Anthony Hopkins movie featuring Athlone actor set for December release

A new Anthony Hopkins film which includes a young Athlone actor among its cast has premiered in Hollywood ahead of its release in December.

Rhys Mannion, a 21-year-old Kiltoom native, appears in Freud's Last Session which stars Hopkins and Matthew Goode as psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and author C.S. Lewis respectively.

The film had its world premiere at AFI Fest in Hollywood on Friday last, where the screening was followed by a question and answer session with director Matt Brown.

Rhys plays a young C.S. Lewis in the movie, which was filmed in Ireland earlier this year. His part in the film includes some scenes recreating a younger Lewis's experiences of war.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent in April, Rhys spoke about how much he enjoyed being part of the film, and about meeting Anthony Hopkins on set.

"I got to meet him and talk to him for a little bit. He's such a lovely man, and everyone on the set was just singing his praises," he said.

"Everyone was so excited to be part of this project and it was great having that vibe on the set.

"The hours were long. We were jumping in mud for twenty takes, repeating the exact same actions, but we loved it. We ate it up. It was just a really great atmosphere."

The former Athlone Community College student has also had roles in the Irish film It Is In Us All and the RTE drama series Clean Sweep in recent years.

Freud's Last Session is due to be rolled out in cinemas from December 22. You can view the trailer for the film here: