First sight: Aidan Gould

Who is he?

He's a nine-year-old American actor, who gets a tough time in his feature debut.

How so?

He plays a kidnap victim in The Little Thief director Erick Zonca's US debut, Julia. It's a road movie where Gould is left in the charge of Tilda Swinton's titular character, who has zero maternal instincts due to being more used to cradling a bottle than a child.

Is this one of those movies where they learn and hug?

Nope, the alcoholic Julia has no understanding of children; she spends most of the time finding ways to get Gould to "nap". She also shoves him into a car boot, points a gun at him, ties him to a radiator and leaves him to sleep in the open desert. Gould, however, starts to give as good as he gets, and has some memorable scenes involving swearing.

Isn't he a bit young for all this?

It does sound a bit like it'll lead to decades of therapy, but Gould, like his older brother Nolan, has been in front of the camera for years in short movies and TV work, so he knows it's not real. It shows he can take on tough scenes unflinchingly and without resorting to the cutesy tricks many performers his age rely on. He also more than holds his own opposite an acting powerhouse such as Swinton, something few actors of any age can accomplish.

What's next

A more conventional child role in summer camp rites of passage movie The Rainbow Tribe, based on true incidents from screenwriter Daniel S Frisch's life.