An 8-year-old boy from Bristol is making waves in the world of TV, starring alongside Jodie Whittaker in the latest episode of Doctor Who. Neo-Rae Gardener has previously been in Casualty and on various ad campaigns for national brands and organisations including McDonalds and Woodland Trust and he's even auditioned for roles in the Fast and Furious film franchise.
But Sunday night's episode of Doctor Who (October 23) saw the Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, try and prevent the kidnap and destruction of an energy source, which was being used to power a second Tardis and the powers of the villains of the episode, which included those ever-iconic Cybermen. The young energy source was played by none other than Neo, who is looking to pursue a career in acting and who already seems to be somewhat of a little star.
His mum, Rachel Gardener, told Bristol Live: "When I thought of his name I didn't know I was producing a little star. He was seven when he filmed Doctor Who, but he's eight now.
"Neo has got agents which he's had since he was about three, but everything Neo does he has to audition for. Because it was the Covid-19 pandemic at the time when filming Doctor Who, a lot of things were done on Zoom calls, instead of in person. So he had to 'self take' for it and then he had to do a Zoom call with the production team and I think a lot of kids were put forward for it - and Neo got chosen.
"Neo actually went viral as part of a YouTube series around racism. It was unscripted and it was like a comedian's sketch where he got arrested by the comedians and he went viral for saying 'is it because I'm black'. So that's still circulating the internet and his clip came up on the MOBO awards last year, which is an achievement and a half in itself."
Neo has appeared on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway as part of a segment where children went to feed pandas at a zoo. Ant & Dec were dressed as the pandas, with the unsuspecting children being treated to a surprise.
He's also been in McDonald's commercials, Woodland Trust commercials and has done lots of modelling with a variety of different brands. What's more, he has appeared in things for other major channels, including a 'Kids React to Drag' programme for Channel 4, and he even had a role in Casualty.
His mum said: "He's literally non-stop to be honest. He's done a lot. And then with me and him we've gained a following of around 41,000 on TikTok and he has his own little Instagram account which is at around 3,000.
"It's something that he enjoys doing, something that is like a calm. Neo's very crazy and it's like his calm.
"It's mad to see him on set because normally he jumps around, he's a wild child, he really is. So to go and see him on set and see that kind of change in him and the calm in him shows me that it's what he thrives doing, he absolutely loves it."
In the latest episode of Doctor Who, mum Rachel said Neo did all his own stunts, which meant being around TV explosives, pyrotechnics and even being suspended and flown through the air. Rachel said: "He plays an energy - kind of like a battery - that's processing the other Tardis.
"In this one, there's two Tardises. So, he's like an energy source that disappears at the end and everyone's like 'is he going to come back' because the energy just flies away and you just never know with Doctor Who, if that energy source will come back.
"He did his own stunts... he was higher than the whole studio building"
"He gets kidnapped and he's producing an energy source for some of the powers of the bad people, the villains I suppose. At the beginning you see the Doctor, Jodie Whittaker and they're all talking about a cargo box and there's the Cybermen and all the bad people after this cargo box and when the Cybermen find the cargo box, they try to break into it and Jodie tries to put a stop to it and the box blows up - and Neo's actually inside.
"So the story is around him - they're trying to get to this cargo box to steal Neo and then, a few moments later you see Neo and he's suspended in the air. He did his own stunts. He was connected to a harness and he was higher than the whole studio building."
Rachel added that many people have already been asking her if Neo is set to make another appearance as the energy source in Doctor Who and didn't rule it out. "I'm not sure how he stayed in character when the dark box around him had to be 'blown up' with him inside," she said, "because I was watching the screen during the audition like 'oh my God there's gun shots going off and explosions and how is this kid still in character' but then a couple of days later we had a call to say they would love to have Neo back and I think they changed some of the story for him actually."
Originally, Rachel says, Neo was only supposed to be filming for one day - the scene in which his box is blown up - but a few weeks later he was back, being suspended in air and doing all his own stunts. "I think they actually changed some of it to bring him back," Rachel continued, "they kind of fell in love with him on set because they got it done in the first shot and were blowing up the box and everything and saying 'oh he's good' and so I think the director was like 'do you know what, I want him back'.
"They contacted us and asked if he was good with heights and, well Neo isn't fussed by anything to be honest, and they said they wanted him to be suspended and flying through the air and I just said 'ok that's fine, I'm sure he'll be happy with that'. Any seven year old is going to be buzzing about flying in the air on Doctor Who."
In fact, one of the hardest things Neo has had to do is keep all of this a secret from his friends for a year and, with half term happening right after is Doctor Who episode, he's had to wait even longer before he can brag about doing his own stunts on the set of Doctor Who to all his friends at Begbrook Primary Academy. But he's already had phone calls from some of his friends to say that they saw him on the BBC show.
"The director said to him 'you can sell it on eBay'"
Not only that but Neo has bragging rights when it comes to where he filmed his scenes. He was actually the final actor to film in the BBC Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff before Doctor Who was moved to nearby Wolf Studios.
Rachel said: "He was the wrap, he was literally the end and the last one in and it was really emotional to watch all the staff and the director of that final day of filming - and Neo got to bring home like half the set. So he's got a big chain he was chained to and the director said to him 'you can sell it on eBay' and Neo was like 'no chance'!"
When it came to meeting the stars of the show, Rachel was with her son during his time filming and said that he's met a few famous people before so doesn't get too starstruck, but she did say that getting the chance to meet the Doctor herself was a very big deal for Neo. She said: "Jodie and Neo would be running down the corridors getting pictures with each other and things like that and he absolutely loves the Cybermen - I have got a photo of him with the Cybermen and he got to see them both in and out of costume and he just loved his day.
"To see his little face, especially with Jodie Whittaker was just great." Rachel and her mum sat with Neo to watch his episode, along with a picnic and she said she was amazed by how Neo could still remember his words, as well as when he was due to appear on screen.
"He's learnt a whole script for an audition for Fast and Furious before," Rachel said, "he obviously didn't get the part, but it amazed me how he can memorise all of that and even where he's supposed to appear in a TV show, because for all we knew he could have been cut out since then, or edited or anything really."
Neo hopes to become a future Marvel superhero and wants to get roles in the movies in the future - and he wants to continue doing his own stunts. Rachel went on to say: "He's always said he doesn't want a body double, he wants to do his own stunts and it's the movies that are the aim.
"He does a lot of modelling and a lot of commercials, but it's the acting side that he wants to do and he doesn't go to drama school or anything like that, he's just done it on his own. It's only really down to the children if they get the jobs and Neo gets remembered at auditions as well.
"He'll go to an audition - we go to London a lot for auditions - and he gets remembered by certain casting directors and he walks in and he leaves his little mark. Even if he doesn't get the job he leaves his mark.
"I remember when he auditioned for the McDonald's advert and he was on set and I was outside with the director and she called him fabulous because when he came in for a second audition, she had asked him to stand on the spot and say his name and age and he turned around and went 'you've seen me three times love, you already know my name and age' and she just said it was just the cheekiness of him!
"And everyone's just fallen in love with him on TikTok too and he's gone viral with his talks about bullying and I just think he wants to make a change in the world. He wants other people in the world to know it's not okay to bully and racism is not okay and he does little videos about that as well.
"He wants to be the next black 'whoever' - a character in a movie. He always says that and I say yes, if you want to be the next black whoever you want to be, then you do it, and so if he stays his own little person, then I'm proud of him."
You can follow Neo and Rachel on their TikTok channel @neoxrachel. And you can catch Neo in action in the latest episode of Doctor Who on iPlayer now.
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