

Eden: “Oh yeah. On the day we were meeting them all I just couldn’t wait. I couldn’t sleep the night before. It was so exciting.”

Beau Gadson in Rogue One

Beau: “And meeting these guys too (the rest of the young cast). They’re all amazing to work with as well. When I first met them, we were all in the same apartment complex. Eden I think had arrived before KJ (Aikens) and I, and she took us down to see some ducklings and some sheep. It was so lovely.

“The thing about all of us is we mirror our characters quite a bit. We’re all adventurers but some of us are a little bit cautious. We thought should we go and talk to the parents before we see the sheep. But we thought would we really be the Railway Children if we didn’t climb a fence and explore the Yorkshire Dales, so ‘let’s go’. And we would sometimes take the actual train to set!”

What are you working on next Eden?

“Well I’ve had a lot of schoolwork to do so I’m hoping to get back in the saddle next year.”

And how about you Beau?

“At the moment I’m working on something called The Critic. It’s got Sir Ian McKellen. It’s got Romola (Garai), Ben Barnes, Mark Strong. I’m working with some amazing actors. I’m so grateful and lucky to be working with them. And the day before I started this, I’d just finished a Netflix series I’d been filming called Treason alongside Charlie Cox and Oona Chaplin.”

An Interview with John Bradley

John Bradley starred in Game of Thrones, disaster epic Moonfall, and now features in a sequel to Yorkshire-based classic The Railway Children. At Oakworth train station, near Keighley, where both movies were shot, he talks to @RogerCrow about making new movie The Railway Children Return, adding humour to blockbusters, and the GoT effect on new projects.

John, what was it attracted you to The Railway Children Return?

“It was just the sort of affection that people still have for it. When you tell people even now that you’re going to be in it, their faces just light up.”

Despite so many showbusiness legends on board, the global success of Game of Thrones has made you one of its biggest stars.

“Well I never sort of think of it that way. I went into this thinking, ‘I’m just going to play my part in this and just do the best that I can’. But it’s a nice thought. If people have watched some things that I’ve done before (who) might not watch something like this… so if me being in it can bring them to it, and let them give it a chance and see a film they wouldn’t normally see, that’s a nice to thing to do, to be able to play that part in it.

“I think some actors judge their next job on what it’s going to do for their career, and that’s sort of 80 per cent of it, but I also like to do a certain amount of jobs that I enjoy and have a certain place in my heart, not for career reasons but to do them because I want to do them. That’s also very important.”

Moonfall is one of my favourite films of the year.

“Oh I’m really pleased you enjoyed it. Thanks so much.”

The comedy aspect was a great element. Was that in the script? 

“Yeah, the script wasn’t quite as comic as it became. Myself and Roland (Emmerich) worked together on lightening the mood a bit. As much as I enjoyed the humour of it when I read it, it’s all about the twist at the end and the emotional turnaround. That’s what I really enjoyed. I like playing those characters where you think you’ve got a handle on them, and then they surprise you with moments like that. Yeah, I was very pleased with it, and very happy to be on board.”

Sir Tom Courtenay and John Bradley, July 2022

Have you got a favourite scene in The Railway Children Return?

“I’ve not seen it, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing it. It’s one of those things where we shot it here (Oakworth Station), and you have a sense of what it’s going to look like, but you sometimes forget the director, and the director of photography, and the design element that plays into bringing the film together. And when you’ve got this backdrop to film against anyway, we’re very lucky, but when you get all that expertise as well, it’s going to look incredible.”:: The Railway Children Return is released in UK cinemas from July 15.