Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Here is what happens when Steven Spielberg plucks you out of obscurity to play the lead in his next film. Jeremy Irvine, who makes his feature film debut as the lead in the Spielberg-directed War Horse, has signed with Spielberg’s agency, CAA. Irvine began his career at The National Youth Theatre and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His stage credits include the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2010 production of Dunsinane. CAA will rep him along with UK-based Hatton, McEwan. Irvine plays a young man whose horse is conscripted for WWI battlefield duty. He sets out to reunite with his cherished animal. The film, based on Michael Morpugo’s novel and Nick Stafford’s stage adaptation, is Spielberg’s first for DreamWorks since it relaunched with Reliance and a Disney distribution deal.