Dexter Ansell has landed a huge Hollywood role in a Lionsgate film just two years after leaving Emmerdale.
The eight-year-old actor, who played two characters in the ITV soap, revealed the exciting news to his 990 Instagram followers that he will star in The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes.
He penned: ‘Thrilled to announce that I play Young President Snow in the hotly anticipated Hunger Games prequel ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’. In cinemas WORLDWIDE Nov 17th.
‘A huge thank you to my wonderful agent for this golden opportunity.’
His father, X Factor and G4 star Jonathan Ansell also announced the news on his Instagram.
The doting dad wrote: ‘LOVE – THE HUNGER GAMES? Well… Little Dexter hits the big screen worldwide this November as ‘Young Coriolanus Snow’ in the hotly anticipated Hunger Games Prequel.
‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes US CINEMAS – FRI 17 NOV.’
Dexter first appeared as Jimmy King’s son Carl Holliday between January and May 2016 before the role was taken over by Charlie Munro Joyce the following month.
He returned to Emmerdale three years later in June 2019 as Dawn Taylor’s young son Lucas Taylor, a role which he continued to play until March 2021, before Noah Ryan Aspinall took on the role in December 2021.
The official synopsis for Songbirds & Snakes reads: ‘Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.
‘With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.
‘But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favour.
‘Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.’
