Kyle is a chip off the old Spud

Kyle Fitzpatrick who plays Spud's son Fergus in T2 Trainspotting

In the sequel to Danny Boyle's cult 90's movie, Kyle plays Spud’s son, Fergus. Fittingly for a film set in and around North Edinburgh, it was at Leith-based youth theatre Strange Town that Boyle discovered the aspiring actor. Having auditioned for the role, however, it at first appeared Kyle had just missed out on the role.

"Before I got the part, I heard Danny Boyle was filming around my area. I rushed to go see him. He remembered who I was from the audition and introduced me to the crew and Ewen Bremner," recalls Kyle.

"Then he told me I might be 'too old' for the part, needless to say I was gutted until I found out about two weeks later he was kidding and I was being heavily considered."

Working with the likes of Bremner, Shirley Henderson, who plays his mother in the film, and Oscar-winning director Boyle, was a dream come true for the young actor.

"Danny Boyle is a great character, he definitely knows what he wants from the actors. He's very patient and gives great constructive criticism. He was really funny and positive throughout the shoots which kept everyone going," says Kyle, adding, "He always kept me calm and focused, he knew how to describe what he wanted in a way I fully understood. He has given me so much confidence in becoming an actor.”

For Kyle, being cast in T2 Trainspotting meant all the more as he calls the area in which it is set, home.

"I've grown up in North Edinburgh my whole life, moving from Flora Stevenson to Forthview primary when I was quite young," he says.

And it was while at primary school that he discovered his his love of performing.

"I joined a small youth theatre company in D'Mains church to build confidence as I was a shy kid before moving on to after school drama at Broughton High. I then took the next step to joining Strange Town."

Kyle has been a member of Strange Town, a performing arts company for five to 25 year olds, since 2015.

Based at Out of the Blue, the old drill hall on Dalmeny Street, Strange Town has helped many youngsters in Leith and across Edinburgh take their first steps.

"Strange Town has presented me with so many opportunities to go beyond the stage. I've progressed so much as an actor and tested my versatility to the maximum, playing a variety of very different characters," says Kyle, who has also appeared in the BBC drama Stonemouth.

T2 Trainspotting opens in cinemas across the Capital today