Oscars 2023: Film starring Edinburgh schoolboy alongside Idris Elba and Tom Hollander wins Oscar

Short film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse wins Academy Award at 2023 ceremony.

An animated short film featuring the voice of an Edinburgh schoolboy has won an Oscar at the 95th Annual Academy Awards.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse took home the award for Best Animated Short Film at the star-studded ceremony. The movie stars 15-year-old voice actor Jude Coward Nicoll, a pupil at Broughton High School in Edinburgh. The teenager plays ‘the Boy’ in the heartwarming film, which is based off a bestselling illustrated book by Charlie Mackesy. It follows four unlikely friends - a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse – as they search for a home.

Newcomer Jude is joined by veteran acting stars, including Idris Elba, Tom Hollander, and Gabriel Byrne. While this is his first major role, he has previously featured in other animated films including 2021’s Tom & Jerry and 2019’s The Lost Sock. Speaking on the BBC’s Afternoon Show, Jude said he was "amazed” after hearing the film had been nominated for an Academy Award. He said he started “jumping up and down on the spot” while walking home from school. Talking about the response to the film, he added: "It’s quite surreal actually. I can’t really believe it. I thought that it would be big but not as big as it’s been”.

Jude Coward-Nicoll, a pupil at Broughton High School in Edinburgh, stars in Oscar-winning short film 'The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse'. (Photo credit: Paul Johnston).

In an interview with the Sunday Post, the teenager said: “When I got the role I was really excited and I can remember running up and down the stairs because I was so happy. It was just excitement for what was to come, especially when I found out who the other cast members were.”

Charlie Mackesy, who wrote the film’s script as well as the original novel, was joined by producer Matthew Freud to accept the Oscar onstage at the Dolby Theatre, during the 95th Annual Academy Awards. Speaking in the Oscars winners room, Mackesy told journalists: "Awards are incredible and I'm speechless to be truthful, but a greater award has been the response from people about the book and the film”.