"When we started testing," recalls Wood, "we had close to a hundred boys auditioning for the roles of Frankie and Ricky. Then we whittled them down and did workshops, whittled them down some more and put them on film. The one person who came back and back was Jack and there is just something about his face on camera. He has amazing screen presence and he felt very believable as Frankie."

"Jack was the one who was in my mind through that whole time, " says Auerbach. "So yes, he's very special and he's very clever as well. Some asked me at the time why I had not cast a deaf boy. I had no problem with this idea and did meet deaf children too but at the end of the day Jack was the best actor for Frankie and he just had to adapt himself just like any actor in a role. Having said this I did not want my deaf advisors to leave my side while we were filming because it was crucial for me to get it right."

Gibb was struck by McElhone's assuredness throughout the whole process. "He's got a fantastically developed sense of self," she says. He developed an easy working relationship with both Gerard Butler and Emily Mortimer. Butler, he says, made him laugh while Mortimer bought him lots of presents when his birthday fell during shooting. "Emily and Gerry both taught me stuff. If one day we were meant to be exhausted we jumped 10 times before a take. I thought that looked stupid, but I did it and it worked. Learn from other actors, that's the best way."

Since then Jack has gone on to appear in the UK series The Book Group (2002-03) and the telefilm Stacked (2008) and Nowhere Boy a chronicle of John Lennon's childhood.